Everlasting Embrace (Embrace Series) (29 page)

Elijah stands at the head of the table, his presence commanding attention. Everyone sets their utensils down and looks up at him for guidance.
“
I know that you are hurting, some physical
ly
, most mental
ly
, and all of you emotional
ly
. Today will be the hardes
t
,
a
s we question
…
why her
:
w
hy Carlina? She did a wonderful job last night
. Y
ou all did. Death is something that happens
,
and it
’
s unfortunate
. W
e lost one of our own. I want you all to be proud of your accomplishments last night. This is the best way we can
honor
Carlina
. S
he lost her life fighting for the
cause;
let it not be in vain. We made a great dent in the Cerberus last night. During your class today, you will discuss and go over the
fight s
imilar to a debriefing
;
this will help to get your feelings and concerns out.
”

Skah, his wife
,
and Caspian will run the class in the auditorium after breakfast is cleared away. Elijah and Nathanial have work to do at the law offices today, while the rest of us do research on destroying some of the oldest vampires in the world. Eliza is staying to help out with the babies, but Luke had to return to school. His exams are coming
up
fast
,
and
due to the fact that it
’
s
his final year, he wants to ace his exams. I think he
’
s hoping to get an internship at the Smithsonian after graduation. He also has hopes of getting his
doctoral
degree
,
and then receiving a fellowship at the museum
. I
t
’
s important that we support him. His
background
in history and knowledge will be a true asset to them.
Washington is only about eight or nine hours from here, so it will be easy enough for us to visit.
This means Nik will continue to be raised by Nathanial and me. I think this is one of the things Elijah and Nathanial
are
working on today. We have been talking about drawing up papers that give us full custody of Nik. With Luke away and us married now, it makes
it
easier
for
education, medical and life
issues
in general. Of course
,
we
’
ll always involve Luke in major decisions.

As the others begin to clear their plates, I shake myself out of my running thoughts and focus on the environment around me.


  

  


Back at the main house
,
Florence makes a call to the same vampires that have been helping Nathanial and Nik since this past fall. Tryphosia and Abzudah
,
of the Oolatec clan
,
are two of the wisest vampires our family knows. She
’
s hoping
that
they may have some information on how to destroy Cyrus and Drake
,
once and for all. After an hour on the phone
,
and several pages of notes, Florence places the cordless receiver back on the hook. Her timeless face appears distressed and anguished.

“
What did they say
,
Florence?
”
Constance asks with a concern I
’
ve never seen in her big round eyes before.

Florence begins to pace the room
.
“
T
hey are having some books couriered over. We have to search through them for definite answers, but from what they explained to me, it will not be an easy task.
”

“
We kinda know that already, but why do they say it will be difficult?
”
I question in a sarcastic tone.

“
It seems that the longer a vampire lives
,
the more calcified their bones become. This creates some kind of impenetrable body
armor
that protects them. Over time
,
they become less sensitive to UV rays, and although the sun can hurt them, it appears that it won
’
t fry them. There are very few things that can kill a vampire as old as these two.
”
Her brow furrows as she looks to her feet.

“
Well
,
lay it on us Florence
,
”
Isaac insists as he places a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“
The best way to destroy the grandchildren of Cain
i
s for Cain to do it himself. The problem is
no one even knows if Cain
,
himself
,
still exists. Next
,
i
t goes to one of his three sons. These options appear impossible.
Another
option we have
i
s to tear out their heart and burn it
;
another near
ly
impossible
task as the bones of their body
armor
protect the heart. The same goes for decapitation
;
the strength of the
ir
cervical spine will not allow this
,
either. Do you see where this is going? I
’
m not sure if we can find anything to destroy them
,
”
Florence says with despair.

When the first vampires were created
havoc
took over until they form
ed
two groups.
Each group had their own set of beliefs. The Ren
a
ta set rules, laws of
a
sort
,
for our kind to follow in an attempt to live peacefully
—
and keep our secret hidden. The Cerberus
,
on the other hand
,
believe they were given this power and
that
they should use it to rule the world and control the mortals. They believe they are the highest on the food chain, thus rulers of the world.
I can
’
t help but wonder if there is some way of contacting Lilith. She started this mess by teaching Cain what to do
;
maybe she can help stop it as well. I wonder if we can contact her spirit in hell?

“
Hey
,
I just had an idea
,
”
I shout with excitement
.
“
I
f the best way to destroy Cyrus and Drake is by Cain, or his sons, wouldn
’
t Cain
’
s grandchildren
,
also known as Cyrus
’
siblings
,
be the next best thing
,
and so on down the family tree?
”

“
That makes total sense Sophia
. N
ow
,
all we need is get one of the original Renata here. I think Elijah should get in touch with his contact tonight
. T
hey may also have another
suggestion
,
”
Florence recommends as she begins to relax again.

We all know
that
something needs to be done about the Cerberus
,
and the thought of how to defeat the leaders looms over us. The tension in the room is near palpable. Trying to think of other matters that need attention
,
I decide to ask about the big case Elijah has been working on with Nathanial.

“
I guess there
’
s not much we can do right now about the Cerberus. Now
,
what about this big case Elijah
’
s got
. D
o you know anything about it?
”

“
Not really
. Y
ou know Elijah doesn
’
t care to talk about work at home. I
’
m sure it
’
s nothing that would be of interest anyway.
”

Eliza brings Nik in to the family room
,
and little Elyn follows behind
i
n her cute little floaty fashion. Nik loves when she flutters around him like a butterfly; both babies are nothing but giggles. The mood in the room changes for the better at the very sound of the young life before us.

Both Nik and Elyn are very special babies. Elyn is the
first-born
daughter to a
M
agnificent
O
ne. Ebony and Matt had an unplanned pregnancy
and
teen marriage, and they ended up with a beautiful and powerful baby
and felt blessed about it.
Although everything has its price
,
Ebony was about to lose her life during the
C
-section, until Constance
Embraced
her. A short time after
,
Matt lost his life in a terrible car accident involving a drunk driver. We all understand that it was meant to be
—
that h
e was called to complete his guardian training. A guardian is like a
n
angel that takes human form in order to watch over the magickal wit
c
hes of the world. We have no idea how long he will be gone. Things have been hard on Ebony
—
and Elyn is growing so fast
.
I only hope Ebony will find happiness again one day.

Now Nik
,
he
’
s a real miracle
.
Nathanial
’
s parents were unable to conceive until I healed his mom
’
s womb. She was soon expecting Nik, but an attack by the Cerberus cost the McCord
’
s their lives. Isaac was able to save the baby, but he was born a
day walker
. A
day walker
is half vampire
,
h
alf mortal. The venom for the Cerberus crossed the placenta
and saved Nik
from
death like his parents. He has all the strengths and powers of a vampire
,
but will continue to age until he consumes the blood of a vampire
,
w
hich will complete the
Embrace
. He also doesn
’
t have the weakness that vampires have
. T
he sun doesn
’
t affect him
;
neither does
garlic, silver,
or
any of the
other
restrictions. Being a
day walker
is the best of both worlds. We had to bring in special trainers for him though. The intensified senses were too much for a baby to handle. He is doing much better now, as is Elyn. Ebony had to block her empathic abilities
. O
ur emotions were too much for her to take.

As Elyn floats around the roo
m
,
C
onstance opens her arms to her.
“
Come see Aunty Connie.
”
Elyn gravitates right into Constance
’
s arms and giggles a little more
, h
er little black curls tightly braided around her head, and her big brown eyes sparkling like Hailey
’
s comet shooting across the night sky.
“
How
’
s our little peanut?
”
Almost as soon she ask
s
,
Co
nstance
’
s face falls as if something
’
s wrong
…

In Harm
’
s Way