Nevermore, the Complete Series (70 page)

After the Vanatori left to mourn their departed friend, Hannah and Ezra got comfortable on the sofa. I tried my hardest to avoid getting too close to my sister-in-law, knowing that she would easily detect my pregnancy and go off about how the unborn child was evil. With my back turned to them, I fondly ran my hand across my abdomen, smiling to myself. Although unexpected, I knew that I would be a mother eventually…now may not have been the ideal time, but I was happy nonetheless.

“What have the two of you been doing?” Salem asked, constantly eying the couple.

“We’ve spent some time getting to know each other, realizing we have a lot in common…and then like,” Hannah stopped and thought for a second, “two weeks ago? We eloped.”

The look on Salem’s face was priceless and I stifled a laugh. I had to wonder how they got away with wedding when she was physically in the body of a sixteen year old, whereas he was in his twenties…but she had a way of getting through those sorts of things. She was beyond clever- that was for sure.

“…eloped…” Salem muttered and stared, bewildered, at his little sister. “Why did you not say anything? How…how could you do this?”

“It was pretty easy. It’s amazing what you can get away with with a little stolen money.” She smirked. “And I knew how you would react, Salem,” she replied and displayed her best imitation of him, “’You are far too young to be getting married, Hannah! You barely even know him! What are you thinking! Blah, blah, blah!’ When are you going to realize I am not your little sister anymore?”

“Never,” he answered. “You will always be my little sister.”

“I assure you that I only have good intentions, Salem,” Ezra spoke up. “We have both been lonely for far too long, and we quickly bonded and found comfort in the presence of one another.”

“You’re not the first man she’s found comfort with…” Salem lashed out unexpectedly.

“Salem! This is real. I’m not trying to get something from Ezra…this is REAL…like it or not.”

Salem nodded slowly, still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his sister was a wife. I approached him and gently put an arm around him reassuringly. “She made a good choice, Salem. Ezra is a fine gentleman, and we both know he will take good care of her. Just be happy he isn’t anything like that Erik guy.”

He grimaced at the memory of Erik. “For that, I am thankful.”

Hannah smiled and wiggled her left hand to display the gold ring on her finger. There was one big diamond in the center that was a perfect reflection of her greed. The two of them seemed genuinely happy, and I had to admit that they made a good
couple—both of them needed companionship, though I wondered how much about Hannah Ezra truly knew.

“Where will you be staying?” I asked, keeping my distance still.

“There’s a motel not far from here. The closer we are to you, the better. If anything happens at that restaurant, I will be there,” Hannah said. “My sole purpose in being here is to protect you and to kick this bastard’s ass. I know you don’t believe me but I don’t want anything to happen to you…either of you.”

“I know, Hannah.” I smiled at her but it was not returned. I knew that under her exterior she did truly love us.

“Besides, you two were supposed to be on a nice relaxing honeymoon, right? Hard to have fun when lord ass-hat is hanging over your head.” I couldn’t help but laugh at her zeal.

“I could not agree more,” Salem said with a sigh. “This was supposed to be a fun vacation…now look at what has become of it.”

“What if…we just go home,” I managed to say, holding back my strong desire to stay and finish what I intended to do.

“We both know you don’t really mean that. I understand, it is in your blood to hunt the undead, and I won’t step in the way of you doing what you feel you are destined to do. Besides, if Malik has a Seer he could most likely track you down. We couldn’t risk leading him to our home…our real home.”

I smiled toward Salem, comforted by his words, yet saddened at the fact that I knew this wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted nothing more than an ordinary life, back home in our beautiful house. We could be preparing one of the bedrooms as a nursery for our unexpected child. There was so much that had been restricted from him for so long, and here he was…stuck in a tiny apartment, waiting on me to get close enough to kill a vampire that wanted me to be his bride. This was not the life he deserved…

“Maybe you should go home, and I’ll stay here…”

Hannah burst out laughing at Salem’s incredulous stare.

“Oh yeah, Alexis...he’ll do that! Hello, have you met Salem?” she said between laughter. “You know he’d be going completely insane in Willowshire while you risked your life over here.”

“I would never leave you alone, Alex.”

“But I’m keeping you from the normal, human life you wanted.”

He shook his hand and took my hand, holding it firmly. “You are all I need and want in this world, and I will be at your side through it all. If you want to hunt, I will not stop you, as I have already told you.”

“I feel guilty,” I confessed and eyed the carpet. “This will be the end of my hunting, I promise. Once Malik is out of the picture…I will set aside my crossbow and be done with this for good.”

“You don’t have-“

“I want to.”

Salem prepared a meal of chicken parmesan for the two of us while Hannah and Ezra went hunting for game. It was nice to have someone around that I was familiar with, although I was plenty happy with just Salem’s company. My only wish was that Jason could be here. This was a time in which I needed the comfort and security of my closest friends and relatives.

“I’m going to the store after we eat,” I said after swallowing a mouthful of chicken slathered in pasta sauce. “I considered asking you to summon a test, but that just seemed awkward…not to mention it could be wrong or something, being ‘magical’ and all.”

“That is precisely why I didn’t offer to do so. We need to know for sure,” he replied. “If a Seer foresaw your pregnancy, there is no doubt in my mind that you are…but I would still like to see solid evidence, and I know you would as well.”

Salem accompanied me to the store to ensure my safety; neither of us
were feeling very safe after the incident with the Vanatori. The reminder that whoever murdered Octavian was still out there was enough to give me chills, and wonder who could have found a headquarters that had been undiscovered for years…unless it was the Seer.

When we returned home, I ran to the bathroom and tried to ignore the thoughts that continued to swarm through my head. Why would the Seer want to kill the people I was close to—or, even people that I scarcely knew? I sat on the toilet seat anxiously waiting the result on the pregnancy test and tried to make a connection between the Seer and anyone I had previously met here.

Could it possibly have been one of the members of the Vanatori, working for Malik? That seemed unlikely, they’d been friends for years and they had a tight bond between them. Nicolai was the only one that struck me as dangerous, but I couldn’t base that solely on his attitude—there could have been many reasons behind that. He had a troubled past from what I could tell, but I don’t think he was a murderer.

Only one other person came to mind—someone that I trusted and thought of nearly as family. Had Salem been right all along…was Cassius really the enemy? It couldn’t be Cassius though, he was human. He had tan, warm skin…and I had never seen him partake of the blood at the restaurant.

The alarm on my cell phone went off, signaling that it was time to check the test. My thoughts were immediately erased when I read the results. Salem came running in when he heard the beeping from the alarm and stared down at the white stick in my hand.

“…what does it mean?” he asked, staring at the blue plus sign.

“It means we’re going to have a baby,” I croaked.

He held me close and kissed me lightly on the forehead. This was more than just a child to him; it was also a gift of living that had previously been stolen from him. “You should share the news with Desmond, and Jason…and your aunt and grandfather.”

“You’re right…” I muttered, dreading the idea of making so many phone calls and worrying about some of the reactions I would no doubt receive. The phone call I was most uncomfortable making was the one to Jason, knowing how he felt about me…how would he react to me having a child with Salem? I decided I would call him last.

Making myself comfortable on the couch, I selected Desmond’s name in my contact list and waited as the phone dialed. My heart rate sped up quickly with each ring, and I was almost positive it stopped when I heard my foster father’s voice.

“Alex? Hello?”

“H-hi,” I stuttered and wiped sweat from my brow. This shouldn’t be so difficult! “How is China?”

“It’s wonderful. Mel and I walked along the Wall of China and it was exhilarating! How are you? Did you change your mind? It’s still not too late Alex, we’ve decided to stay longer than we had-”

“No…that’s not it…” I said, cutting him off. “I’m so glad you guys are having fun over there. I…I just have some news to share with you.”

“What is it, dear? Is everything okay?”

“I just found out…” I paused and rapped my fingers anxiously on the arm of the couch. “Salem and I…ugh, this went so much easier in my head!”

“Let me guess,” he said with a hint of laughter, “Mel was right, wasn’t she? You’re pregnant.”

“I-what?”

“She kept telling me you were. I was hoping she was wrong, but don’t take that the wrong way. I am happy for you; I just wish that it was under different circumstances. It was one thing having my daughter get married at the young age of nineteen, but now I am going to be a grandfather? I’m way too young for that!” He laughed. “Have you been to a hospital, do you know the due date, how far along are you?”

My head was pounding. There were so many answers that I didn’t have and things I was unprepared for. “I just found out, dad.”

“Right.
I apologize. Make sure to get those things taken care of, and get back in touch with me as soon as you know. Do you need us to come back?”

“No, no…I’ll be okay. Enjoy your trip, and I’ll keep you posted.”

“Sure,” he said, sounding a little disappointed.

“This went a lot differently than I expected.”

“Imagine if you were announcing this to Paul and not me,” he said and sighed. “Excuse me for that…I only mean that he would have been a lot harsher, knowing him.”

“I know,” I replied sadly. “Thanks for being so understanding.”

“Get some rest and take care of yourself and the little one, I’m going to share the news with Melissa.”

I thought about waiting a little while before calling anyone in Colorado as I knew it was still a little early in the day on that side of the world. I did some quick math in my head and figured it was probably seven or so in the morning there. My aunt and grandfather would definitely be up already so my small plan to procrastinate their calls came to a quick end.

The call to my aunt went really well. She was ecstatic and somehow unsurprised at the news—she couldn’t wait for me to get back to Willowshire so she could shower me and the future baby in presents. My grandpa on the other hand wasn’t quite as understanding—he reacted similarly to how I imagined Paul would have. He was disappointed and said that I should have been more careful, that I was in no place to have a child and I was still a child myself. Our conversation didn’t end well, and I tried to hold back my annoyance when I made a quick call to Mr. and Mrs. Williams. It wasn’t surprising that they didn’t answer. They were both probably working or something. Even though I knew it wasn’t the ideal way to let them know, I left a voicemail telling them I was pregnant. I left my number in hopes they would call back.

The phone lay limply in my hand as I stared at Jason’s number. I yearned to hear his familiar cheery voice, but I knew that it would quickly become a dreary sound of disappointment. I kept telling myself it was way too early to call him, trying to make any legitimate excuse to postpone the inevitable. Sure, my aunt and grandpa had been up…but Jason was a lot younger than both and liked to sleep in late. Or that is how it had used to be. I felt sad when I thought of just how little about Jason’s last few years I truly knew. It used to be that we talked every day. He, Karen, and I knew everything that happened to one another. Now, aside from the few run-ins, a call here and there, and Karen’s funeral…we had barely spoken. I wondered how he could still hold on to this crush on me after all that.

It was settled. Whether the conversation went good or not, I needed to talk to my friend again. As I finally pressed the button to dial his number, I heard the door open as Hannah and Ezra returned. Salem swore he wouldn’t say anything to them until I was ready, but I knew it would be difficult for him to refrain from mentioning it. I definitely did not want Hannah to find out this way—overhearing my conversation with Jason.

“Alex!” I heard Jason exclaim when I almost spaced out I had dialed his number. My lips formed an immediate smile at the sound of his voice. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot, and thought about calling, but my phone plan doesn’t have international calls. So I’ve e-mailed you a few times, but you never answered.”