Birth of Jaiden (27 page)

“
What is it?” Chris
asked.

Alex told him as they
entered the hallway and walked. “Stewart was staring at Jaiden in a
strange way.”

“
Well, Stewart can be a
strange guy sometimes.”

“
No, it was different than
I am used to seeing from Stewart. For a minute, it almost seemed as
if it wasn’t even him. And how bizarre was that what happened
outside?”

“
You think something is
up?”

Alex shrugged. “I don’t
know.”

They took a doorway at the
back of the house downstairs and found themselves in a level of the
house which was below ground, not visible from the
outside.

And there, in a large room
filled with boxes and tons of miscellaneous things, was a small
table set with six crystal goblets filled with blood. The table had
five candles burning in the center and was actually complete with a
table cloth and two chairs.

Alex frowned. “I don’t know why
she had to make this awful thing look so…
fancy
.”

“
Live and let live, Alex.”
Chris lifted a goblet and began swigging down the dark
liquid.

Sighing, Alex reluctantly
did the same. After he had emptied the first goblet, his hunger
ignited and he started guzzling the rest down ravenously. They
polished off every drop, but then, disgust with himself replaced
the hunger he had sated.

Chris rose from his chair
and put his hand on Alex’s shoulder. “It’s ok.”

Alex also rose. “It will
never be ok.”

He blew out the candles
and they returned to the dining room.

He seated himself next to
Isabella and Chris found his seat on the other side of the
table.

“
Feel better?” Isabella
asked him.

He was amazed.
She looks truly
concerned, not sarcastic or appalled
.

“
Yes.” He reached down and
ran his index finger over Jaiden’s soft red hair. She had fallen
asleep with her pink blanket tucked snugly around her.

All of the food platters
were close to empty and most everyone had finished their meals.
Corrine stood from her seat at the head of the table and cleared
her throat.

“
I’m sure all of you are
very tired and need some sleep. On the second floor, there are more
than enough beds for all of you. Most of you will have to share
rooms but there is plenty of room. Tomorrow evening, we will be
having our ceremony for Jaiden and I expect all of you to be
there.”

She directed her attention
toward Michael. “Do your friends out there need
anything?”

Michael shook his head.
“No, ma’am, our trucks are equipped with bunks in the trailers and
they have plenty of food to last. Thank you very much,
though.”

Corrine shook her head.
“No, that’s just not right. I still think they deserve a good
meal.”

She held her hands palms
facing outward, toward the table, but still close to her body.
Within seconds, the platters and bowls were replenished with
exactly what they had been filled with before.

“
Take this out to them and
tell them they are more than welcome to come into the house if they
wish.”

Michael nodded and began
picking up trays. Deanna jumped up and grabbed a tray
too.

“
I’ll help,” she told
him.

Damion also volunteered to
help while Victoria went over to speak with Corrine.

Alex turned to Isabella.
“Let’s go get you two situated in a room.”

He picked up the carrier
with Jaiden in it.

Isabella nodded. “I’ll go
out and get the play pen and the diaper bag.”

He watched her as she left
the dining room. Then, he found his way upstairs. After Isabella
had returned and he had made sure she and Jaiden were settled, he
went in search of Corrine.

He passed Damion in the
stairway as he was going down.

“
Alex, good, I’m glad I
found you. I’m rooming with you. Stewart can room with
Jeremiah.”

Alex shrugged. “All
right.”

Damion paused to think,
and then continued, “I know you can feel that something isn’t right
here. You know how talkative Stewart normally is, well...he barely
said two words the whole way here.”

Alex shook his head and
responded, “What can we do about it, really?”

“
Alex, I am
telling
you that he is not being
normal.”

Alex felt compelled to
defend Stewart after the last incident. “He has been through an
awful ordeal; don’t you think it might take him some time to act
like himself again?”

Damion rolled his eyes and
started up the stairs. “Fine, whatever.”

Alex continued his search
for Corrine. He found her in the kitchen where she had been
cleaning up the mess her company had left.

He rapped on the doorjamb.
“Do you need any help?”

She turned to face him. “I
know you have questions. Go to bed and we will talk about it
tomorrow.”

“
But…”

“
No, Alex, it is very close to
dawn. I know inside that doesn’t matter but you need
rest.
”

“
Thank you for having us
here.”

Her lips curled into a
smile. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now get to
bed.”

Alex loved how she was
like a mother to everyone she came into contact with. He found it
odd how some were born with that quality and never lose it, and
then some just didn’t have it at all.

He followed her orders and
went up to his room with Chris and Damion. Chris was already asleep
and Damion was reading by the small lamp on the corner table.
Damion didn’t speak to him. Alex lay down on his bed and closed his
eyes. Sleep came fast and hard so he didn’t have time to dwell on
their situation.

29

Levine lay quietly on the
twin bed and pretended to sleep. Absolutely nothing would stop her
from taking that baby.

Slowly, she peeled off her
blankets and swung her feet over the side of the bed till they
touched the soft, blue carpet.

Her roommate was the old man,
who snored so loudly that she had no idea how anyone in the house
could sleep. Sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains and added
to the tranquil feeling of the morning.
They should all be asleep by
now
, she
thought as she slipped Stewart’s body back into the jeans and shirt
she had left neatly folded on the dresser.

Then, she tiptoed out into
the hall and moved slowly toward Jaiden’s room.

The night before, when she
had finally gotten a moment to herself, she had tested Stewart’s
powers. Since she was the one who had bound them, she was the only
one who could unbind them. He wasn’t as powerful as she had hoped
but it would suffice.

Don’t worry, husband. I am
coming home soon
. She knew Malcolm must be beside himself with her body
sitting there in a trance. He had no idea what she was doing for
him.

Outside of Isabella’s and
Jaiden’s door, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
Here we
go
. With
excruciating slowness, she twisted the knob until the latch of the
door clicked open.

There they were. Isabella
slept soundly in her bed while Jaiden, lay wide awake in the
portable play pen.

Almost there
.

She crept toward the play
pen and then quickly wrapped both hands around the baby and picked
her up. Jaiden immediately began to scream at the top of her
lungs.

Just great, shut
up
. Levine
pushed the baby’s head firmly into her chest to muffle the scream
till it was barely audible.

“
Mmm.” Isabella had rolled
over in the bed but didn’t wake.

Levine was practically at
the door when she heard Isabella’s voice. “What are you doing in
here?”

Levine turned, in Stewarts
body, and without a word, she lifted one hand away from the baby,
turning it so her palm faced Isabella.

“
What the hell…what are
you doing with her?” Isabella threw off the covers, intending to
jump out of bed, but before she could move, Levine sent a lightning
bolt right out of her palm and into Isabella’s chest.

Isabella’s body jolted
violently before falling sideways onto the bed.

Hope you have a good
heart
,
Levine said mockingly to herself and let Jaiden’s head flop away
from her chest. Screaming loudly, Jaiden kicked and waved her
little fists with all her might.

And you, my princess, must
sleep.
Levine touched her index and middle fingers to Jaiden’s
forehead. Immediately, Jaiden was asleep.
Ok, I’ve got to get out of
here
. With
the baby gripped firmly against Stewart’s chest, she slipped out as
quickly and quietly as possible.

Once in the hallway,
Levine picked up her pace and hurried toward the stairway where she
encountered her next and probably the strongest
obstacle.

Corrine stood at the bottom of
the stairs in a white terry cloth bathrobe. “Don’t you even
think
about going
anywhere with that child.”

Levine tried not to laugh
but instead told her with Stewart’s voice, “Isabella asked me to
watch her.”

Corrine stood her ground.
“I’m not blind. I know you are not who you appear to
be.”

“
I don’t know what you’re
talking about.” Levine descended down two stairs.

“
Yes, you do. Now give me
the child.”

“
All right, all right.” Levine
feigned compliance.
You should know better, Corrine
, she thought as she went down a few
more stairs. Then, when she was six steps from the bottom, she
lifted her palm outward and let the electricity fly.

Corrine had anticipated it
and effortlessly dodged it, letting the bolt pass extremely close
to her head. With a loud crack, it blew up the antique grandfather
clock behind her.

“
Come on, Corrine,” Levine
said sarcastically. “Let’s do this just like we used
to.”

Corrine’s eyes
widened.

“
Levine
,” she gasped.

“
Oh, my dear sister,
you’re the same as you always were. Stupid!” Levine moved quickly,
taking advantage of Corrine’s surprise by zapping her two more
times.

The bolts hit her in the
stomach, one right after the other, and sent her body flying
backward into the rubble of the broken clock.

Levine hurried down the last of
the stairs and made for the door.
Damn, I wish I wasn’t limited to this
mortal’s speed. Ugh
.

“
Stop!”

“
What now?” Levine stopped
and turned to see Corrine picking herself up.

“
Did you actually think that
would stop
me?
Come on, Levine, you know me better than that.”

Levine felt her anger
spread like wildfire. “How dare you challenge me!”

Corrine smirked. “You know
as well as I do I would never strike you while you are holding a
baby.”

“
This child is
mine
now.” She looked
down at Jaiden. “She is going to ensure the survival of our
vampires and I
will
kill you for her if I have to.”

Corrine nodded. “I know you
will but don’t forget that killing
your
kind is the key to
our
survival.”

Levine watched as Corrine
advanced a few feet with her hand raised in preparation but she did
not step back.

“
Don’t even think about
it
!”

Levine swiveled Stewart’s
head toward the voice. Corrine also turned her head to the top of
the stairway where Isabella stood clad in only a tee shirt and
socks, hair blowing every which way from a wind that didn’t
exist.

Oh great,
Levine thought, then laughed
with Stewart’s deep chuckle. “Missy, I don’t know exactly who you
are but you have
no
idea what you’re doing.”

“
Shut up
!” Isabella roared as she swung her
arms out in front of her to grasp the sleeping Jaiden who appeared
in them. Only a second later, they
both
disappeared into thin air.

Levine’s shock showed on
Stewart’s face. “What?”

She looked over at
Corrine, who smiled slyly and held up her closed fist.

Levine snorted. “What are you
going to do now,
hit
me?”

“
No,” Corrine answered calmly,
then raised her voice as she continued, “I’m going to
kick your
ass
!”