Eclipsed by Midnight (9 page)

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“Mom, why do we have to come along too? We are stupid tired,” Ethan whines as Erik drives us down a twisting road leading into the mountains. Erik’s mood is sour, kissing the air with nasty taste. Something is off with my brother. I need to get him alone and find out what.

“Yes, the vamp doc will help us if we need it,” Etienne says sardonically from the front as his eyes continue to track the moving scape around us, his dominating force ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice should a threat arise. He’s been getting more and more protective every time we leave the house.

“I don’t see why. E helped you just fine.” Aiden adds fuel to Etienne’s pissy mood over the matter, adding to the disturbing aromatics in this confined space. I am basically forcing them all to come with me because my Jedi master told me to, but did not tell me why. And I can’t just tell them to have faith in said master because they are not allowed to know about what is going on. Etienne fought me the most behind closed doors, sensing the request to be laden with ulterior motives from the start. For fuck’s sake, I hate this middleman—for the greater good crap—sometimes. Even though I’d rather just be honest and get it over with, apparently I have to get used to this new way.

The winding road soon leads us into the pitched-rock formations now reaching high and into the sky. Evergreens mix with nearly bare aspens that dot the landscape as the last traces of autumn-kissed leaves sporadically peek through. As we slow and round the next bend, the wheels of the SUV begin to grasp at the dirt road, taking us deeper into the Rocky Mountains. Before long, a picturesque, well-kept log cabin comes into view. Though it appears to be on the small and conservative side, I know just how deceiving these vamps could be.

As we take in the new setting, long, strawberry blonde waves lift in the slight fall breeze from a bent-over figure in the garden off to the side. My boys immediately sit upright and lock onto the vision now straightening upright. A young woman in a flowing white dress blasts us with a breathtaking smile as she lifts the layers of her skirt to step through the garden’s gate on her way to greet us. Her aura blows me away in all of its bright colors as if it sung of pure light. She is most definitely human, but magic clings to her in a way I’ve never known it to take to a human before. Stopping in front of our vehicle, she patiently waits as we get out, grinning in pure joy. I have to turn and smack Aiden to get going as he is too busy drooling, blocking the exit. Boys.

“Solana! What a pleasure!” Erik sweeps the girl up into a fierce embrace, causing her to squeal before setting her back down.

“Erik! How have you been? It’s been ages!” She cups his face before turning her attention to us. “Well, and who do we have here? I’m Solana.” She eagerly approaches me with laser focus, ignoring all else as she juts out a hand in greeting.

“Hi, I’m Sasha.” I take her eager hand and am suddenly shocked into stillness as electricity slams through my body and sparks quite visibly fly from our joined hands. She stares at me in stunned silence before looking back at our hands and quickly removing hers from mine.

Shaking it off, the pain evident, she takes a big breath. “Ow, that certainly isn’t an expected reaction. You must be the gifted one Dominic has spoken of. Forgive me, Priestess.” She quickly bows as if remembering herself. Etienne inclines his head, reaching into her with his own gift, studying.

“Please, that is not necessary. Solana, the pleasure is all mine. Thank you for allowing us to visit. This is Etienne, my mate, and my sons, Ethan and Aiden.” Solana had been locked in on me and hadn’t even noticed my counterparts.

Raising her eyes to Etienne, she blushes and fumbles. “My Lord, I didn’t even see you. Forgive me.” She drops in a bow again, shame ripping through her.

Etienne says something to her in the old language and she promptly stands, curiously eyeing my sons. “It is a pleasure to meet you two as well. Please, come in.” Her amber eyes glitter as she takes in Ethan and Aiden as she leads our party into the cabin. Erik and Etienne simply shake their heads as my boys fumble to figure out how to walk along the way. They are almost nineteen and haven’t an ounce of swagger.

Breaching the threshold, we enter a modest, cozy living room with a roaring fire. Seated in a soft, leather chair, a studious figure with thick-rimmed glasses peeks over a large text before fumbling in realization that guests have arrived.

“Welcome! I see you have met my apprentice already. Please, come in and have a seat.” The male almost drops his book a few times while hurrying to stand and rush toward us in his lanky and awkward form. Definitely not what I have become accustomed to being around warrior vamps all the time. “I am Dominic, and you must be the priestess I have heard so much about,” he greets, his bushy, dark brows waggling in excitement as he is drawn in by my presence, forgetting everyone else around.

“Nintuah, meeting new people with you is giving me a complex,” Erik scoffs and strolls into the living room as if he owns the place. Yeah, it’s not without its discomforts and makes me want to hole back up at home.

“Dear Goddess, My Lord! Welcome! I didn’t expect to see you.” Dominic quickly breaks contact with me and bows before Etienne.

“Dominic, do you really think I’d let my mate come all this way without me?” Etienne scolds, and Dominic slightly shrinks back.

“Lil!” I grit out in warning, I know he has an image to upkeep around his so-called subjects, but damn. “Thank you, Dominic, for having us. These are my sons, Ethan and Aiden.” I quickly try to smooth his discomfort by introducing the two towering statues hovering behind me, who simultaneously grunt in response, having forgotten how to speak.

“I will fetch the tea.” Solana breezes past the boys, taking their eyes with her as she heads into the open kitchen sitting off the living room. As the sound of tea being prepped begins, we all join Dominic and sit.

“So, these must be the boys getting ready to turn. My, my, they are close, aren’t they? A little over a week and they will be in the throes of it,” Dominic mutters more to himself as he falls into deep thought.

“What do you mean? How can you tell it’s that soon?” I stutter. Not even Etienne knew that. The boys’ attention suddenly snaps from the kitchen to the current conversation.

“Years of practice. Very rare indeed is this possibility. Do you have a blood donor lined up?”

It is Solana’s turn to interrupt the conversation as she accidentally drops a plate, suddenly flustered.

“Blood donor?” Ethan asks, confused.

“Yes, during transition, it is imperative that you drink from a female to facilitate the change.” Dominic looks to me warily, obviously fearing he may have said too much. Etienne and I had been waiting to disclose all the information to them until they had shown more acceptance.

“We have begun a search, but nothing definite has been put into place yet. We thought we had more time.” My feet cross and uncross as my omission becomes apparent.

“You don’t have this all figured out?” Aiden pipes in, fear gripping him in a prepubescent way.

“Son, we have everything under control. We have a blood source ready to go. We simply desired to seek out all options before settling on any specific one,” I play off. It’s a source that Etienne will be the one to secure once the dusts settles, after the full moon. He just doesn’t know it yet. Speaking of, there’s the narrowed, prodding scowl I was waiting for.

“We have to drink blood?” Ethan pales, an audible gulp sounding out as he slowly leans his head back on the chair he has occupied.

“Surely, kid, this is not the first time you are realizing that?” Erik’s voice sings out in surprise.

“I guess—I don’t know.” Ethan’s confidence wavers as his lungs draw in deeper breaths.

“It’s possible while they’ve known that factor, they’ve had so much going on in their heads that they just haven’t wrapped their mind around that tiny bit, ya know,” Solana sings as she sweeps into the room and sets down a plate of cookies and chocolates for the tea. Winking at Ethan, she heads back into the kitchen as my son’s face bolts upright and turns the shade of my crimson sweater. Jealousy nips slightly at Aiden before returning to normal.

“Dominic, would you do us the honors and explain in full detail what they can expect?” I urge as Etienne bristles next to me, notably cooling the room a few degrees. Reaching out, I take his hand in mine and warm it. Pulling on our connection and meeting his menacing gaze, I wordlessly implore him to trust me. He’s only acting like this because he feels like he is being encroached upon. The king wants to remain on his throne and provide for his family without any outside help. What he doesn’t realize is that we will need Dominic in some capacity, and soon.

After an overly detailed, verbosely delivered lesson, my brain hurts and my boys look glazed over. I am surprised Dominic didn’t break out a chalkboard and launch into quantum physics or something similar in the process. Erik even began to close his eyes and doze off a few times. Ending on a breathless note, Dominic’s energy lights up as he sits back, finally partaking in the tea Solana had laid out amidst his rant.

“Well, my friend, I believe you way outdid our description abilities.” I chuckle, trying to shake off the brain numbing. “Damien said that you’ve done quite a bit of research on this topic and would be a good resource for us should we need it.”

“I find it all very fascinating and, of course, I, as well as my pupil, am at Your Majesties disposal should you need it.” Solana nods in agreement and sneaks a peek at my sons once more, fascinated by them on a level I’m not necessarily comfortable with.

“Dom, you haven’t given them a tour yet,” Solana gently reminds her scatterbrained tutor.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake! How rude I am. I was so excited that I jumped right in and forgot my manners. Come—let us go down below to the caverns.” Dominic scrambles up, nearly knocking over his tea.

“I think it best that the young wait here,” Etienne insists of the boys and cuts his eyes to Erik, who nods.

“I will keep a close eye on them,” Solana promises as she smoothes out the folds of her skirt. The boys don’t even respond in their dumbfounded state.

“I’ll hang back too, been there done that, and I have a few z’s to catch up on.” Erik folds his arms and closes his eyes, pretending to fall back asleep.

“Very well, shall we?” Dominic makes for the front door, ready to set out into the dusk that is now settling about the forest.

“You can wait here too if you want,” I whisper to Etienne, attempting to be nice, but I end up scurrying away from him, following after Dominic. Damn, he is moody!

The brisk night air envelops us as I follow Dominic down a little deer trail behind the cabin. Etienne’s presence hovers threateningly about a hundred feet behind as we traverse the mountainside, descending down the face. About a quarter of a mile down, the magic begins to vibrate through the rock as we approach a door-size boulder that is slightly smoother than the surrounding terrain. One might easily continue on the trail and not even take note if it weren’t for the energy stemming from it.

Dominic bustles about his robes while mumbling something like a mad scientist and immediately turns to walk straight through the rock face without paying us any mind.
How the hell did he…?
Stopping before the boulder, I stand and stare as my fingertips trace the rough surface, unsure of what to do. This illusion seems a bit more than the one used to protect the coliseum in France, for sure. A warm, familiar body sidles up behind me, molding to my backside.

“Hospitable as per usual, I see,” Etienne distastefully grunts in my ear.

“He just seems to be lost in his own world most days,” I defend the poor, bumbling healer. Etienne snorts, takes my hand, and deliberately places the palm on the rock’s surface, approximately where a handle would be. “Can you feel it, Anu?”

When I close my eyes, my senses reach out and find the invisible handle. Etienne’s hands come to firmly rest on my waist as I use my power and open the lever. As wonderment overtakes me, Etienne promptly marches us forward before letting go.

“Wow! Did you feel that? What kind of portal is that?” I gasp as my eyes wander around the dark entry, locking on to the torches on the wall as the scents of forest and earth overtake me.

“A very old and powerful one.”

“Why didn’t you just open it for us?” He seemed to know what to do but watched as I initially struggled.

“I am not able to.”

“Oh.” Strange. All vamps had a little magic, and Etienne was gifted on top of that.

“Come on then, he’ll be halfway to China before he realizes he’s left us behind.” Etienne grabs my hand and leads me at lightning speed down the dark hall. I am barely able to take a breath before we slow behind Dominic, who is opening another door roughly encased in a stone threshold and set into the musty, damp earth, now teasing power to come out and play. This place radiates magic and the further we travel into the underground tunnels, the more alive I feel.

“Oh! You made it, very good. Come on then!” Dominic grins as he thrusts the door open and invites us in. Something about that face makes me think he’s not as big of an airhead as Etienne thinks. His teaching style is just a little different, and he may be intentionally using that façade to help others learn.