Chapter 59. White Blank Page by Mumford & Sons
I lay on my back reveling in the sensations coursing through my body. Despite each of our inexperience, Evan and I had made quite a show of how to make love without actual penetration. I had been reluctant to do anything more than kiss after what Evan had told me last time, but her eagerness and guidance proved I did not have to avoid her completely. As I lay on the bed thinking of the ways Evan had brought me pleasure, my attention was drawn back to her when her lovely auburn hair tickled along my chest as she kissed her way to my ear from my stomach.
"I love you, Emil," she whispered.
Pulling her gently closer to me, I tucked her under my arm. Turning slightly, I gazed down her body to her now very rounded belly. There had been no missing the amount she had grown in just a day. I believed her theory that the little girl inside her was growing about 3 weeks worth every day. That would bring her to almost 18 weeks. Almost halfway. Running my hand gently over her taut abdomen, I felt our daughter push against me. Lost in the wonder of this new sensation, I did not notice Evan's wince. I patted her stomach where our little one had pushed against me, and Evan's yelp of pain made me pull quickly away.
"Evan, I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?"
"No, our little girl hurt me. She pushes back harder than you do," she said through gritted teeth.
"Budite dobri prema svojoj majci, maleni," I said leaning close to Evan's belly. I told our little one to be kind to her mother.
"Whatever you said, it seems to work. She isn't pushing back any more," Evan breathed, and I could see the tension leaving her face as she closed her eyes.
I was worried Evan was having more problems that I was not aware of. "Have I hurt you, more than I know?"
"No, Emil. I'm just growing very fast. Everything feels tight. You haven't done anything. Don't worry," Evan reassured me. I was not sure I could believe her, the light of her aura swirled in muddier colors than usual around her. Again red sparks occasionally flitted through it, indicating she had more pain than she let on.
Instead of calling her out, I decided to allow her to keep up her stoic façade. Pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, I carefully pushed up from the bed, enjoying her moan of protest and the thrill her hand sliding down my body sent through me as I stood and stretche
"I would never have believed that I could feel so well used," I said to Evan, sending what I hoped was a suggestive look her way. I was rewarded with a brightening of her aura, and one of her wonderful laughs. "I need to go and start getting everyone ready for tonight. We've had all the time we can for this wonderful diversion."
"I know. I would love to be able to tell you I don't want you to go, but I know better. You are the leader here, whether you like it or not. You have to lead the Guardians into this battle or whatever you call it. I will pray you are safe. That everyone is safe. I will stay here and reassure our daughter that you will be okay. Nathan will be here and we are good company for each other. And I look forward to getting to know Xavier more. It will all be fine," Evan said to me.
Her sincerity impressed me. I would never cease to be amazed by the gift I had been given in Evan.
Moving about the room, I pulled on a pair of slacks and a shirt. I found my shoes, one by the door and the other under the bed. I gathered up all the articles of clothing Evan had shed as we made our way to the bed earlier this morning and put them on the foot of the bed. Evan was sitting up against the headboard, her hair falling across her chest and the sheet loosely gathered in her lap. She would likely argue, but I loved her like this, disheveled after our lovemaking.
"You should look like this all the time," I said.
"It would be kinda hard to talk to the others like this. I'm pretty reserved most of the time," Evan replied with a small laugh.
I rolled my eyes and conceded to her. "Of course, but I love the way you look now. This is how I'm going to think of you tonight. It will remind me of what I have to come home to."
Her face grew serious. "You will come home to me. To us."
"I promise," I whispered and carefully went through the door, pulling it closed behind me.
The apartment was quiet, and it seemed everyone had been good enough to allow us time to ourselves. Going out into the lobby, I went to the other side of the eighth floor and into the opposite hallway where Hannah, Hawk and Jean were staying. I wondered where Nathan had gone off to. That was something I'd have to pay more attention to, although he was fifteen. I needed to be sure I helped give Nathan guidance.
I heard laughter and loud movie noises coming from Hannah's apartment. I picked up Nathan's voice, and was grateful he had been taken in by one of the others. Deciding to let them watch more, as it sounded like they were having a good time, I moved to the end of the hall to Hawk and Jean's apartment. I did not hear any sounds coming from the apartment, but the movie in Hannah's apartment was very loud. I knocked and waited a moment.
Not getting an answer, I was not sure they were there. Maybe they went downstairs and were already discussing strategy with Xavier, Aiden and Malachi. Just to be sure, I punched in the code to the door and opened it slowly. As I entered the living room, I quickly drew back at the sight of the two men on the floor in a passionate embrace, not unlike what I had just done with Evan.
"I'm sorry, Jean, Hawk. I knocked and didn't get an answer," I called from behind the door.
The rapid shuffling and bumping into furniture told me they had not even heard me enter the room in the first place.
"Shit, Emil," I heard Hawk choke out.
"Don't worry about it, Hawk. He's fine," Jean said, trying to reassure the other.
"It's fine Hawk. Jean's right. Don't sweat it. I'll just meet you two in the music room in about fifteen minutes. Will that work?" I said, trying to erase the image of the two men from my mind. I was not homophobic, but I needed to be able to not picture them this way when it was time for battle later.
"We'll be there, mon ami," Jean said, with a laugh. I heard the sharp smack of a hand hitting something fleshier, and quickly closed the door and moved downstairs.
~~~Jean & Hawk~~~
"Jean, I can't believe he walked in on us!" Hawk said in a panicked voice, holding his discarded clothing in front of his naked body.
"It is nothing, Hawk. It will be fine. Don't worry. Are you ashamed?" Jean asked, not wanting this first time together to be tarnished.
Hawk was staring at a spot on the wall behind Jean, and answered, "No, I'm not ashamed, just feeling like a kid that got caught by their dad screwing around. I'm not used to feeling like that."
Jean shrugged and walked over to where Hawk was standing, not hiding his nakedness. He pulled Hawk closer to him and pushed the gathered clothing out of his hands. Lining their bodies up closely, Jean held Hawk tightly to him at the hip and neck. He placed his lips on the side of Hawk's rough jaw and kissed him gently, making his way to the other male's ear, where he bit quickly, drawing a drop of blood. He sucked the crimson drip that trembled there for a moment, ending the motion with a gentle tug on the earlobe.
"You taste wonderful," Jean whispered. "I can't wait to taste more."
Hawk trembled slightly and stood there feeling bereft when Jean walked away to dress.
~~~Emil~~~
I hurried away from their apartment, hoping to allow Hawk and Jean whatever privacy they needed to finish getting ready. I jogged down the stairs to the hall where the other apartments were. I was amused to find all the doors open into the hall. At the first entry, I knocked softly before I poked my head in, not wanting to come upon any more private acts, though I doubted with the door open I would.
"Come in," Xavier said from the living area. He was sitting on the sofa reading a book.
"Anything interesting?" I asked, peering at the cover to see if I had read it.
"Just more romanticizing the paranormal. I heard this was a good book and thought I'd try it," he answered, holding up a popular novel that had been an overnight success. I had read it, and though I hate to admit it, I enjoyed it thoroughly.
"What do you think so far?" I asked, curious what this hardened warrior would think of a young adult novel.
"It's addicting, I'll say that. Can't decide if I like it or not yet," Xavier said as he placed the book on the coffee table and rose to his feet. "You still going to leave me to guard the castle?"
"Yes, I need you to protect our home, and my family. I could not ask for a better Guardian to have here," I told Xavier. If I knew him, he was chomping at the bit for some action. Trying to assuage him, I said, "You know it was always the highest honor to protect the queen and heirs in medieval times of war?"
"Yes, I know, and I will do it well, Emil. It's just been so long since we've seen action of this type, I can't help but feeling I will be letting you all down not being there," Xavier replied.
"That's what I thought. You will be doing me a great service. As long as I know you are with Evan and Nathan, I will be able to keep my whole mind on my task. I will not be distracted with worry," I told him sincerely.
Xavier bowed his head and said, "It will be my honor to serve you, and guard your mind against worry."
I clasped his shoulder and felt a lump in my throat at the gratitude I could not express. "Don't bow to me, Xavier. We are friends."
He raised his head and shook it. "No, you are my leader, despite what you think. I will treat you with the respect you deserve."
It was my turn to shake my head. "Let's get this started. I do want your input for planning this mission."
We exited his apartment and he pulled the door shut behind him. I moved on to the door in the middle. I heard rock music coming from the door. The good thing about our hearing is that we never had to turn it up loud to appreciate it. This sounded like late eighties hair band music. That was Aiden's favorite if I remembered correctly. I moved into his apartment and Xavier followed me in.
"It's time to move out," Xavier called to the vampire who was doing an impressive air guitar performance.
Aiden spun around, swinging his head in time to the music and I could see the moment he acknowledged that I was in the room. He quickly ceased his escapades and stood at attention, looking again to Xavier for approval.
"At ease, Aiden. Seriously. I appreciate your show of respect, but just be yourself, please," I said, weary of the barrier my leadership had put up between myself and the others. The other vampire relaxed slightly, but still seemed uneasy.
At that moment, Malachi appeared beside me. He said to Aiden, "You heard him, A. You can relax. We can take Emil at his word. We won't have to wonder if he means what he says, unlike the Brethren."
I appreciated Malachi's vote of confidence. I could only hope to live up to his words. The four of us went to my quarters and convened with Jean and Hawk in the music room. Hannah and Nathan came up a few minutes later.
"Nathan, would you mind asking Evan to come in? I'd like her to know what is going on tonight," I asked the young vampire when he came over to me.
"Sure, Emil," he answered agreeably, so differently than he had done just a few days ago. He left quickly to get Evan.
Turning to the others in the room, I appreciated how fortunate I was to be surrounded by vampires I trusted. Even Hannah had not yet given me reason to distrust her. Realizing she might have the most insight into what we were going to face tonight, I prepared to put that trust to the test.
"Let's go into my office. I forgot that this is now Nathan's room, and I don't want to overstep his bounds. I need to give him some space," I said as I went to the door and smiled at Nathan as he disappeared into my room to get Evan.
"Hannah, I need your help. I need to know whatever you know about what is going on with Romley and his cohorts. Now that he is gone, I'm sure the Brethren that were in league with him won't miss a beat. Who else is involved that you know of?" I asked the petite blonde.
Hannah looked around at the rest of us in the room. It seemed she was now a little uncertain under our intense scrutiny. Not so long ago, we were her captors.
"I told Jean what I had learned, and I thought he would tell you. I don't know everything, but I found out that Romley had another working with him that had supernatural powers of some sort. They thought they could make stronger, better Newborns. I know that Romley planned to use them to take out the Brethren. I didn't realize how much the Brethren were involved though," she said.
"Do you remember anything about this other vampire, Hannah? One of us might recognize characteristics you can recall," I prompted.
Hawk was staring at Hannah, with a curious look on his brow.
"I never saw the other one, I'm sorry. Romley was very protective of his secret weapon, as he used to say. I was treated like I had been back in Eastern Europe, like a toy for his amusement," Hannah said, a hard look glazing her eyes.
"I'm sorry you had to suffer at his hands. I can only offer that he is gone now," I answered, realizing all the implications her few words held. Turning the the attention from her, I asked, "Does anyone know anything about the club that we are going to infiltrate tonight?"
Aiden spoke up, "I know where it is, I used to go there back in the day when it was a bar. Unless he did a lot of remodeling, I could probably find my way around."
"That would be good luck if it was unchanged, but do you think a modern club would fit the old floor plan?" Jean interjected.
"I suppose that the space would be good enough, it was a wide open dance floor before, with a bar at one side. It's very possible it is changed, but probably not that different," Aiden replied with a shrug.
"Here's the floor plan," I heard from my desk. Turning, I saw Nathan seated at my computer. "You just have to know where to look it up."
We all gathered behind him and I felt foolish for not having thought of looking up public records before. In my arrogance, I had figured Romley would have found a way to not have his progress tracked by the human world. Within moments, it was determined that except for some booths that had been added in the martini bar, the space was essentially unchanged from when Aiden had last been inside.
"That is one thing we have going for us. I'm going to assign you to point Aiden. I will trust that you know where to look for hidden danger, better than any of us. First things first, everyone. We are going in simply to gather information: who is there that we might recognize, does it seem that there is an attempt to gather humans for conversion, and any other information that might give us clues as to who is in on the coup." Looking from face to face, I knew our small group might come up against a much larger force, but I knew we would fight our hardest if forced to.
"What are we going to do once we have that info, Emil?" Aiden asked, visibly humming with anticipation.
"I would like to be able to recruit more to our cause, in order to give us more than a fighting chance of coming out on top," I answered honestly. "But, if we get into a bind tonight, we fight."
We spent the next hour or so discussing possible outcomes if we encountered certain obstacles. I was more than a little relieved to have Malachi and Xavier on our side. I did not take Tourneau for granted, but knew he was always on my side. Hawk had been relatively quiet during the planning stages. I noticed him glancing at my friend often when he did not think anyone was watching.
I took Jean aside after awhile. "Do you think there will be any problems since you two have become an item?"
"What do you mean, mon cher?" he asked demurely.
"Will you both be able to concentrate on your job, without letting your worry for the other get in the way?" I asked bluntly, knowing that if I had to worry about Evan, I would be worthless in battle.
"We are new to each other," he answered honestly. "We have not declared our undying love to each other. I will be just as concerned about the others as I am about Hawk. But this should not surprise you, Emil."
"True enough. You've always been a commensurate warrior. No scruples usually. But after Rafael, I just..." I trailed off, not wanting to voice my concerns aloud.
"I made a mistake, one I paid dearly for. I will never do it again, even where my heart is concerned," Jean replied tersely.
"I did not mean to imply that I thought you were wrong, just distracted," I started, worried that I'd offended my oldest friend.
"I know what you mean, Emil," Jean said tiredly. "I won't let you or anyone down. I lost sight of what is truly important for awhile, drunk on lust. Now I know better. This just may be a fling, or it may not. It won't interfere, mon ami."
He turned and walked out of my office, and as I made to follow, Hawk caught my eye and shook his head. Instead he followed after my friend. As he went through the door I called to him, "Take your time. We'll head out at eight tonight. Be in the lobby by then, dressed and ready to fight."
The redhead nodded once and disappeared out of sight. I walked over to where Aiden, Malachi and Xavier were still discussing possible tactics on how to deal with surprises. Aiden was mostly listening and admittedly, that is likely what I needed to do. The other two could not be rivaled in all our years on strategic planning and covert operations.
"...that's what we'll do if we come across any," Malachi said emphatically to Xavier, whose intense glare had me wondering what I'd missed.
"What are you discussing, gentlemen?" I asked.
"We were just talking about what to do if we come across any of our Guardians who have gone over to the other side," Malachi answered.
"And what was decided?" I asked, curious as to what the plan would be.
"I feel we should try to capture them and interrogate them," Xavier said adamantly.
"I've told you that we don't have a proper holding cell, and I do not think it prudent to bring them back here, to our home," Malachi said, holding his ground apparently.
"I would agree with you, Mal, but what do you propose we do if we find Steele or Luther?" Waiting to see what he would say, I looked to Aiden, who had been uncharacteristically quiet at this point.
"I suggested that we not take any chances and just take them out," Malachi answered quietly.
I was shocked that he could say that, not knowing if they were part of the conspiracy or not. "Surely there is a better answer than just killing them. While I agree I don't want them near Evan or Nathan, I think Xavier is right. We need to know what they know."
"Do you have a place in mind?" Malachi asked bluntly.
"We've destroyed two of the most secure sites in the city. The Nest might be a possibility. We could lock them in," I suggested, doubting our success if we had to lock the two vampires we were discussing up.
"You could put them in my place. I have a smaller version of your safe room at my place out west of the city," Aiden spoke up for the first time.
"How are we going to get them there?" Malachi asked impatiently.
"One step at a time," I chastised. "We get around the city all the time. If we come upon them, we will just have to be sure that if they seem dangerous we do the right thing...take them out. But if they will come with us peacefully, we take them out to Aiden's and put them up for a night or two to see if they are really safe. Don't forget, we're likely to come across much more unpleasant enemies if the Brethren are still in town. And we must not forget Bong-Li. She frightens me more than the rest combined."
The males around me nodded their heads. Xavier spoke up, "What is it about her that has you so skittish, Emil?"
"She seems to have a great deal of violent potential and a great deal of hatred inside her. Her aura was blunted to me, and I am concerned she has some other hidden supernatural talent," I answered.
"Well, this is what we trained for, right Guardians?" Malachi said as he stood and stretched.
"Damn straight! That's the first thing you've said that makes sense," Xavier laughed. "I'll keep a watch here for her Emil. Do you have surveillance here?"
At this, I stood and showed him to my computer where I had several cameras on a loop showing different areas of the building every few seconds.
"You don't have to sit here all night watching. I don't anticipate anything happening here, the Brethren did not know of this place to my knowledge," I said as I showed the male how to navigate the computer.
"How did they get Marie?" Malachi asked.
I had not thought about this yet. I had honestly put her from my mind in my worry about Evan. Thinking back to how they might have known about her, I realized my private haven was no longer a secret.
"I hadn't even thought of that, Mal. Xavier, maybe you should be extra vigilant tonight," I said, worry settling in the pit of my stomach.
"Now Emil, you know I take my responsibility seriously. I won't let anything happen to your loved ones," Xavier said, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
Numbly, I nodded.
"I'll be here too, Emil," Nathan piped up. "I will watch the monitors so Xavier can pay attention to everything else. I like computers. It'll be kinda fun for me."
Smiling at the boy, I realized I would have to let them control the situation here. I had to be able to relinquish this much tonight. "You're right, Nathan. You can take care of that. I'll feel better knowing I've got you here watching out for Evan. Now the rest of you, go relax some more. We head out at eight!"
Hannah and Evan had sat together quietly talking once we had told Hannah what we needed her to do. At this point, we had about five hours to waste. I could think of so many things to do with that time, but first I had to spend some one on one time with Nathan. I took him to the music room and pulled out a guitar.
"Ready for a lesson or two, son?" I asked, wanting to leave him with something personal if things went poorly tonight.
He nodded eagerly, leading the way to the couch, where we sat side by side. Soon he was deftly reproducing the chords I showed him. From where we sat, I could look through the doorway into my office where Evan and Hannah still talked. Evan had a grim set to her face that I would need to investigate before we left, but that would have to wait.