Sacrifice (Absent Shadows Trilogy Book 2) (7 page)

‘Well, that all depends.’ She looked at me, then at Sam, and then back at me. ‘Hmmm … perhaps just after Christmas could work. You’ll have had your baby by then, and he can be whisked away safely before the wedding. However, if you want to be married before the baby is born, then we’ll need to move quickly.’

I turned to Sam, and he looked as surprised as I felt. I started to ask him what was happening, but before I could speak, he shook his head and sort of shrugged, and nodded toward Crystal as if to say, ask her.

I turned back to Crystal. ‘Baby?’

‘Yes, you’re going to have a baby. I can see it in your eyes.’

‘You’ve got to be joking, right? I mean, you are joking, aren’t you? Seriously,’ I replied indignantly.

‘No. I’m not joking, not at all. Your baby will be born in six weeks from when you conceived. And I assume that was since you’ve arrived?’

I stood there, speechless. What the …? Pregnant? I mean, already? And six weeks—what on earth was she talking about? That was barely time to come to terms with the
idea
of becoming a mother, let alone actually giving birth and having a baby. Six weeks? I vaguely remembered something Sam had told me about Michael, something about how fast he grew … but it hadn’t occurred to me that it could actually happen like this. Not to me.

Crystal stared at me with a smile that touched not only her lips, but her eyes as well. She looked so happy. Why wasn’t I?

I finally found my voice. ‘Yes of course … last night. But six weeks? Are you sure? I mean, that hardly seems possible.
Six weeks
?’

‘Yes, six weeks. Oh, but don’t look so scared,’ she said, taking my hand and rubbing it gently. ‘Really, it isn’t as bad as you think. Your body won’t get anywhere near as large as a normal pregnancy. The baby will be born quite small—he will weigh less than two pounds at birth.’

‘Crystal, are you sure about this? I mean, I can’t believe you’re serious,’ I said, looking down at my stomach. Could there really be a baby in there?

‘I’m quite serious. Sam, be a dear and take her into the living room. You two sit down, relax. I’ll make us something to drink. I’ll be with you in a moment.’

Sam led me into the living room where we sat down on the sofa. I looked at him, hoping to find some answers in his eyes, but he just smiled as he kissed my cheek and held my hand.

In a few moments Crystal came in, carrying two steaming cups.

‘Here, it’s just herbal tea—very refreshing. It will make you feel better.’

‘Will it? Really? I mean, I’m sure I heard wrong. I must have heard wrong,’ I said, very much in denial.

Crystal sat on the sofa next to me, and handed me one of the cups. ‘You didn’t hear wrong, Lili. You are pregnant, and assuming Sam is the father, you will have your baby in six weeks.’

‘I don’t understand. I mean, babies take nine months. Everyone knows that,’ I trailed off as I tried to come to terms with the fact that my baby would be a dhampir—like Michael, or like Crystal. My baby wasn’t going to be human … it wouldn’t take nine months.

‘Would you like me to explain? Would that help?’ she asked, looking first at me, then at Sam, then back at me.

I took a deep breath, and then took a sip of the tea. It was sweet and refreshing. I nodded and she began.

‘What I’m about to tell you is what Mladen taught me. There are no books we can refer to, and you won’t find any articles on the internet about this.’

‘Okay,’ I said, steeling myself for yet another story that would no doubt be incredibly difficult to believe.

‘As you know, dhampirs are the offspring of a vampire father and a human mother. We are on this earth for one very important reason: to prevent the total destruction of the human race. If allowed to go unchecked, vampire populations would simply grow and grow until there would be so many of them they would completely wipe out the human race. Dhampirs are the vampire’s only natural predator. You understand this, don’t you?’

‘Yes, of course,’ I said, glancing over at Sam, remembering what he’d told me previously. I turned back to Crystal, hoping it would all make sense.

‘Out of fear of us,’ Crystal continued, ‘vampires are very careful about not being seen. Indeed, most vampires live fairly solitary existences, keeping their encounters with humans brief. Unfortunately for humans, most encounters are for one reason only, and the human doesn’t have a chance to speak of it afterwards. However, occasionally, if there is a very strong attraction, a vampire may reveal himself to a human woman for reasons other than the usual one.’

Sam squeezed my hand when she said this, and when I turned to look at him he smiled shyly. Crystal cleared her throat, and when I turned back she continued.

‘Lust is a powerful emotion, and it can make even a vampire behave differently to his natural disposition, just as it does with humans. The vampire may take chances that he wouldn’t normally take—like risk being discovered. But just as it is with humans, when the lust has passed, it is easy for the vampire to regret his actions.’

I looked at Sam again when she said this, suddenly fearful that he might be regretting last night. But when I met his eyes he smiled and his look reassured me. Satisfied, I turned back to Crystal.

‘In nature, the strong survive, the weak don’t. With dhampirs, it is similar. Not all women will conceive from an encounter with a vampire. It takes something special in them to actually enable them to conceive. They must be strong and fit, both physically and mentally. If the conditions are right, the dhampir will be conceived.

‘From this point, however, it is not just their fitness that helps them survive; it is also their growth rate. A full grown dhampir is virtually indestructible. Only the strongest of vampires would stand a chance against one. However, a foetus, and indeed an infant dhampir, is vulnerable.

‘Consider this. A woman falls pregnant to a vampire who is full of lust. He leaves, but has nine months to consider his actions. In many cases, probably most actually, he would return to kill the foetus before it has a chance to grow into something that might live to hunt him one day. So, for the dhampir foetus to have the best chance to survive, it must grow quickly: both in the womb of its mother, and once it is born.’

I took a deep breath and raised my hands as a signal for Crystal to slow down for a moment while I absorbed what she’d said. I suppose I was prepared to accept what she was saying. After all, I’d already accepted the existence of vampires and dhampirs.

‘May I continue?’ she asked. When I nodded, she began again, ‘Your baby is already growing incredibly quickly—much faster than that of a normal human baby. When he is born, he will be a little less than the size of a premature baby; however he will be incredibly strong. His lungs and other organs will be fully matured, and within a few days, he will be the size of a human baby born at full term.

‘After that, he will grow at approximately six to seven times the rate of a human, until he reaches maturity within three or four years. I’ve known Michael since he was just an infant. By the time he was four years old he looked exactly as he does now.’

She paused on her own this time. I just sat staring at her in awe.

‘Lili, are you okay? Is this making sense to you?’ She had this look on her face as though worried she’d fried my brain or something.

‘Yes, I think so,’ I answered, ‘I mean, it does make sense I guess, but it’s just so hard to believe.’

‘Yes, I imagine it’s a lot to take in. But you’ll see for yourself, soon enough. In six weeks when you give birth, your baby will be small, and your body will not have undergone too much stress. Then, once born, he will continue to grow incredibly fast, so that by the end of the first week he will be larger than the average newborn. Then, after two weeks he will be nearly the size of a three month old baby. By the time he is one month old, he’ll be the equivalent of a six month old human. And so on. By four years, he will be a fully matured adult.’

I swallowed hard, then reached over and picked up the now lukewarm tea, and took a long sip.

‘So, I suppose for the next two weeks I’ll pretty much look normal, but after that I’ll start looking fatter and fatter?’

‘You’re so fit—I suspect you’ll look great right up to the end. You won’t get huge. And I’ve got creams that you can apply. You shouldn’t even get stretch marks.’

‘But I’m thinking about Debs and Ian. Will they notice? How can I explain this to them?’

‘Yes, well, one way or another, toward the end of the pregnancy you’ll want to be away from here. And now do you understand why this wedding needs to be soon, or else put off until after Christmas?’

Again, I just nodded, and turned to Sam. He put his arm around my shoulders and leaned over and kissed my forehead. ‘It’s your call, sweetheart. You decide.’

Crystal smiled at us. ‘Why don’t you two think about it for a few days? If you decide to go ahead with the wedding now, we can have a small ceremony—perhaps in the gardens. Or, if you want to see if your mother will come, and wait for that, then yes, it would be best to wait until after Christmas.’

I felt lightheaded—like I was in a dream. But this wasn’t a dream. According to Crystal, this was for real. It was happening, and happening fast.

‘Yeah, okay, we’ll think about it,’ I said, turning to Sam for support, but he just smiled and shrugged his shoulders again. Then he turned to Crystal.

‘Come on, Crystal; make the poor girl some breakfast. She only had an ice-cream cone for dinner last night. We sort of got side tracked and I must admit I didn’t even think about feeding her.’

Sam stood, pulled me up, and led me into the kitchen where we sat at the little round table. Crystal followed us in, and quickly started making me some breakfast. She made a fresh pot of coffee, as well as toast with blackberry jam. I felt better as soon as I started eating, and by the time I’d finished, I’d resigned myself to the idea of having the wedding the following weekend.

Sam was happy with that decision, with one exception.

‘We’re going shopping to buy you an engagement ring—today. That way, when you tell Debs, she won’t think I’m some poor unworthy schmuck that just sells vegetables at a market.’

‘What? Debs? She’s the one that keeps calling you my
charming young man
. You don’t need to worry about trying to impress her.’

‘Ah, yes, she may like me. But Ian is her third husband, yes? And each one has been wealthier than the last, yes? You can’t tell me money is no concern of hers. Sorry, I think she’s going to want to see a rock. And I would suggest the bigger the better!’

I laughed, but the idea of wearing a diamond ring on my left hand wasn’t half bad. In fact, I already liked the idea.

‘Okay, you win. We’ll go shopping. But just to make you happy,’ I said, winking at Crystal.

~~***~~

I fell in love with a ring at the first jewellery store Sam took me to. I took one look at it and just knew it was the one. It was a heart shaped Ceylon sapphire, set in platinum, with three little princess cut diamonds on each side. The band was wide, so I wouldn’t wear another ring with it. This would be it—the one. And it fit perfectly.

‘How much is this one,’ I asked the salesman at the counter.

Sam stepped in front of me and shook his head, handing the man a credit card. ‘It doesn’t matter how much it is. If this is the one you want, it’s yours.’

‘Oh, it’s the one. Look how well it fits, and how nice it is on my hand,’ I said, turning my hand back and forth so that the stones sparkled under the store lights. I couldn’t pull my eyes away.

‘Yes, it’s beautiful, just like you,’ Sam answered, putting his arm around my shoulders and kissing my cheek.

‘You’ve chosen well, young lady,’ said the salesman, ‘that is one of the finest rings we have in stock.’

~~***~~

Debs and Ian were just sitting down to have a cup of tea when we arrived. Debs was very pleased to see Sam, and fussed over getting him a slice of cake—she wouldn’t take no for an answer. I waited until we were all seated, and the conversation had gone past finding out how everyone was, and then I simply laid my left hand down in the middle of the table, and sighed.

‘Lili? What’s that on your hand? Is that what I think it is?’ She looked at me, then at Sam, and back at me. When I nodded with a grin on my face Debs stood up, walked around the table, and threw her arms around me.

‘Oh, Lili, I’m so happy for you! For both of you. This is wonderful news. Ian, they’re engaged. Can you believe it? And so young, but what does that matter? Your mother was quite young too. Oh, it will be so much fun planning the wedding. I can’t wait to see the look on your mother’s face when she meets Sam. She’ll be as charmed as I was, no doubt.’

I didn’t think she’d ever stop talking, but finally there was an opening and I took it.

‘Debs, we’re just going to have a small ceremony, here, in the Flagstaff Gardens. That’s sort of
our place
, you see. It will just be you and Ian, and Tom and my friend Crystal, and her husband Michael, and maybe a few others.’

‘Okay, well, that will be lovely, if that’s what you want. But it still needs planning. You’ll need a cake, and flowers, and of course you’ll need a dress; a very special dress. Please tell me I can help you pick out a dress. Or better yet, can I have one made for you? Would you like that?’

‘Thank you, but there won’t be time to have one made. We’ve decided it will be next Saturday, so there is only one week to get things organised. I really do want to keep it simple.’

She shook her head, but Debs wasn’t one to be afraid of a challenge. ‘One week. And of course it’s a short week, with the Melbourne Cup right in the middle of it. But we’ll manage. Hmmm, the dress will have to be off the rack then, and I’m not sure where we will find a cake, but I’ll get on the phone to a few friends, and I’m sure that between us, we will get you something that you’ll be happy with. And a friend of mine has a daughter who’s a florist. Now, Monday morning, you’ll come with me. I know the perfect place to find you a dress. It’ll be fine.’

~~***~~

Forty-eight hours later everything was set. Crystal had located a celebrant who didn’t seem fazed by the rush, and the woman said she’d even organise the music—a small string quartet. The ceremony was to be in the gardens in the early afternoon. Tom said he’d set up the same tent he’d used for Crystal and Michael’s anniversary party. And Debs had successfully organised the cake and flowers. There was nothing left to do except find the dress.