Everlasting Embrace (Embrace Series) (20 page)

“
Agreed
.
N
ow
,
where is that husband of mine? He was with Nate
,
and I want to see what Alex is picking up on the students.
”
Spotting them over in the corner
,
we go to join our two men.

I can tell something is going on
.
Alexander
looks like he
’
s deep in concentration.

With my hand on his shoulder I ask,
“
What
’
s wrong Alexander?
”

“
Not sure
.
I just think we better go check on Ben and the students
who
went for a walk.
Hey Caspian, I need you for a minute
;
come on,
”
Alexander shouts.

Matilda, Alexander, Caspian and myself race out of the pool hall
.
Alexander telepathically fills Elijah
a
nd the rest of the family
in
on what
’
s going on
,
a
nd
asks them
to watch the rest of the students. I know Nathanial won
’
t like me rushing off to danger without him, but he knows that sometimes we have separate missions
;
and this just may be one of them.


  

  


We find Ben and about five of the students in the park, around the same area of Nathanial
’
s attack. A few years ago
,
shortly after we moved to Wenham
,
during our winter formal, Nathanial and I went for a walk alone in the park. We were attacked by a rogue vampire. Nathanial didn
’
t know about my family at the time, and I didn
’
t want to tip him off. When Alexander came to our rescue, the vampire stabbed Nathanial
,
and I use my powers to heal him. It was only a few short weeks later that my secret was out and Nathanial accepted me, fangs and all. I never wanted this life for him, but when his parents died
—
when the Cerberus attack
ed
and their baby was born a
day walker
,
half-mortal
,
ha
lf vampire
—
there was no other choice. Now we are married
,
and raising his
day walker
brother
,
Nik
,
while his older brother
,
Luke
,
goes to school. This park holds so many memories
;
e
verything seems to happen here
:
Nathanial
’
s attack, his parents attack
…
t
his is even where he proposed to me. Now
,
we are back here again, not sure what we are facing.

Walking down the stone path
,
towards the large
,
white gazebo, the park is starting to bloom after the winter
,
and it look
s
prettier than ever. The white lights twinkle around the gazebo
,
and bright tulips line the path and circle around the pergola where Nathanial dropped to one knee only a few short months ago. In the distance
,
I see the others chasing each
o
ther and playing around
. E
verything seems to be normal.

“
Alexander, I don
’
t get it
.
I don
’
t see anything wrong,
”
I mention.

He looks at the fun going on before us
,
and looks back at us appearing just as confused.
“
I swear
! I
t seemed like one of them sensed something. I couldn
’
t figure out which one it was, but I
…
I
don
’
t know what to say.
”

“
Maybe
,
because Ben is a
nephilim,
he can sense things
, and
he just doesn
’
t realize it. Or
maybe
even one of the other students
has this power
. We know some of their powers, but not all of them. Some of the students don
’
t even know what powers they possess. That
’
s why they are here
—
t
o learn
,
”
Matilda adds with comfort.

“
Well
,
it doesn
’
t matter how, but that angel hunter is back
,
”
Caspian shouts as he takes off with lightening speed toward the students.

We see the angelic figure stand
ing
before them
,
wings spread
.
I only hope the cloak
works
.

“
Where is the boy?
It has been months and I told you I would be checking on him. Y
ou
’
ve evaded me for too long now. I can
’
t sense him here any longer
. W
here have you hidden him
?
I must destroy this abomination.
”

“
You
’
re most right
. H
e is no longer here. I guess you
’
re gonna have to move on
,
”
Alex speaks up with slight anger.

“
You will slip up at some point
—
I will keep my eyes on you. Is this what you really want
?
A
heavenly war?
”

“
What kind of angel are you, threatening us
?
Maybe you need to do a little research
!
W
e
’
re the good guys
!
”
I say, knowing my words won
’
t help. The only one that can help us is Michael. I know he has to go back to
Crossroads
to keep
up
his strength and health, but now would be a great time
for him
to be here.

“
Listen to me
,
vampire
.
I will find him
,
e
ven if it means destroying all of you to get to him. This is your final warning.
”
With a strong flap of his wings he flies off into the night.

“
I think we need to get back to the pool hall
.
I still don
’
t feel right about this,
”
Alexander
points out
.

“
I agree
,
Alexander
.
M
y senses are off the radar, and it
’
s not coming from any of us. Evil is coming
,
and we need to prepare
,
”
Caspi
an informs us of his concerns.

Surprise

All the students have been deep in
angel
research
. I
t
’
s difficult
,
as there
’
s not much documentation on angels. Michael has been a great help
.
H
e can provide information that we can never find here on earth
,
a
lthough he is still limited
in
his knowledge and
in
what he can share
.
F
rom my understanding
,
things at Crossroads are handled on a need to know basis.
It also turns out he knows nothing about guardians, so he can
’
t check on Matt for us.

Ebony and Eliza have been working hard with the few witch students we have
.
Mackenzie is proving to be a
quick
study. Her powers are growing every
day
,
and we have realized her power of tracking may be very useful. She is young
,
but with each day
,
growing more powerful.

“
Ms. Ebony, I feel it
—
the tingling sensation again.
”

“
It
’
s okay
,
Mackenzie
; just
focus on it
. T
ell us what you
’
re tracking
,
and where you sense it. Concentrate all your energy on the tingle.
”
Ebony turns to me and whispers,
“
W
e
’
ve been charging items
magic
k
ally
and hiding them for her training, so that she can recognize the feeling.
”

“
Now
,
will she only be able to track magickal items?
”

“
No
. O
nce she learns how to focus on it
,
she will have the ability to track anything she desires.
”

“
W
hat about evil
,
and things coming after u
s?
W
ill she be able to track what is coming for us as well?
”

“
Ms. Ebony, this doesn
’
t feel right. I feel something evil coming. I...I don
’
t understand. Something is coming from Boston
—
c
oming tonight
!
”
Mackenzie snaps out of her trance, with tears streaming down her face.

Ebony sits next to her young student
.
“
T
ell us more. What is it you felt
?
W
hat did you see?
”

“
I felt the tingle
. Y
ou know
…
the one I get when I
’
m supposed to find something
,
or searching for something. I tried to visualize it, but I couldn
’
t
. E
verything was black
,
and cold. I saw a map
,
and Boston was glowing. That
’
s how I know where
—
t
he
where
always glows in my mind. It
’
s just other than that
,
all I saw was darkness
,
s
o it
must
be evil.
”

Ebony and I both look at each other with disbelief
.
“
T
he
Cerberus.
”

“
You mean the rogue vampires Mr. Caspian has been teaching us about?
”

“
That
’
s exactly who we mean,
”
I confirm.

W
ith
a large thud
,
Shilah barges through the doors
.
“
They
’
re
back
.
T
hey came back. I saw the
m
while doing my rounds.
”