It was different when we were alone in the cottage—nice to keep the mile or so distance between fantasy and insanity. It wasn't because we were bored with all the genetics talk and stories and myths and legends. It was because, in a way, we sort of couldn't stand the waiting. When you knew what horror was to come, it was an odd feeling for everyone to just stand around and help it along. And it was hard to not see it that way—as a monster.
But in another way, I felt like I empathized the most with Huilén. I'd nearly been killed after I'd gotten involved in Edythe's world. Being with her was never in my best interest as far as safety was concerned. My run-in with the tracker was a lot more straightforward than this, though. In that situation, it was clear who the enemy was. Everything in me was geared towards running from the monster; Joss was a clear-cut kind of killer.
The problem was infinitely more complicated for Huilén. You could run from someone you feared—as I had. You could fight to the death with someone you hated—like Edythe did. But when the one who was killing you was someone you loved, what other option did you have? If your life was all you had left to give to your beloved in order to protect them, how could you not give it?
I certainly knew what my choice would be.
It was just before sunrise when we got back to the house. I'd assumed Huilén would still be asleep, and we could keep watch while the others went hunting. They hadn't fed in a really long time.
But Huilén must have been awake. I heard a lot of mumbling going on along with the machinery sounds from upstairs again. Another x-ray? Looked like the countdown was starting off with a bang.
Archie opened the door before we could walk in. He sighed in relief as soon as he was out of the house. "Hey, guys. I'm gonna walk away from the house a minute. I need a break," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
I nodded. "Hey, Arch. What's going on upstairs?" I noticed no one was downstairs now.
He shrugged. "Maybe another rib?" I could see the pain in the back of his eyes as he tried to pry into the future automatically. Archie wasn't used to not knowing what was going on.
"Pelvis this time..." Edythe muttered, accessing someone's thoughts.
I heard Royal's voice upstairs. "I knew I heard a crack..."
It was weird to see Royal so... involved... with anything other than himself.
Archie shook his head. "I think Royal is going to end up ripping Ati apart if she doesn't keep trying to hide new injuries from Carine."
"Hide?" I asked. Edythe was already in the house.
Archie made a face. "She keeps trying to play things off for Huilén, to make it seem not so severe. She's so wrapped up in that thing."
"Oh... Well, have fun on your walk," I said.
Archie nodded.
Edythe and Ati were bringing Huilén back down the stairs. I wondered why they didn't just carry her.
Carine came down slowly after them, and I could see the amount of stress on her face. It actually made her look old enough to be a doctor for once.
They all assumed their positions on the couch again and started watching the TV absentmindedly. Earnest, Eleanor, and Jess were in the kitchen, making up tons of food for Huilén. I could hear one of those cooking shows on the kitchen TV.
I sat down on the couch with Edythe and our patient. I looked down at the floor, trying not to think too much about the future. And out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Huilén watching me carefully.
"I'm sorry," I heard her whisper.
I looked at her. Was she talking to me?
Edythe nudged me.
"What? No, don't be sorry."
Huilén stared at me with this concerned, mother-like worry.
"She thinks you look tired," Edythe commented.
"Huh..." I laughed. "Yeah, I wish I could sleep right about now."
I slumped deeper into the couch. Huilén asked Edythe for a refill.
But Royal was the one who blew past to go to the kitchen. He was back just a minute later.
I watched as Huilén gulped the cup down like it was a sports drink and she'd just run a marathon.
It made me thirsty just watching her.
"Are the rest going to hunt soon?" I asked.
"Yes," Edythe answered. "They'll power up to be their strongest for her. Looks like we'll be on watch later."
"Out of eggs... again," I heard Earnest say from the kitchen.
"Go, Beau," Edythe said. "I can tell you want to get out of here. Go down to the store."
I wanted to argue at first, but then I really did feel like I was looking for some escape. I was on my feet.
Edythe tossed me some keys, and I caught them reflexively before I even told my arm to move.
When I pressed the button on the remote, it wasn't her Volvo that waited for me like I was expecting. It was the Mercedes Guardian. Huh...
But then I thought about it and realized this one wouldn't be familiar around town as one of Dr. Cullen's cars. Nonetheless, Charlie would be at work.
My knees were bunched under the steering wheel, and I had to move the seat back quite a bit.
To be honest, I didn't care for driving this one much; it was like driving a tank around.
When I blew out of the greenery of the drive onto the highway, it took me a second to realize I was going way over the limit. My foot eased up on the pedal. I thought it would be nice to get a little chase action... But the heat would be brought down on Carine.
It seemed to take forever. The thirty miles an hour in town felt like crawling. Though, the idea of a casual trip to the market was relaxing in a way. It brought back nostalgia.
I parked in the back of the store's lot, far away from anyone else, so not to draw attention to the car. It felt like it took hours to get inside, walking at human step. I donned my sunglasses and hood, despite the obvious lack of sun.
It was almost funny to watch the other shoppers faces when they saw me. Some people stared, looking half terrified, half interested. I never thought of myself as an actual Cullen until I realized people were looking at me the same way they looked at all the others. People could easily spot the difference, knowing there was something not normal about us, endlessly trying to figure out what it was.
One girl spoke to me. "Hey, nice stolen car."
It took me a second to realize she'd watched me all the way from the back of the lot. She was familiar-looking... But I couldn't put the pieces together. Someone from school, maybe an underclassman.
I laughed and kept my head down. "Borrowed, not stolen."
"Sure, that'll hold up in court," she laughed.
I glowered. "Can I... help you?" I tried to look intimidating.
"Not really, um..." she stammered. "I was kidding... It's just that you look really upset. Are you okay?"
I shook my head quickly. "Yeah, it's nothing."
"Oh. Sorry."
I turned away and walked into the grocery store. I shook the rain out of my hair and went straight for the eggs, grabbing five more cartons.
As soon as I cut the engine back home, Eleanor was in the garage. I handed her the eggs. "Thanks," she said.
When Huilén had scarfed down the massive omelet, the pizza, and the salad and pasta Earnest had cooked, I watched as her eyes started to droop. It was starting to get dark out.
"How is she?" I asked Edythe.
I heard Carine, Ati, and all the others except Royal and Archie slip out the door to go hunt.
"She's... better in some ways," Edythe sighed. "Aside from Ati's tirade and the resulting guilt."
"What?" I sat up straight. "Is she mad?"
"It's a bit complicated," she said quietly. "Ati has been dead set on doing exactly what Huilén wants. But Carine suggested we induce labor tomorrow, secretly, and maybe Huilén would then agree to the C-section operation once it started thrashing around. She'd never be able to deliver it normally. But Ati was so angry. Carine insisted that it was safest for both the baby and Huilén, and she finally relented."
"Are you serious? Tomorrow? How did you guys convince her?"
"Well, waiting as we've been, for the child to be ready... which was insanely dangerous... We've been rather proactive about this. And if we act quickly now, as soon as her strength peaks again, Carine sees no reason why it should not go well. I don't see anything that should keep this from working if we do it safely."
I thought about what she was saying for a minute. Carine wanted to deliver the baby safely. And that baby wasn't going to come out the normal way, clearly. But I also knew it was protected by something as strong as our skin, impenetrable to anything, with just one exception—its teeth.
Which meant vampire teeth were the only thing that were going to bring this child into the world. I couldn't bring myself to ask the question, though.
"When will they be back?" I asked, still whispering.
"A few hours. They're going for the bears this time. Ati is trying it, and Benji and Tiago want in on it again."
We sat quietly for a long time watching the TV as Huilén slept.
At one moment, Edythe sat up abruptly. "Did you just say something?" she asked. She was looking intuitively at my face. She looked utterly shocked.
Strange. No one had said anything, and she should know that. Her hearing was just as good as mine.
"Me?" I asked. I was so confused. "I didn't say anything." I looked at Royal, but he hadn't said anything either. And Huilén was sound asleep.
Edythe swiftly leaned into me, her expression suddenly intense. Her black eyes focused on my face like she was scrutinizing something she was seeing.
"What are you thinking, Beau? Right now?"
I stared at her blankly. "Nothing. Or... I guess I'm wondering what's going on."
"Say something else," she whispered.
"What are you talking about? What is it? Do you hear my thoughts?"
Literally nothing felt different about my head. There was no change.
Her face changed again, and she whirled around to face Huilén. Then she leaned down and very lightly placed both of her hands on her huge stomach.
"The fe..." She swallowed, and said, "...the baby... I can hear it!"
There was total silence. Hear its mind? Unborn babies had thoughts?
Huilén started to move around, stirred by Edythe's shocked voice. Then she opened her eyes and flinched as she took in our expressions. She looked just as confused as me. She grabbed Edythe's hand and muttered something.
Then Edythe's left hand moved to a spot on her belly and gently rubbed the place where it must have kicked.
"Shhh," she murmured. Then she said something in Arabic.
"What is it... thinking?" I asked.
"It... she... or he is..." She paused and looked up at Huilén. "He's happy," Edythe said in a surprised voice.
Huilén's breath caught, and I could see the gleam of hope in her eyes, the absolute adoration, the devotion to the thing. Tears started to trickle down her face.
"Of course!" she crooned in her strangely accented English. "My happy baby Luka!"
I wasn't sure if it was her own language thrown into the English or a name. "What did she call him?" I asked Edythe.
"She named him..." Edythe hesitated. "I didn't think she'd wanted anyone to know."
"Luka?"
"Yes. L-u-c-a. Luca."
"That's actually a really nice name," I said as I smiled at Huilén. "Is there a reason behind the name?"
Edythe accessed. "She thinks of the father as the dark angel, but she insists that the baby isn't like him. He's the opposite... full of light and peace. That's what the name Luca means. Light."
"Does she have a backup plan?" Royal asked then, leaning over the couch. "What if he is a she?"
Edythe translated.
Huilén pondered this for a moment like she hadn't even thought of it herself until now.
"Kee-ruh," she shrugged. "But he is Luca."
"What does that one mean?" I asked.
"That one carries the same meaning as well," Edythe said. "K-i-r-a. Those are both beautiful names."
Luca or Kira... "Yeah, I like those," I assured Huilén. "One of a kind." At least I'd never heard them before.
"It definitely fits the situation," Royal muttered.
Edythe sat there staring off into space. Her face was blank as she listened.
"He loves her," Edythe whispered as her face lit up. Then she interpreted what she was thinking for Huilén.
Edythe seemed so wrapped up in this all of a sudden. It was like she hadn't practically hated this thing just days ago.
But now she looked just as enthralled as Royal. Maybe even more than me. Just in time for everything to hit the fan.
"Tomorrow?" I asked Edythe.
"Tomorrow."
"Does she not get to know?"
"Not exactly. But she's ready..."
"And she hasn't changed her mind? About becoming a vampire?"
Edythe shook her head. "She doesn't want to have to take the lives of others in order to live."
"But what about the baby? I mean Lu—"
"He'll most likely be similar to us, yes. But she has made us promise that he live as we do, without killing humans. She admires Carine for what she does, and she sees the opportunity for her son to be an angel without his father's dark nature."
I pondered over this and all the implications. "And Ati is going to follow through on that? But she doesn't live that way. Why would she expect him to...?"
Edythe looked at me like I was missing something.
"What, you mean us?"
She nodded. "She has entrusted us with taking care of her child."
I watched Huilén pick up the Styrofoam. It was empty.
"She's thirsty again," Edythe said.
"I'll get it this time," I said as I walked off to go grab another cup of blood.
I picked up the last bag of AB positive and drained it into another cup. I tossed the empty bag and shook the empty box. "It's a good thing Carine is going to bring back more of this," I said.
When Huilén reached up for the Styrofoam cup, her attempt was so weak it was hard to believe she was really trying.
Tomorrow, she'd be... alive? Dead? Who knew? But hopefully alive. I didn't know what we were supposed to do with a half-vampire, half-human baby. And wouldn't Ati try to take it to raise as her own? That didn't seem like something... that I wanted.
"Can I walk?" Huilén asked us. She looked up the stairs where the bathroom was.
"Are you sure?" Edythe asked.
Huilén nodded, and Edythe and I started to lift her from the couch. With all the blood she'd been drinking, it surprised me she didn't have to go more often.
We got her carefully on her feet. I kept my hands right at her shoulders. She stretched her arms out in front of her and straightened her back, wincing a little.
She was huge. Her massive, discolored abdomen was horribly disproportionate to her small, frail body. She quickly tugged her shirt down to cover it self-consciously.
One more day.
"Oh!" Huilén gasped.
The cup of blood she'd left on the sofa tumbled over as she reached for it. She flinched downward toward it, but it had already spilled all over the pale fabric.
Automatically, all our hands reached out at once to balance her.
At that precise moment, two things happened simultaneously: There was the strangest, muffled breaking sound, and Huilén screamed as if she'd just been stabbed. "Ahhh!"