The War (Ultimate Power Book 2) (11 page)

The healer witch was not evil.  She was the purest form of good that I had managed to run across, but I had the feeling that she was hiding something.  However, we are all hiding something.

I did
n’t give the healer any more thought.  I was certain that everything was all right with her and that I didn’t have anything to worry about.  She was a member of the Circle of Light.  If she hadn’t have been she wouldn’t be here pledging her loyalty, her life, to us.

Eric was still in the kitchen and from what I could tell
. He had managed to come up with a plan about the positioning of our werewolf army.  I went to him and took his hand.  I needed his comfort, his security.  He felt that from me and held me in a tight embrace.  “Everything is going to work out.”  He whispered softly in my ear.

Just then, his phone started ringing.  Apparently, his parent s car had managed to have a flat tire.  They were about five minutes from home but they wanted to call and let us know where they were.  At least the Gin was helping us out on that tiny matter.  I wonder if he knew that.  Probably not, but I was thankful for it as long as our parents were not harmed in any way other than being inconvenienced.

“Do you need help changing it?”  Eric asked his father. 

“
No, I think we've got it son.”

Eric told him to be careful and that we would see them when they got here.

We had used the excuse of having some type of mysterious surprise for them to leave the hotel and return home and here they are, almost home, and we do not have any evidence of such a thing. 

“
What are we going to do?”  I asked Eric when he ended the phone call.

“
I've got it under control.”  He replied.

Out of nowhere, a long white envelope appeared in his hand.  He told me that it held four tickets to a weeklong cruise.  He was so good at coming up with ideas at the last minute and I have to say it saved us big time tonight.

We walked back into the crowd and Eric announced to everyone that our parents were going to be arriving momentarily. 

“
But we can’t leave you unprotected!”  I heard someone say. 

They were right about that, but there was not anything we could do about it.  If our parents came back with this many people here, they were definitely going to start asking questions.

“What do we need to do?”  Another voice said out of the crowd.

My coven can cast a spell to make everyone here invisible.  Would that possibly be an appropriate solution?
”  One of the witches asked. 

After Eric and the rest of the Circle considered the offer, they all agreed, but before they were given the go ahead on casting the spell, Eric laid down some ground rules.  One, no on
e was to leave the grounds and two,  no one was allowed to enter any of the bedrooms without announcing themselves first and then being invited in.

“
We can make sure of that.”  One of the members of the coven insisted.

“
Well then, I guess you better get to work.”  Eric replied.

The last guest in the house disappeared right as our parents walked in.  Talk about perfect timing.  The witches were exceptionally skilled in their powers and I was proud to have them at our sides.

I noticed that my mother was walking with a limp.  I instinctively looked at her shoes.  One of her heels had broken as she came in the house.  She cursed for a moment under her breath and took her shoes off tossing them in the corner.  My father shook his head and smiled.  I knew that he would buy her another pair exactly like those.

“
It seems like we have all had a bit of bad luck tonight.”  Eric’s father stated.

“
How's that?”  I asked already knowing what was responsible for it all.

They had a flat tire on Jim s car.  My dad cut his finger putting on the spare and he was not quite sure how it had happened.  Eric's mother slammed her leg in the car door and I could see the blood on her pant leg.  My mom broke the heel off her shoe.  The Gin was definitely hard at work tonight, I thought to myself. 

“So, what was so important that you had to leave the hotel?”  My mother asked.

Eric smiled at them as if nothing was wrong and held out the envelope to them.   We had to pick these up for you guys.  If we would have waited to do it, we wouldn’t have been able to confirm them.

They looked around at each other with confusion.  I knew what they were thinking too.  What could possibly be more important than your honeymoon?  That thought was depressing, but I forced myself to keep a smile on my face.  No need in having them thinking something was wrong.

They took out the tickets and our mothers were so excited that they both let out a high-pitched shriek.

After they calmed down about receiving such a gift, they all began to make plans on going.  It was set to start in three days and seeing that our parents were all able to decide when they could take their vacation time whenever they wanted to, was a major plus.  This would keep them safe for the time being. 

Chapter 8

I would have to be sure and request the witches to cast yet another protection spell on the cruise ship.  I just hope they do not think we are taking advantage of them and their power.

It isn't like that.  They will do what needs to be done without question.

That reassured me about thinking the way I was about asking them.

The night ended and Eric had asked my parents for permission for us to stay in my room together for the night. 

“
Absolutely.”  My father told him. 

We said our goodnights and went up to my room. It was not long until I was changed into my pajamas and slid into bed.  I still had a pair of Eric
’s shorts in my dresser, so I told him which drawer they were in and snuggled deeper into the softness of my sheets.  We had not managed to get everything moved over to the house yet.

We held each other and drifted off to sleep.  Today had been a long day and we could not deny the exhaustion of staying up the previous night.  All I could wish for was peaceful dreams.  I already had everything else.

The morning came too soon, the sunlight was unusually bright for this time of year, and that could only mean one thing…snow. 

I got out of bed, just like a small child would, to see if my instinct had been right and it was.  A soft blanket of snow had fallen overnight.  I could see the children down the street making a snowman together.  They seemed happy and carefree just to be outside doing it.  I bet their mother was inside making cups of hot chocolate and soup to warm them up when they finally decide to go in. 

I felt an ache in my heart that I had not noticed before now.  As I watched the children and the innocence of their actions, I realized that the ache was for a child of my own.  A beautiful little girl with ribbons in her hair and a little boy as strong minded and thoughtful as his father.

Even though it was a bit early in our marriage to be thinking about having children, I do not think our parents would frown upon the idea. We are still so young, but wise for our age.  Money was not a problem for us. We already had our own home, paid free and clear.  Our vehicles were paid for as well.  Everything was in place except for the whole college part.

I had never discussed the possibility of children with Eric.  The thought of him not wanting to have children was absurd.  He would not deny me that for any reason and I was sure of it.  He would probably want a whole house full if it was left up to him to decide. Two would be plenty.  Three might be questionable, but no more than that.

“
I agree with you, but I have to have a little boy.  That’s all I ask.”  Eric said.  Him saying that made me question if it was possible for me to love him more than I did right now.

“
Good morning, my angel.”  I said as I went over and laid back down next to him. 

“
I see that your mind is hard at work this morning.”  He replied. 

It was true.  I was thinking more clearly, since I had a good night’s sleep, but the things that were on my mind were not relevant to the situation.  I was not thinking about the Dark Union or the inevitable war.  I was thinking about life and things that I had never given much thought to before now.  Children, our friends, and growing old together were at the top of my list.

“I don’t think we are going to have to worry about any of that.”  He said smiling at me from ear to ear. 

“
What do you mean?”  I asked him not understanding his response.

“
You don t know?”  He asked me with a clear look of confusion.

“
No, I’m not sure what you are talking about.”

“
Bailey, sweetheart, you are already with child.”

I couldn
’t believe I was hearing him say that.  It wasn’t possible.  We had only been together a couple days ago and there was no way that I was already pregnant.  Stranger than that, how in the world could he possibly know if I was or not?  I didn’t even know.

Flashbacks of the night in the restaurant burst into my mind.  It was the night that

I had heard the set of unborn twins arguing over space in their mother s womb.  Could he be fooling with me?  If he was, I was definitely going to hit him. 

“
I can hear it. No joke.”

If he was able to hear it then I was sure I would be able to.  I closed my eyes and focused in on my stomach.  I waited to hear any sign that a precious baby was growing inside me.  It only took a fraction of a second for me to notice something in there.  It was not a heartbeat, but more like a swishing sound.  The sound of life in its first stage.

Warmth filled my body as I realized he was indeed right about hearing it.  I could hear it too.  I wondered to myself whether it would be a boy or a girl.  It really did not matter to me as long as it was healthy and happy.

Eric hugged me gently and kissed my cheek.  The love that I felt for this unknown being inside me was enormous.  My joy was, immediately, turned to worry.  What if something happened to one of us during the whole Dark Union feud?  What if they did something to harm the baby?  What if
…?

“
What if you just calm down and not worry about everything so much.”  Eric said interrupting my rant. 

That was what I needed to do
, calm down.  It was too early to be stressing out over things that were not going to happen; I said reassuring myself.

Knowing so early was going to make the next nine months a bit more difficult than normal.  Women usually did not find out they were pregnant for weeks after the fact.  For some it even took a couple months before they found out.

“I guess I know what I’m going to do with your room.”  I told him.

“
Yeah.  It would make a good nursery.”  He replied.

My mother had ta
ken me to get birth control pills the day of our wedding, but with everything that had been going on, I had failed to take them.  I don’t think I had even taken the first one.

Eric said we should probably act like everything was normal.  Waiting to tell our parents was the best thing.  Then we wouldn’t have to worry about trying to explain how we knew so soon and I was curious to see if my mother would be able to tell if I was pregnant, more so, if my father would.  I was excited.

We got dressed and went downstairs.  Mom and Dad had just finished cooking breakfast.  I was glad because I was famished.  If someone put a plate of ten hamburgers in front of me, I would have done my best to eat every single one of them. 

We ate and the morning went on, as it usually would have.  My attention was turned to a slight whisper that I would hear from time to time, reminding me that some of our guests were still in the house. 

I heard what they were saying in bits and pieces, never catching a complete sentence.  I tried to concentrate and listen more closely after I heard one of the voices say something about a prophecy.  I was not sure what in the world they were talking about.

“W
hat are you guys going to do today?”  My father asked.

“
Probably hang around here and get the rest of my things packed up and taken over to the house.”  I replied.   “What about you?”

I had seen Dad roll his eyes in a joking way at my mother.  She smiled back trying hard to hide her enthusiasm.  
“Shopping, silly.  It is the day after Christmas, remember?  I did break a heel last night and those were my favorite pair.”

Details like that were
n’t on the top of my list, and to be completely honest, I was having a hard time keeping up with what day of the week it was.

“Hitting the big sales.”
  I said smiling.

“
You guys interested in coming along?”  My father asked. 

I could tell that he was hoping for a yes, but I was not interested at all.  We had too much going on the way it was.

“Nope.  You guys go on without us.  We have so much to do and we need to get started.”  I said as I took my plate to the sink and washed it.

After they had left, I called to the coven leader that had cast the invisibility spell and let her know that it was all right to lift it.  My parents would not be back until late tonight.  I was sure of that.  Mom had a hard time passing up sales.  It was just another excuse to buy things we didn’t  actually need.

Everyone appeared one by one.  Each of them congratulating us on our new discovery.  The mood seemed to be lighter and more relaxed.  I remembered that I wanted to ask about what I had heard earlier.  What was the prophecy that everyone was talking about?

I knew that Silas was around here somewhere and I did not hesitate to call to him and ask him to come speak with me.  Before I knew it, he was at my side.  Willing and waiting to be as helpful as he could possibly be.  Vampires had such a bad reputation that I actually felt sorry for him now. 

“What do you need, my Queen?” 

I told him that I had heard someone saying something about a prophecy.  He nodded his head.  He explained to me that it was told that when a Queen and King in the Circle of Light had made a child it would be extremely power
ful.  It was thought to be the ultimate power.  The destruction of the Dark Union would follow the child’s birth.

That was why the Dark Union had tried to keep Eric and me from joining the Circle.  We were the last of the line of power.  The only ones left that were human. They had been successful in stopping all the other members of the Circle by causing their premature deaths and even though they still exist, the dead cannot bear children.

Now that the ultimate power is coming, the Dark Union will do anything they can to make sure the child will not be born into this world.  If they could accomplish their task, the Dark Union would rule forever. 

I knew that there was a good reason for me to worry.  My child will save the world if we can keep it safe until it is born.   

I was also told that protecting the baby was not going to be an easy task.  The Dark Union will try every means of attack they had to get their hands on it.  Over my dead body. 

“
That will be the action they try for first and the hardest.”  One of the werewolves stated.

Great.  That was all I needed.  Every single person that was affiliated with the Dark Union was going to be trying to kill me now.  Could this day have possibly started any worse?  I was starting to think that by the way everyone was talking; it could have been a lot worse.  It will get worse until they end up finally killing me or we defeat them.

All the chaos slowly ended and Eric and I went ahead and began packing some of my belongings.  When we had a couple of boxes finished when Silas knocked on my bedroom door. 

“
Are you guys ready for the first trip over?”  Maggie asked from the hallway behind him.  I looked around, grabbed a few more items, and put them in another box.  Eric handed Silas a box and we began the daunting journey across the street.

The same feeling that we were being watched hit me as soon as we walked out the front door.  The tension radiated off everyone until all four of our minds were linked together.  That seemed to ease us all, to a point. 

Silas had been able to gather detailed pieces of information during our short walk.  He began telling us about it in detail.  Apparently, the Dark Union had informed the Gin of our true natures.  They had planned to attack us last night, but they couldn’t get through the protective shield the witches had cast around our homes.  The next time they were going to, basically, stand outside the house and taunt us until we came out.

I have to say, that was a smart decision on their part because they knew that we would do whatever it takes to keep the human population from discovering our secret.  Our parents would more than likely be home tonight and they had listened close enough to find that out.  A fight would be inevitable. 

I just wondered if the witches power would be strong enough to hide us from mortal eyes.  Quickly, the all-knowing Silas assured me that it was not going to be a problem.

Night came upon us fast.  Faster than I would have liked.  We were all getting prepared for whatever battle was soon to begin.  Emotions were running high and even the werewolves seemed to be itching for the opportunity to kill something evil.

“We should use this opening to ask some of the unfaithful to join our side.”  Earth Queen said.  I could tell she was a little more confident about it than some of our fellow members.  Most of them didn’t really like the idea, but agreed that the more people we had our side would dampen the Dark Union’s chances of victory against us.  Or at least sway some of their attacks on us.

Above all the talking in the living room, I could hear someone singing outside.   I looked around the room to try to see if anyone else may have been listening to the same thing that I was.  But everything was going on as normal.  Everyone had their attention on the task that they were trying to complete at that time and nothing else.

“Do you hear that?”  I asked Eric.

“
Hear what?”

“
The person that is singing.”