Immortal Embrace
Charlotte D. Blackwell
World Castle Publishing
http://www.worldcastlepubliching.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
World Castle Publishing
Pensacola, Florida
Copyright © Charlotte Blackwell 2011
ISBN: 9781937085513
Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2011930722
First Edition World Castle Publishing July 1, 2011
http://www.worldcastlepublishing.com
Licensing Notes
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.
Cover Artist: Karen Fuller
Editor: Marissa Dobson
Dedication
To my wonderful family, my husband James, you have always believed in me even when other didn’t, thank you for all your support and encouragement. My children Jorden, Shawnee and Lucas I could have never finished this book without your understanding. Jorden you are an amazing young woman and thank you so much for always helping with the other kids when mommy needed to work. You kids inspire me to follow my dreams and never give up. My best friend Kathi, thank you for always being my sounding board and kicking me when I needed it when began to doubt myself. You make me laugh and cry and always there to entertain me. Together we will make them “SKIP”. I love you all more then you could know and each one of you has helped me to succeed.
An extra special thanks to my publisher Karen, I can’t thank you enough for believing in me and my story, I hope to make you proud. My editor Marissa thanks for challenging me and helping me to see when I could do better. I think we did it!
And last but not least, thanks to all the vampire lovers out there who like me just can’t get enough. I hope you enjoy the Embrace series.
Introduction
In Greek Mythology it is believed that humans originally had four arms and legs and two faces on one head. The God Zeus was scared of the power these humans had and split them in half, resulting in two humans. He condemned humans to walk the earth searching for their other half to complete them. This is referred to as soul mates, through reincarnation some soul mates may spend many life times either searching for one another or together.
Chapter One
Changes
Her scream rips through the entire house, as the family runs to the horrific source, the wailing cuts right through to my very core. The memories flood me of the day I used to bellow the same cry so many years earlier. But I can’t think about my own terror anymore, I have a new life now. I can’t allow her to go through what I did. What has he done? I know her terror, her fear, the panic that is starting to set in for a girl who has become like a sister to me.
“She’s in Caspian’s room!” I shout.
Within moments of the painful cry, my entire family reaches the door. Elijah grabs for the brass doorknob, only to find it locked. He pounds at the solid oak door, his demands for it to open becoming more and more desperate as her cries fall silent. I take notice as Elijah and Florence share a glance and then, with his unnatural strength, he throws his shoulder into the door with all his might. The door splinters into pieces as what is left of it crashes to the ground.
Inside the room, Caspian is frantically fighting to save the woman he loves. “I...I didn’t... I didn’t mean to! I didn’t...Please help her! Please!” The tears stream down his face; blood no longer pours from the wound he inflicted on Ashley.
I look at the two of them and wonder how did this ever happen? She lays limp in his arms, as he is desperately trying to give her life again. The bed beneath them is stained crimson with her blood. I notice the small puncture mark on his wrist. It is seeping slowly, almost completely closed over. Surely that is from his attempt to save her. Surely...
“Ashley, NO! Please wake up. I can’t lose you, my love. I am so sorry,” Caspian cries in utter anguish.
Isaac and Constance push through the rest of us, to their aid. If anyone can save her, it will be one of them.
“She is too far gone,” Isaac observes. “There is nothing any of us can do to save her now.”
“Can I help? There has got to be something one of us can do.”
“No, Sophia. I’m sorry, but she has lost too much blood, and her heart has stopped.
He drank too much too quickly. I’d try to give her blood if I thought it would help, but it won’t do any good. I am sorry,” Isaac says, “but Ashley is dead. We cannot help her now.” His grim confirmation ends all hope.
Every instinct within me tells me to run and cradle her, to use every power within me to breathe life back into her limp body. “I can feel it now. She is gone forever.” I didn’t need him to tell me; I had felt it the second he released her hand.
“I have much more experience than you, Sophia. In time you too, will have the ability to detect separate entities and feel when the life force leaves,” He adds before he rises from his knees and pulls Caspian from her body. “We have all made mistakes, and I’m so sorry. We all loved her.”
Elijah wraps Caspian in a bathrobe and leads him out of the room away from the rest of us. Leaving us all standing there for a moment, shocked into silence by the tragic loss. Caspian has lost the woman he loved, but we all lost a woman we considered part of our family. It is not very often we let someone in, but our Ashley is just...well, she is special or at least was.
“What are we going to do now?” I ask. Glancing around the usually immaculate room, I see it is in total disarray. The white, satin sheets appear black from the dried blood they are now soaked in. Blood splatter covers every wall, as well as the two lovers’ clothing that is haphazardly strewn about the floor.
Isaac calmly observes our surroundings and tries to piece together the details.
“Elijah will handle this. He is a very wise man, and he will assist Caspian in dealing with his loss and the details of the accident.”
Constance agrees. “We will know more after Caspian clarifies what happened.”
Constance’s and Florence’s footsteps pound in my head as they walk down the staircase toward the kitchen. The sound of splashing water echoes through the corridor as they prepare a bucket to do the cleaning. We have to remove any and all evidence of this tragedy.
I realize my senses are increasing from the blood exposure, and quickly turn my focus back to Caspian. “Why wasn’t anyone aware of Caspian and Ashley’s situation?
Could no one sense what was happening? This could have been prevented.” My face burns with anger, and my throat is as dry as charred forest. As I become more aware of my surroundings, the drying blood brings the repulsive metallic scent of death. “I better open a window,” I say, needing relief. “It is starting to smell in here.” It is time to air it out a little; even if nothing will remove the smell of Ashley’s spilled blood. I head to the large window at the front of the room. I pull the shades and open the window before taking a seat on the window bench.
Alexander opens a second window on the side of the room. “Agreed. I hate the smell once the blood stops moving and what is left begins to settle.”
I cannot help but wonder how the blood can be so appealing until it starts to congeal in the body and reek. The wind rushes in through the open glass, and the scent of her young blood swirls around the room. I can feel the urge hastening through my body. I am ready to come apart.
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“Sophia, relax. You can handle this. Nothing is going to happen. We will all be fine.”
Alexander understands me only the way a twin can. He is so protective of me, and the connection between us is strong, almost unbreakable. Why though, brother weren’t you watching over Caspian instead? I thought but dare not say.
With his large hands on my tiny shoulders, looking directly in to my eyes, into my very core in the way only he can, Alexander interrupts my worries once again. “Because he asked me to butt out tonight, Sophia. They had a special evening planned, and he did not want my intrusion.”
“I am not blaming you. I am only wondering if there was anything we could have done.” I run both hands through my hair, loosening the layers to fall around my face piece by piece. I let out a huge sigh, not wanting to lay blame on anyone. This is just one of the risks we take with our lifestyle, nothing more than a terrible unfortunate mishap.
“What about now? Do you know what happened, what is happening?” I ask, still looking up at my brother, who towers nearly a foot over my diminutive five-four frame.
He lowers his head, letting the sandy blond hair cover his face.
I try to gauge his emotions. I can tell he knows something, but getting him to share it with me is an unattainable feat, at least for tonight.
“Okay, everyone grab a cloth and start cleaning. Caspian doesn’t need to walk back in on this mess,” Florence urges in her motherly tone as she enters the room with a cache of washcloths and cleaning supplies.
Everyone works together to try to remove the hideous evidence from Caspian’s room. This is going to destroy him. He loves her more than anything else, and he will need our help to cope.
***
“He’s gone! I had no chance of stopping him. He was exasperated over the accident, and he returned his day ring to me and said he is no longer fit to be a member of our family. And then, just like that, he took off. I...I don’t think he is coming back—not ever.” Elijah gently places his arm around Florence’s shoulders. “Not only has our family lost Ashley tonight, but we’re losing Caspian too. We can mourn our losses tomorrow, but tonight we must take care of business.” We all agree and get to work. We never question Elijah; he is the head of this family and demands respect. What reason would we have to doubt him? He never steers us wrong and always guides us in the right direction.
Elijah and Isaac wrap Ashley’s body, already growing cold, in a sheet.
“We will dispose of the body,” Elijah says, lowering his head at the thought. “The rest of you should continue cleaning the room.”
Once again, we find ourselves drowning in silence as the older men in the family remove the body of our friend.
Constance sets the scene in Caspian’s room to create the appearance of him running away with Ashley. She even initiates a goodbye letter on his computer.
I can hear Florence on the phone with Ashley’s family: “Have you seen or heard from Caspian? We found his room in disarray tonight and a letter on his computer. He said he could not handle the pressure of college and was leaving.”
The plan is being set into motion, much like a story being written. We will file a missing person report after the required forty-eight hours. As for tonight, we will pretend to go search for the two lovers that we know are forever lost to us and to each other.
***
With every passing day, I wonder about Caspian’s safety and his emotional state. We have not heard a word from him since Ashley died, and my only hope is that he will return to us soon. If or when he decides to, he will know how to locate us. I still cannot believe everyone in town believes our tale that Caspian and Ashley ran away together, but our secrets have been well kept. I only wish they were still with us.
I don’t want to leave, but it is time to move on, as we are needed elsewhere. I grab my suitcase, pack my belongings, and prepare for our relocation. All the while, I cannot help being slightly frustrated that Alexander still won’t share what he knows. Maybe one day I will get it out of him, but for now, only unanswered questions linger in my mind.
***
It has been almost thirty years and eight moves since I last spoke to my oldest brother on the night when his girlfriend was accidentally taken from us. Still, I am convinced I have seen him lurking in the shadows from time to time, possibly to check up on us. I hope he decides to confront us someday soon. I think about him and the accident every day, that night changed me forever. The ache in my heart returns often, and I miss my brother. He was always willing to tell me what others refused to. Things were much more exciting with him around; humdrumness has taken over since he left...at least until recently, when she came. Our family is not the same without him; we have since taken in a new girl. She is young, with a birth age of only fifteen. I remember when Constance found her outside the hospital one evening last summer. We knew by the nature of her injuries that she would soon be one of us. We took her in and helped her through the embrace, training her and inviting her into our family.
“It is time to move on again and introduce Danika back into society. Where better to start than the same place we all began our lives again so many years ago?” Elijah declares, and he begins arranging for our relocation.
“This scares me,” I confess. “She is still so young. How do you know she won’t rebel?”
“Sophia, my dear, you made it through, and she will too. You need to have some confidence in her ability to socialize—not to mention that Alexander, Mati, and you will be with her all the way,” Florence assures me with far more confidence in the decision to proceed than I have.
I watch with dismay as Elijah takes Caspian’s family ring, hanging on a thin gold chain, and places it around Danika’s scrawny little neck.
My emotions get the better of me, and I shout, “How can you just give her Caspian’s ring?” Danika is only a teenager, after all.
With a firm hand and stern voice, Elijah replies, “He has not shown himself in three decades, Sophia. She may use it until we can have one made for her. It will not take long once we return to Wenham.”
That was the end of the discussion, for we never question Elijah.
Chapter Two
The Move
I’ve never imagined happily ever after. Happiness is not in the stars for me. How can it be? I ask myself. I saw how it destroyed Caspian. I will not let the same thing happen to me. That is why I try to distance myself from others. Now, after years entertaining and educating myself, working meaningless jobs, I have to return to high school as a spy and babysitter. I guess this will be a true test for Danika, but I am not interested in watching her every move and all the questions that come with being the new kid in town. Flopping back on my bed, I try to imagine what it would be like if I was normal, if I was mortal.
The past week has been spent unpacking. Moving is a big job, and we are taking the time to set up our house and make it our home. Walking around the house, I feel a sense of belonging, but it is overwhelming to return to the town where everything changed, where we learned a new way to survive. The memories overwhelm me with a variety of emotions, and the lump in my throat makes it even harder to fight back the tears. Things improved for us because of a few magickal women we had the privilege of befriending, but I fear now that Danika will jeopardize it all...but I guess I should have a little more confidence in her and in our training.
When I am finished preparing my room, I decide to help Alexander and Matilda with theirs.
“Why don’t you two ladies enjoy a walk around the grounds while I set up the electronics?” my brother Alexander asks. “Sophia, can I assume you still need yours installed?” Alexander gives me a playful nudge.
“You assume correctly,” I reply with a smirk across my face. The two of us leave the room.
***
Matilda and I take solace in our little walk around the grounds, familiarizing ourselves with the area. Taking a seat on the bench in the back garden, I confess, “I think I may like being back here
in Massachusetts. We already have history in Wenham, and I believe it’s going to prove to be an interesting place for us to live.”
“You’re right, Sophia. I remember the last time we were here. This is the place that made everything possible, the place where I became part of this family.” A slight twinge of pain flickers in Matilda’s eyes as she recalls a time so long ago. “That seems like forever now.”
Trying to forget about the bad stuff, we look around and lounge in the overcast weather. We are fortunate to have found this amazing house. It has to be the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen. It reminds me of an old-style colonial mansion. It is just on the outskirts of town and slightly secluded, and is more than large enough for our entire family, all eight of us. Our family enjoys nice things, but even better than that, we love a good deal. I have to say this is the nicest house we have ever had—and at a price we couldn’t beat. We all love it, so even when we move again (as we surely will have to someday), maybe we’ll keep the house for future use.
I am excited to be here again. We have been gone for years. I feel comfortable here, as if I belong. When I start to feel this way, the logical part of me takes over my mind, and I start to wonder how long it will last. We never stay in one place for more than a decade, and then it is on to the next town.
“How do you feel about going back to school?” I ask while twirling my long brown hair around my fingers, I confirm. “I was nervous, but I am getting a little excited.”
“I think it will be fun. I have been getting a little bored and look forward to challenging myself. I think the curriculum has changed since last time,” admits the Barbie doll blonde. In true Matilda fashion, she retouches her lip gloss while admiring herself in a compact mirror, before we wander back to the house.