Everlasting Embrace (Embrace Series) (16 page)

“
Are you ready yet? I wanna go see the little McCord I
’
m in love with.
”

“
I know what you mean.
I just can
’
t wait to see the sights of Canada. I know Nik is young,
but to show him a new country
…
I just can
’
t wait.
”

“
Yeah, you kinda said that already. So
let
’
s
go.
”

“
Okay, you
’
re the boss. One thing I learned from m
y dad
i
s a good man always listens to his wife.
”

“
We
’
ll
have a long and happy marriage
,
i
f you remember that,
”
I joke.

We wal
k down the hall to the elevator
and hit the top floor button. As it starts to move, Nathanial pushes me against the wall, pressing his lips to mine. In a deep passionate kiss, he holds me tighter
,
and then our lips part.

“
What was that for?
”

“
I just wanted to kiss my beautiful wife.
”
Nathanial smiles with one corner of his mouth higher than the other.

“
Why is it every time you touch me
,
I
melt
,
and my heart slips a beat?
”

“
Well
, we better be careful. Y
our heart doesn
’
t really have extra beats to skip. Although
,
if I had to guess
,
it would
be because I
’
m just so handsome
,
you can
’
t resist me.
”

I play
fully slap his arm.
“
O
r maybe
,
it
’
s just the fa
ct that I finally found my
soul mate
.
”

“
Yeah, I guess it could be that too.
”
He
bends
down
and gives me one more soft kiss
as the elevator comes to a stop.

We notice everyone discussing something when we get to Elijah and Florence
’
s suite.

“
Well, look
who finally decided to join us,
”
Caspian announces with a smile on his face.

“
Fi
r
st off
,
you can all
stop looking at us like that
—
l
ike you know exactly what we
’
ve been doing. We
’
re married now
:
and plus
,
you all do the same darn thing.
”
I feel the redness flushing my checks.

Everyone bursts out laughing
,
and I turn to bury my head in Nathanial
’
s chest.

“
Okay
,
Sis
, you can chill. W
e
’
re not looking at you because
last night was your honeymoon. W
e
’
re looking at you because
something happened last night
; something
that may help us save Ben,
”
Caspian tries to explain.

“
What do you mean
‘
something happened
’
?
”
I ask with concern.

“
A woman
…
well
,
an angel
…
well
,
not really
an angel…I mean she
’
s an angel
,
what they call one of the Twelve
—
”

“
I remember
;
we learned a little about the Twelve.
That angel, Martian mentioned them. He works for one of them.
”

“
She said they call her Katherine, and she wants to help Ben. Katherine doesn
’
t agree with the destruction of all
half-breeds
or
nephilim
. From what I gat
hered from our brief meeting,
she trains
nephilim
to work for the greater good of man. She told me she would be talking to a guardian angel called Michael. I
’
m to meet him la
ter today. She will inform him o
f his duties when it comes to us and to Ben. I felt so much peace with her
,
and I believe we can trust her.
”

“
Okay
,
s
o what
’
s the
plan then?
”

“
No plan. T
oday we are going sightseeing just as planned. This Michael will find me when it
’
s t
ime. I assume it will be sooner
than later.
”

Caspian
’
s Encounter

Last night
,
when Katherine appeared to me
,
I wa
s unsure if I could trust her. B
ut something about her made me feel peaceful. Today
,
the family will explore the sights of Banff
,
and I
’
ll be on the lookout for Michael. I hope that he
’
ll have some insight that will help us save Ben. Maybe he
’
ll even
give us something to take back
,
and teach the others at the school.

We came here as a family
to protect Ben from the angels that wish to destroy him. We ended up having a memorable family vacation
,
and my
sisters had a beautiful wedding
that none of us shall forget. Now it
’
s almost just over a week
,
and we may have found a way to save Ben. Along wit
h our friends, my family and
I
drive to a place called Moraine Lake
,
not far f
rom the hotel we
’
re staying at.

We park the cars and take a little trail that intertwines through the trees and mountain rock. The trail is a little icy
,
and we help our mortal friends to steady themselves as we maneuv
er
our way through. Reaching the end of the trail
,
we are left facing the clear
,
teal blue body of water. The snow
-
covered mountain is the perfect backdrop
for
such a creation. The h
undreds of evergreen trees and the frozen shoreline ma
ke
the area
picturesque. The water is clear
a
nd emerald green
,
matching Sophia
’
s eyes. I
’
ve been here before, whe
n the family lived in the area
,
But never before—
a
nd never since—
have I seen such beauty. I can hear the click of Sophia
’
s camera as she takes
hundreds of photos.
Thank
G
od for digital cameras
.
I remember years ago
,
when we went to Asia, she took something like thirty
-
six rolls of film in the month we were there. She has always loved capturing all her memories in pictures. I think that
’
s why
she was
such an artist
when she was mortal
. And then, when she was
just
Embraced
, she had to draw the pictures.

We all break off
a
nd take various paths
a
nd places
for us
to enjoy from our surroundings
. The brisk air is refreshing
,
and I watch as every br
eath
that
I take frosts before me.
I take off down a separate path
,
alone, feeling a pull in that direction
, but
I
proceed
with caution.

As I reach the top of the path, I can no longer hear my friends and family, which means they can no longer hear me either. With our enhanced hearing, it means I
’
m a long way away from them. If we concentrate
, we can hear for miles. M
aybe I should try. I have no idea how far I
’
ve wondered
away
from them. I
’
m not sure why, but I have this overwhelming feeling that I need to be here.

Suddenly, standing
there
before me is a tall young man
,
with dark hair and enormous white feathered wings. Even as a man, I can see his magnificence.
“
Are you...Michael?
”

“
Yeah
;
g
uess that makes you
,
Caspian. Are you the blood
-
sucking demon I was ordered to help?
”

“
Wow
,
who knew an angel could be such an as
s
?
Yeah
,
I
’
m Caspian
. But let
’
s get one thing straight
…
I
’
m no blood
-
sucker! My family and I feed on animal
a
nd donated blood
,
as well as a synthetic blood my uncle
has
created. So
,
no
,
I wouldn
’
t ca
ll myself a blood
-
sucking demon.
I
would
prefer you use the term vampire instead.
”

“
Yeah
,
whatever you say,
”
he mumbles.

“
Look
,
I was told you could help my friend, but I
’
m beginning to think that this Katherine
-
chick was mistaken.
”

“
I have my orders
,
and I will fulfill them no matter how unhappy I am about them.
”

“
You don
’
t want to help a
nephilim
?
’

“
No
,
I
have no problem with
helping the earth bound. My problem is
…
well
,
it
’
s
no
ne
of your business. So let
’
s just get to work.
”

“
Look
,
w
hatever it is
that
’
s pissing you off so much
…
I suggest you leave it here. My family and friends don
’
t deserve your attitude. We have an eighteen
-
year
-
old bo
y that is scared for his life. He is good
,
a
nd pure
,
and deserves to live his life. My family and friends are here to help with the fight against evil.
We have a group of supernaturals who
are training and learning about all the evils in the world. Normally we fight other vampires and demons, but right now
,
our biggest fight is a group of angels
who
are going
around killing innocent people
because one of their parents was an
angel. That
’
s not their fault! A
nd it won
’
t determine who they become. Some of the bigg
est monsters are mere mortals. W
ouldn
’
t it be better to hunt people like Da
h
mer or Manson?
”