Calling for a Miracle [The Order of Vampyres 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (15 page)

“Well, that was for my own personal study. What I am speaking of has to do with Uncle Isaiah.”

“Bite your tongue,” she said, suddenly serious.

“Cain thinks he is still alive and somewhere in the nearby woods,” Adam told their sister.

Gracie stood and naturally took over the cooking for Annalise. She removed the roast from the oven, and began slicing. Swirls of flavorful steam spiraled into the air with each cut, causing his mouth to water. Hopefully Anna’s roast was better than her biscuits.

“What brought you to that conclusion?” she asked.

“For one, there have been twelve or so murders in the woods surrounding us.”

Gracie gasped. “How do you know?”

“It was on the English news. There is this annoying little woman who is following the story, Destiny Santos. She reports on the cases almost every night. The most recent murder was a woman named Sharon Foster. It is really rather sad. She was a widow and she had two little kids.”

The girls each made a compassionate sound. “What will happen to the children I wonder.” Anna sighed.

“Oh, well you don’t think the reporter would be compassionate enough to not exploit their grief do you? Come now, Anna, you were English. You know how cutthroat the media is. That little witch went right up to those children at the cemetery, before their mother had even been buried. Horrible! Sticking her microphone right in their little, sad faces asking about the beast that killed their mother.”

“That’s terrible!” Gracie agreed. “That woman should be ashamed of herself. They are children.”

“I know. I think the daughter, the younger one, Cindy or Cybil or something like that, I read somewhere that she has not spoken since her mother was killed. The papers say they saw whatever it was that murdered her, but the police won’t release a statement. As much as I think the reporter has no right bothering those kids, I would like to know what they saw.”

“Oh!” Gracie shouted. “Maybe I could get permission to leave the farm so that I could find these children and read their thoughts! They would never even know what I was doing—”

“That will never happen, Grace,” Adam interrupted, quickly stifling their sister’s excitement. “The English world is bigger than you think. You would never find them. Not to mention after the entire ruckus Larissa has caused, you are
ferricked
if you think the elders would allow another Hartzler woman to leave the farm.”

“This is different. Larissa is married. I am not. I wouldn’t be shrugging off any of my duties and I could perhaps help the investigation.”

“The fact that you are not mated makes it all the more dangerous. And I do not think there will be an investigation.”

She frowned at Adam. “But I thought that is what the meeting tonight was about.”

They began to pass around dishes and eat. Cain laughed and answered before his brother got the chance. “Ha! The council is a joke. They won’t listen to my claims any more than they would listen to a female.”

“Hey!” Anna chimed in indignantly. Gracie, who had lived on the farm all of her twenty-one years, did not take offense. There had always been segregation between the males and females of The Order, placing the females at a disadvantage.

“Sorry, Anna, but it’s true. They don’t care. Whatever is out there will most likely have to kill a dozen more females before those old farts do anything about it.”

“Surely grandfather will press the issue. Isaiah was his brother,” Gracie argued.

“He will be outnumbered. Sad to say, but Larissa’s absence has taken up more time than our uncle’s possible return.”

“Well, that is just ridiculous. They should just leave Larissa alone. Dumb old Silus just wants attention. He doesn’t care where she is really.”

“Grace,” Adam warned. “Do not involve yourself with their marriage.”

“And why not? He is a grumpy old toad who never smiles or laughs. I am not even sure he has teeth.”

“It is not your business and it is against family law to involve yourself in another’s marriage.”

“I hate that law,” Annalise commented as she cut her meat.

“That law protects you,
ainsicht
.”

“No, Adam, that law protects men who are bad husbands from having to answer for their actions. It is stupid and should be changed,” she argued.

“And how would you feel if the council was allowed to measure in on what we deem appropriate in our home? I assure you they would have something to say about the way I allow you to run around with your hair uncovered in our home and the music I allow you to enjoy on your radio.”

“Allow? Really, Adam?”

Cain laughed. “Now you’ve done it, brother. Good luck getting out of this one.”

“Yes, allow. I am your husband and therefore head of this family. My word is law. You agreed to that when you married me.”

“Let’s not talk about promises we have made. You are still on thin ice, Mister. Suffice it to say the authority you have, you have because
I
allow you to have it. Abuse that authority like Silus, and I will disappear faster than Larissa did.”

Cain continued to chuckle and his twin sent him a disapproving look. His brother, obviously not as smart as Cain had once assumed, turned back to his wife and in a reproving voice said, “Annalise—”

Gracie let her fork clatter to the table. “Goodness, Adam! Let it go. If you could hear your wife’s thoughts right now, you would know that is the wisest move. We all get it. You are the man of the house and we are merely women. Now can we please move on to a different topic and will someone please tell me what on earth happened to these biscuits?”

The kitchen grew silent and then they all suddenly burst into peals of laughter. The rest of supper carried on without issue. After the women had cleared the table, they followed the men into the den where a fire was lit to fight off the chill in the air. The conversation moved onto lighter topics, the calf Gracie had been tending to that was now ready to join the others, the kittens that were recently born. They all seemed to dance around the one topic that was on everyone’s mind.

When the conversation lulled and the four of them sat silently watching the fire crack and pop, Cain finally could take no more and broke the silence. “Why has Mother been staying at Aunt Rebecca’s?”

“She and Father had a fight,” Gracie quietly supplied.

In all of his thirty-seven years, Cain had never known his mother and father to fight. “About what? And, Adam, don’t you dare begin to lecture me on family law. They are our parents.”

“I don’t know. She left the other day after Father woke from a nap. She wouldn’t speak to me about what had happened. She has been very upset lately. Perhaps the healer has discovered more about Father’s illness. Perhaps it was bad news.”

“I don’t believe he is sick,” Annalise mumbled, not looking at any of the others.

“Of course he is sick. He’s lost a substantial amount of weight and has not had an appetite for some time,” Cain reminded her in return.

“You’re wrong,” she said. “I think you are all wrong and I think Abilene has figured out what the problem is.”

“Annnd do you plan on enlightening us?” he asked.

“Your father is sleeping, just not with your mother. He is becoming withdrawn because he knows time is running out. I didn’t realize it at first, but once it occurred to me I can’t seem to discard the possibility. I’ve gone over the evidence a million times in my head, how upset Abilene has been, how often Jonas has been absent from things that are normally a priority to him. Once it occurred to me I could not find a single argument against my assumption. I didn’t want to be the one to suggest such a thing. In all honesty, I can’t believe it didn’t occur to any of you first. When Adam first brought me here and explained the difference between a marriage and actual
called
mates, he explained your parents as if their entire marriage was a gamble they were willing to take. I never would have assumed Jonas and Abilene were not called to each other. I look at them and I see a love so pure, I would never suspect God did not ordain it. When Adam told me they were merely married I thought, how could they go through life always fearing that the other shoe could suddenly drop? Now I realize none of you fear that. You all just assume what is will always be.”

“You’re wrong,” Cain said in all seriousness. For the first time ever since he met Annalise he felt a twinge of dislike for her. How could she even suggest such a thing?

“Am I, Cain? You all don’t want to see the facts. Well, let me tell you. The day I found Abilene crying in her room, she told me Jonas knew she was upset and just left her there as if he didn’t care. Since when does your father not care about your mother? I think he is isolating himself because he is being pulled in two different directions. There is where his heart wants to be and then where his body is insisting he goes.”

“I think you should stop,” Cain warned.

Adam was considering his wife’s words while Gracie looked petrified. Anna did not seem concerned with Cain’s warning. “I saw your father stumble the other day over nothing—”

“I said stop!” Cain bellowed, jumping to his feet, causing a crack of thunder over the house.

Adam growled. “I think it is you who needs to stop, Cain. You may apologize to my wife or get out.”

Cain breathed deeply through his nose. He looked at Anna and muttered a quick apology then returned to his chair.

“Dear God,” Gracie whispered. “Could she be right, Adam?”

“You tell us, Grace,” Adam requested calmly. “You are the only one still living under their roof. Has Father been displaying the symptoms of a called male?”

Gracie lowered her head as if she were thinking. When she looked back up at the others, a lone tear trickled past her eyelashes and down her cheek. “This will destroy Mother.”

Cain suddenly stood again. He needed to get out of there. “I have to go.”

Annalise stood as well. “Cain, please don’t leave angry.”

There was still some indescribable bond between him and Annalise. No matter how upset he was with her words, he could not be responsible for upsetting her. They shared some link he was unsure would ever completely go away. She may have been mated to his twin, but he also owned a part of her, same as she would always own a part of him.

He approached her. “I am not angry with you, beautiful Anna. I am merely overwhelmed. I must warn Larissa the bishop has found her and is coming for her tonight. For all I know he is already halfway there. Then there is this beast in the woods. On top of all that I must consider if what you said is true. If it is, it changes everything for all of us. Gracie is right. This will destroy Mother. Someone needs to address all of these things. Adam, you will need to question Father to see if Anna’s assumptions are accurate. Gracie, I suggest you go to Mother.”

“And where will you go, Cain?” Anna asked, looking as though she felt responsible for all of this.

“I must go to Larissa and warn her. Then I am going to hunt down whatever is in those woods and murder it. The elders may not be concerned with what is out there, but I am. If it is our uncle, we risk exposure. For all we know it may not be only one animal, but several. I know what I saw in the woods. The footprints I found belonged to more than one creature. That little witch of a reporter would likely be in her glory if she could uncover such a creature living alongside the human race. I need to stop what is out there before it attracts any more attention.”