Awakening (17 page)

Strolling through the halls as he made his way back to his laboratory, thoughts whizzing through his head, he came to the conclusion that he was going to have to solve
this mystery himself. That way he would be able to request a favor, no demand a favor; demand the right to see his beloved Gloria once more. His lips curved into a wry smile; perhaps this hiccup could actually prove useful. But first he would have to deal with the Vespari twins.

His features morphed into a grimace at the thought of those two
. He knew that one of them had been responsible for his wife’s demise, he just hadn’t discovered which one. Yet. From what he knew of the twins, though, he was leaning towards Auberon, who seemed more rebellious than the ever-reliable Adam. Auberon's records proved his impetuousness and irresponsibility on any number of occasions, so taking a pregnant woman would hardly have been anything new.

Thank God the child survived unharmed, though it might have been for the best had she perished alongside her mother.
Or instead of Gloria. Maybe if Gloria had been able to receive treatment she would not have succumbed to the lure of becoming a
Calix.

“Oh, Gloria,” he mused softly, entering his sacred laboratory, where he could someday find a cure for what
Apocritae
did to humans, what they created; where he would find a way to bring Gloria back. Damn it; in another week or so, the twins would be interfering in his life once more. Glaring at the beakers and lab equipment, he decided he needed to come up with another plan.

*****

“Cel, do you have any extra tampons?” Kim asked Sunday morning, holding her stomach as cramps ate away at her belly. She crossed the room and lay on the mattress next to her friend, grabbing the comforter and burrowing under it.

“Sure,” Celeste smiled, grabbing a piece of paper to mark off where she stopped. Setting the book down, she slid out of bed, padded over to her dresser and pulled out an unopened box before making her way back.
“I haven’t started mine yet so you can use as many of these as you need.”

“I thought we were synchronized,” Kim mused, grabbing the box and glancing up at Celeste with a little bit of confusion.

Celeste’s lips parted in a smile as she crawled back onto the bed, under the still-warm covers, “Is that like a new Olympic sport? Synchronized bleeding?”

“Ha
ha,” Kim muttered, not wanting to leave the comfort of Celeste’s bed. “You know what I mean; we’ve always had our periods at the same time. Always.”

“I just recently started a new job,” Celeste said with a
nonchalant shrug, resting her hand over her abdomen, knowing the true reason that her monthlies had not started, even without the benefit of a little stick and a bit of pee. She had known since late Friday night, the moment the embryo implanted itself in her womb after its long journey; she had felt it. It had been a huge relief to realize she wasn't the one who wasn't human; that it was the baby.

All of the symptoms, her heightened sense of smell, could all be attributed to the
Apocritum
baby in her womb. A peaceful smile graced her lips at the thought; while being pregnant with an
Apocritum
baby was impossible it was still better than not being human.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked doubtfully.

“I’m fine, Kim,” Celeste grinned. “Really, truly, I am. And I don’t want you worrying about me anymore.”

“Well, I can’t promise I won’t worry,” Kim told her. “You’re like a sister to me, Cel; it’s my job to look after you.”

“And I appreciate it,” Celeste smiled warmly, grateful for her friend. “It’s just been stressful adapting to a new job and all but in a good way.”

“Ah,” Kim nodded with understanding, still holding the box and still not wanting to move. Groaning, she squeezed her eyes shut, “Maybe I should get a new job so I can have a break from this
agony.”

Celeste laughed again, resting her cheek against the top of Kim’s head, “Don’t you just love being a girl?”

“Most days,” Kim grinned. “Just not when I’m bleeding to death.”

“You do have such a way with words,” Celeste murmured. “You could always let Harvey get you pregnant….”

“I’m so not ready for motherhood,” Kim quickly protested, finally sliding off the bed. Staring down at Celeste, she shook her head and smiled ruefully, “I’m having too much fun being a girl. What about you? Do you want to have kids?”

Celeste swallowed, her eyes widening at Kim’s innocent question. Before she could answer, though, Kim laughed, “Of course, in order to have kids, you’re going to have to have sex again and you decided that that was out of the question.”

Celeste offered a tentative smile, “Perhaps.”

“Well, at least it’s a reason to find a fuck bu
ddy,” Kim said, raising her eyebrow knowingly. Walking out the room, she said over her shoulder, “But not for a few years, I think.”

Grabbing her book,
Celeste burrowed beneath her covers once again, willing herself to get lost in the story so as not to deal with anything that was in her life right now: not her uniqueness, not Adam the
Apocritum
, and definitely not the baby that absolutely should not be in her womb but was. Reading the same sentence that she must have read at least a dozen times already, she came to the not-so-startling realization that her mind was otherwise occupied.

With a sigh, she placed the book next to her on the pillow and closed her eyes, wondering how in the name of all that was holy she could be pregnant
and so happy to be so. Being that there was no doubt in her mind of her status, she wondered what the baby was going to look like, if she was going to look like her daddy or take more after her mom. Smiling to herself, Celeste rubbed her flat belly, grateful for at least some part of Adam; even if such a piece should not exist. She was just glad it did.

*****

“We’ve been ordered to return to the main Hive by the Queen,” Adam said as he walked into Auberon’s bedroom. Reclining on his bed, Auberon glanced up with an annoyed expression and a raised eyebrow. Adam answered the unasked question. “Apparently there’s a situation that requires our attention.”

“Chaos and anarchy?”
Auberon asked hopefully, a wicked smile playing at his lips.

“A wrinkle,”
Adam said with an amused grimace. “The Queen has demanded we return to St. Paul and deal with it.”

“It must be serious if Her High and
Mightiness is begging for our return,” Auberon smirked. “Do you think Mother has forgiven me for my past transgressions?”

“Probably not
yet,” Adam laughed. “And if she has, I highly doubt she will forgive you for your current transgressions.”

“Nor my future transgressions,
either,” Auberon added for good measure, swinging his long legs over the edge of the bed and sitting up. “When are we to return?”

“A week,”
Adam answered, looking around his brother’s room. In the three years since their telepathic split from the Hive he was finally learning to enjoy his independence. He had never realized how imprisoned he had been, even when Auberon talked about it incessantly; not until they finally achieved freedom did he understand. Of course, in order to keep that freedom, they would continue to play the game for as long as necessary, studying, learning, until they were completely free from the Hive, the Queen.

“Will you
continue the search for the girl when we get back?” Auberon asked cautiously, watching his brother closely, knowing how deeply he had been affected.

“
I will but there is so little to go on,” Adam admitted with a sigh. Moistening his lips with the tip of his tongue, he reluctantly admitted, "I've lost her scent, Auberon.

Auberon's eyes widened in disbelief, "That is not possible."

Adam nodded his head in agreement, truly baffled. "Just like it wasn't possible for her to get past the wards I had in place to keep her at the Hive in Paris."

"I still cannot believe you had the balls to bring her to
one of the Hives," Auberon chuckled, his black eyes dancing with mirth and approval. "Mother would have a fit if she knew her favorite son was fucking a human right beneath her nose."

Adam's lips quirked upwards in a half-smile as he remembered how sweet Celeste had been… and how furious he had been when he
awoke and she was gone. He had gone after her immediately but he had lost the trail at the airport. After that it was as if she no longer existed.

“We will find her,
Adam,” Auberon assured his brother. Seeing the arched eye brow, he corrected himself with a self-depreciating chuckle, “You will find her. I shall keep my distance if I come across her first.”

“No,”
Adam shook his head, trying to get over the jealousy that had been plaguing him since the insertion of Celeste into his life; he had no reason to be jealous of Auberon. “If you find her before I do, I want you to grab her and not let her go until I arrive. I don’t want to chance losing her again.”

“Very well,” Auberon nodded his head, knowing the turmoil that beset his brother while ignoring the torture that nibbled at his own
dark soul. “I will tie her up and gag her until I am able to deliver her to you, safe and sound.”

Adam
laughed out loud at his brother’s statement, half hoping that he would truly go to such extremes to make the girl stay. He had yet to be tempted into biting another human since Celeste disappeared from his life and he had absolutely no desire to bite a
Calix
, to satiate his needs in the more traditional ways. He only wanted Celeste; he only needed Celeste. “I hope it doesn’t take us a century to find her. I think I might go mad if I have to wait that long to taste her again.”

“Is that all you miss?” Auberon asked doubtfully.

“I miss her,” Adam said on a sigh, not wanting to admit it out loud, unable to stop himself. “I’ve never experienced anything like it before, Auberon. I felt her soul inside of me and it was so warm, so… Celeste. I want her back, Auberon; more than anything.”

A twinge of jealousy tore through Auberon’s guts at his brother’s passionate proclamation. He had been the one who desired freedom from the Hive; he had been the one to discover how to do it; he had been the one to convince
Adam of the necessity, years and years of persuading, of tearing down Hive indoctrination; and yet it was Adam who experienced bliss, experienced Celeste. If only he had been at the Louvre that day…. “I will do whatever it takes to help you, brother. You know I will.”

“I know,”
Adam nodded, offering a half smile. “We should do a little research when we get back to the
Domus
, find out if there’s any precedence for this sort of thing….”

“Or any prophecies,” Auberon added as they exchanged speaking looks. “Perhaps it is a good thing that we will be returning to the fold; whatever this wrinkle is, it surely will not take up all of our time.”

“I just want to get in and out of there as quickly as possible and find Celeste,” Adam sighed, raking his hands through his hair. Meeting his brother's black eyes, he brokenly admitted, “I hate being so close to them; it’s getting harder to pretend.”

“I know,” Auberon agreed. “Thankfully they have always given the two of us a little leeway due to the circumstances of our… creation.”

“And the healthy dose of fear they have for us,” Adam added with a wary smile.

“Do you ever get the feeling that something huge is about to happen?” Celeste asked as she joined Kim in their small kitchen a week later. She was dressed in a colorful peasant skirt and a form-fitting button down blouse. Sitting down, she grabbed the orange juice that Kim had poured for her and grinned, “I feel this huge ball of excitement in my belly, like it wants to break free and just soar.”

Kim laughed, “I’m not sure I understand what it is you’re talking about but I have to admit that it is nice to see a smile on your face so early in the morning.”

“God, it’s like the only thing holding me together is my skin,” Celeste exclaimed, her foot tapping out a nervous rhythm as she ate her toast. “It’s driving me crazy.”