Forbidden Embrace (22 page)

“
Earth to Sophia… hey, are you okay?” Ebony nudges me.

“
Yeah sorry, just thinking.”

“
Well I just thought I would let you know that you’re up next for your Spanish oral presentation.”

“
Thanks. I guess I should pay a little attention.” I give her a half smile, which makes me think of Nathanial. I shake off the thought and try to concentrate on the class.

The entire day drags on; I’m glad that school will be over soon. I guess I’m more of a teenager than I thought. When the day is over I meet with the rest of the gang, my family, Ebony, Matt and of course Nathanial…Ben joins us as well. Hanging around outside in the courtyard just chatting and minding our own business we notice that awful excuse for a girl Mel. Once again she is picking on some poor soul.

Ben stands up from the bench he’s been sitting on. “I am so sick of this chick thinking she runs things around here. Someone needs to put a stop to her.”

“
Dude, didn’t you date her for a bit last year?” Nathanial chuckles.

“
Oh bite me; it was a moment of weakness,” he storms over and gives Mel a piece of his mind. She turns her attack on him.

“
I think she’s getting worse,” Ebony notes.

“
I didn’t think she could get any worse,” Nathanial jokes.

We all watch as Mel and Ben go a few rounds back and forth. Ben turns and smiles at us then looks directly at Mel. “Have you ever noticed that the people that supposedly like you are only your friends because they’re scared of you? You aren’t the queen bee of the school, you’re the queen bitch. I have one last suggestion for you; shut that filthy mouth of yours, mind your own business, and leave the rest of us alone.”

Mel’s jaw drops–no one has ever had balls enough to confront her and call her out. Ebony was the closest one to ever stand up to her. Everyone remaining in the courtyard cheers and high fives Ben as he walks away leaving Mel standing there in shock. Ben’s grin reaches straight across his face as he returns to our group. He and Nathanial jump in the air and chest bump one another. “That was so cool, dude. What on earth possessed you to stand up to her?” Nathanial continues to congratulate Ben.

“
I just can’t handle all the negativity coming from her. She prides herself on tearing others down…she is evil spirited.”

“
Wow Ben, you have always been a nice guy, but I’ve never seen you so passionate about something before. What’s got you on this savior kick?” Matt questions.

Ben chuckles, “I don’t know…just recently, I have this overwhelming urge to make things right. To help others.”

“
I can understand that feeling. I felt the same before...” Ebony stops herself before saying too much to Ben. “Ah, before when, she attacked me and my family,” she nervously tries to cover.

After a while Ben takes off and goes home, and the rest of us decide to go to Ebony’s. She has agreed to help us find information on Caspian. We also want to look into what has given Ben this over whelming feeling of goodness. There’s gotta be an explanation for it… people don’t just become do-gooders–or do they?

***

Back at the manor Eliza looks at the
Book of Shadows
to see if there’s anything that might explain why Ben’s niceness is exaggerated and why he has what we have nicknamed Robin Hood syndrome. In the meantime Ebony uses tarot cards to try to get some answers about Caspian. She lays out a black velvet cloth on the table and begins to shuffle the deck of cards.

“
I’m going to use the simplest layout three card spread. This shows us the recent past, the present and the future. All I have to do is focus on him and what I want to know.”

“
Well, let’s find out about his safety,” I suggest.

“
That’s my thought exactly,” Ebony agrees and closes her eyes to focus as she shuffles the deck, once, twice, three times. Then she splits the deck in half and turns one half of the deck 180 degrees, and shuffles three more times before placing the three cards out in front of her. “Okay, some cards look scary, but they need to be read in context, so before you freak out allow me to read and explain them to you. I promise to be honest no matter what I see. Are you ready for me to begin?”

“
We understand. Go ahead and start the reading,” Alexander encourages.

Ebony nods and turns the first card; it says ‘judgment’ and is a picture of an
angel
blowing a horn, with seven notes coming from it, as the
ange
l looks down on a man, woman and child. It is reversed and facing those of us across the table from Ebony. She then turns the second card, placing it just to the right of the judgment card. This one is called the tower with a picture of exactly that, a tower, being struck by lightning and surrounded by darkness; flames pour from the windows of the tower as people dive to their certain death. This card faces Ebony. She is slow to turn the final card, placing it on the far right. The final card is the six of wands; it’s a picture of young man riding a white horse with a crowd cheering him on. My mind is going crazy thinking what all these names and symbols might mean.

“
So here, the first card is Caspian’s recent past…now for a
vampire
the timelines maybe slightly different than with mortals, so I want you to just refer to this as his past. I won’t try to assume how far in the past…maybe we’ll figure it out with the reading. The same goes for the next two cards, the middle card is his present and the final card his future. Do you follow me so far?”

“
Yeah go ahead, we get it,” Danika chews her lip with anxiety.

“
Okay, Caspian’s past is represented by a reversed judgment card. This suggests he is indulging in self-doubt, causing him to miss out on the brighter things life has to offer him. This card tells me he is not allowing himself to learn from his past mistakes and that he is overly hard on himself. Knowing Caspian’s story, I assume this card has to do with Ashley and his self-chastising. He needs to forgive himself so that he can move forward.” She looks around to all of us that are intently listening to her, and nodding in agreement. Then she continues, “The second card is his present. The tower card suggests that he is feeling afraid, shaken and insecure. He is going through a major issue and it is causing him great amounts of pain, both physical and emotional. His world is being rocked and turned upside down right now. Caspian is suffering; I have to assume the Cerberus is making him pay for his betrayal. Now I know this may worry you but let me explain this final card, his future. The six of wands represents balance and victory. This tells me he will be successful, and the outcome is far greater than he ever imagined. A struggle has been overcome and others will want to celebrate in his victory. I see this card as meaning he comes through whatever he’s facing now in the present and might even mean he’s able to bring down the Cerberus. Good things are going to happen for Caspian, and he will start a new life, with a fresher and more positive outlook.”

I start to crack a smile and Nathanial squeezes me. “This is good then, he will be okay,” I confirm.

“
Yes, I believe he will be, we just need to be patient and he will return,” Ebony says with excitement.

Eliza walks over. “Ebony I’m so proud of you. You are really getting good at doing readings.”

“
Thanks, I’ve been working hard. I study the meanings almost nightly and do a self-reading every week or two.”

“
Well, it seems to be paying off.”

Matilda interrupts, “How about you Eliza, did you have any luck with the book and Ben?”

“
Not really; I mean I found some interesting stuff, but not anything that I think pertains to Ben. I have a feeling he’s just maturing and, like most people, are sick of rude, obnoxious little girls that think the world owes them.”

“
Amen to that; guess God has sent us an
angel
,” Matt jokes.

“
That is possible, but why does everything have to be male orientated? Maybe it was a goddess that sent him to us,” Eliza jokes back.

We all laugh, knowing that the Triggs family believes in various deities, both god and goddess. Their Wiccan way is really growing on me, so full of life and positivity. They use the natural energy around us to perform their magic. Maybe it’s time for Ebony to teach me a little more about her lifestyle and heritage, now that she’s a little more accustomed to it herself.

Chapter 26

Help

It’s been almost two months since Danika escaped the Cerberus and becoming their queen as they called it. I am quite surprised that we haven’t had any sightings of them. Talking with the family, we have decided to call in the
shape shifters.
They can help us scout the area to see if the Cerberus has members watching us or Danika again. They know where we go to school, and we know that the older members are self-made day walkers. I remember seeing Drake talking to Danika, shortly after we moved here. So, if he has been stalking her from the start, why would he just stop? Our allies should be here shortly and we can see if they know anything.

In the meantime Florence and Constance prepare us a wonderful meal; blood and basil soup and a blood tea infused with mint with plasma cake. Florence has been attempting different recipes with blood products instead of just whole blood. It’s been good; the blood products still boost our energy and keep us fed, they just doesn’t last as long as whole blood. This is good in the fact that we can survive as long as we get the various parts of the blood. Isaac has been bringing home different types of blood and blood products. He’s been working downstairs in a lab he built for the last little while. Isaac is trying to invent an organic blood, or manmade blood so to speak. He is hoping that if he can create blood for us, we will no longer need to feed from animals or the blood bank. He is attempting to use expired blood and blood products, but has not been able to get it perfected enough for us to test. If successful, this may be a great discovery for him as a doctor too. To have the blood or parts of blood needed at all times, able to stock this created blood in the hospitals and blood banks could potentially save lives. There would be less concern with transmitting diseases and there would never be a shortage. I commend him for his efforts; I would love to do more than meaningless jobs and school. After dinner everyone just lounges around waiting for the Williams family to arrive.

Danika joins me in the art room. I think it will be nice to do a painting of her for the family.

“
Why don’t you sit in the lounge chair by the window?”

Danika takes a seat in the large classic looking chair. I grab my pencil to lightly sketch her outline, but something is wrong…she looks too stiff, too formal. “Danika, try to relax. Just be yourself.”

“
How do you suggest I do that?”

“
Well first off–is that how you would normally sit in that chair?”

“
No, I usually sit here when I read.”

“
Okay, so grab a book and just read like you normally do.”

She reaches to the side table and swings her legs over the arm of the chair. I begin by sketching the chair. First the oak legs round and stretching into a point, I do a rough outline of the chair, but then focus on the remaining wood detail–the end of the arms and the top of the chair with the extensive carving detail. Then I add a light sketch of Danika’s body before I finish the chair with the red padded covering. Danika’s legs dangle off the one arm and her ankles are crossed, her upper body shifted so that her back rests on the opposite corner of the chair. I draw her as she sits and reads, one arm resting on the arm of the chair with the book in hand. She really is turning out to be a sweet girl now that I’m giving her half a chance. We still have issues, but what sisters don’t? At least now I can call her my sister. As I finish the rough sketch I pull out my pastels and start working on filling in, and bring the portrait to life. She is an easy model to draw, with only the slightest movements as she turns the book’s pages. The entire piece doesn’t take me long at all and right as I finish the doorbell rings. I cover my work to present later, but for now I want to see Dakota and his dad.

***

Danika and I both race out to the entrance. “Dakota,” I yelp as I run to our friend and hug him. “Why’d you stay away for so long?”

“
Just busy with school and all, how are things? Is Ebony here?”

I try not to chuckle, knowing he has it bad for Ebony. “No, her and Eliza are busy studying. They’ve been getting
demon
attacks recently and need to start preparing.”

“
Yeah, she mentioned something about that in an e-mail; pretty scary if you ask me.”

Elijah walks to the entrance. “Girls, why don’t you invite our guests in, rather than making them stand in the entry way.”

“
Oh…sorry. Please come have a seat. Can I get you a soda or something?” Danika offers as the other family members join us.

“
Thank you, I would love just water if you don’t mind,” Tamo requests.

Danika excuses herself to the kitchen and returns only moments later with beverages and cookies for our guests.

Elijah decides its best just to get down to business and fills the
shifters
in on what has been happening in the past weeks, and even months, since the fight we had with the Cerberus. Elijah summarizes mine and Danika’s fight, Danika running away to Club VC, finding Caspian and saving Danika, the demon attack at the Triggs manor, and finally Caspian returning to Club VC as a spy. He briefly spoke to them when Danika was missing so they could keep an eye out for her, and then when we found her. Now he feels it’s important to give Tamo and the Williams the full story.