Five months ago
Cindy
Michael teleported into our living room and placed a sleeping Miné at our feet. Around his arms hung satchels with babies in them. Liam stood to help him put Jaali, Fia, and the little chadari dragon down. He told us what had happened in the village and disappeared. Liam turned to me, his eyes moving from Mael to the four children on the floor. Worried lines formed on his brow. I chuckled, catching his attention, "I will take them to Agatha… You and Sam are in charge for the time being… You have to go help Yazen… It's different than Earth."
"I know I should, but I don't want to… All I remember is Louis being given the general's token and disappointing our daughter—too busy with work… I've waited a long time for this moment."
"Yes, but your other child is also in danger if she's in a war zone."
"Juliet is no longer a child, my dear… She doesn't need me anymore… Mael and you have to come first."
"Okay, you stay… I'll go find my little girl and make sure my granddaughter is safe."
Liam sat next to me, taking my hand, "You know Caleb and Juliet are together… Sammy is with Ira."
"Even more reason for one of us to make sure Juliet and Caleb come home… The wolves are—unpredictable." He let go of me and sighed. "Please, Liam."
"Very well, my love… I will go talk to Jessy and take the army to the village… We might take a while. Remember the tower is on skeleton staff these two weeks…"
"Thank You... I would sleep better if I had any news about her whereabouts." Liam leaned down and pressed his lips longingly onto mine and pulled back, looking into my eyes. "I love you with all my heart…"
"I love you too… Be safe."
Liam kissed Mael and whispered into his ear, "Beautiful boy, take care of your mother."
I clucked my tongue, "You're going to be right back."
Liam stood with stoic features, staring deep into my eyes for a moment... He turned, and before he exited the door, he said, "I have a bad feeling."
Like Father like daughter, it was something Juliet usually said when she got the willies. Both were always ready to jump into battle until their gut told them something was off—then suddenly, they had 'premeditation' as a superpower.
Aries stirred, struggling with the material around him. Oh no. He lazily opened his eyes and looked around. Seeing my unfamiliar face, he screeched, waking the rest of the kids. "Mom! Dad! We got to go!"
Jaali manifested, and the two had a match as to who could cry the loudest. Startled, Fia blasted out into a whirlwind of dark every time she felt no one heard her cries. "What is going on?" my mom asked, walking into the room.
Miné sat groggily up, rubbing her eyes. She looked at the screaming kids around her. "What do we do?"
"Each pick up a kid, screaming or not… Keep them in the satchel and travel to Agatha… Go, mom! Quickly."
My dad nudged her forward. Miné picked up her sister and draped her around her neck. My dad picked up Aries and Jaali, hanging them over his shoulders. My mom threw her arms in the air… "Well, I will go by myself."
"We will have plenty to keep ourselves busy with…"
As we stepped out of the teleporter on Juliet's island, Agatha and Naji were on their way toward us. Although Agatha was a little more prepared. Three servant girls carried supplies. Her four guards, who had never left her side, had food and baby things in their arms. The group dropped all they had and took the kids from us.
With free hands, Agatha signed to the one man. He translated for her, verbally giving orders to ready the house for all the guests.
She turned to me, lifting her hands.
Agatha [ Michael and Chris took Marcus and told me to go help you. But…] Agatha looked at all the kids. [ This is not what I was expecting ]
"No, you can say that again…"
Agatha [ Come, come… You're always welcome.]
We were barely headed for the house; the soft drone of the station vibrated and made us all turn back to the cubicle to see who it could be. Ira, Silvanus, and Sammy came through.
The two men's eyes widened. "Goodness, seems like we're just in time," Silvanus said and rushed out to help my father.
For half an hour, it was chaos, with people moving here and there. Servants came and went. We tried to converse while the kids all needed to be fed at once and soothed. "Michael came to abduct Chris," Ira said, "We figured we should make sure what was going on this time… The last time I kept my nose out of their business, my son sold his soul."
"Well, I'm glad you guys did come. Did you see Liam on En-gannim?"
{ hm, chuckle } "Sure did," Silvanus answered, "Told us where we could drop this little one off for daycare before we need to go help the grown children… Although I feel bad for Charlene… She was really hoping to do well in her first diplomatic situation."
"Do you know what Juliet is up to?" I asked hopefully.
{ hmmm } "She didn't tell you?"
Ira stood, "Cindy, we will fill you in once we find them… She took Caleb with her on a very dangerous… dangerous… hair brain idea!" he stomped to the door, "Now we have to go save the next monarch on Zoreah."
Silvanus shrugged and followed Ira out.
A minute later, the two appeared in the middle of the room, making all the kids cry from the suddenness of their teleportation. "Oh, sorry, we can't teleport to Nahrima."
I glanced at Agatha, "You go help them," I nudged at the door. Mael was on my breast.
The teleportation was a little away from the house in a pretty building able to accommodate thirty people at a time. It was also the source of the house's tech to send and receive things and travel from floor to floor or location to location. One of the servants yelled from the second story, barely a muffled few words through the thick floor; something about the teleporters. I shook my head. Jessy will have to come to fix it—and quickly. Struggling with Mael, I stretched and searched for a plate in my bag to send him a message. I got no reply. I tried Liam. Also no reply.
***
One Week Later
We gathered everyone in the living room after we made peace with our fate. "Food is not a problem if we let the beast breed freely," I started the conversation.
"I think Silvanus and I had given each herd a sufficient scare this week to populate."
"Arima, have you checked on the water?" I asked.
"His majesty built reservoirs under the house which was filled this month… Mistress calculated we could live comfortably for four months or sparingly for ten… No baths… No cleaning…"
Ira clapped his hands, "Well, I'm sure in ten months, this will seem like a distant memory… You'll see… Liam will be walking through the teleporter any day now."
I looked from him to Agatha, meeting her worried eyes. We've talked about worst-case scenarios. The strange messages we received and had drawn our own conclusions. Someone was trying to help us communicate with one another… However, at Juliet's house, there was no equipment or parts around the house we could use to modify the plates the way this anonymous person suggested. The problem was worldwide, and so was the teleportation. We each had our own theories as to what happened.
My thoughts were constantly chafed by Liam's words, 'I have a bad feeling,' and how I had urged him to go to Mirach. Agatha nodded, encouraging me to get our point across. "Ira… If… and only if in ten months we've heard nothing, what would you suggest we do? How much time must pass before we plan long term?"
Ira fidgeted with a toy in his hands. Little Aries walked towards him, aiming for his prize. Ira held it out to him, watching the little dragon. His eyes drifted to the other children, "I didn't want to say anything… but—" he turned his torso to see where Sammy and Miné were, "There would be no point in planning for long term… Without water, how can we… Even if we stretched and tightened the restrictions, the beasts will die no matter how adapted to their environment they are…"
He took a moment to continue, "Without blood, none of the kids will last, especially Jaali, who will need a lot during his first two years…" Ira picked Aries up after he fussed to get on his knee. "The children need other foods to survive… We can sustain on meat and blood, but they can't for fifteen years… Fia, not at all… We have no idea what would happen to her if she's not with a dheka adult… Aries might be okay with an only meat diet."
"What if we plant something?" I asked hopefully.
Ira stood a little irritated, "Plant what?"
One of the servants raised a hand, "We have some fruit and vegetables… We do not know anything about farming, however—" she turned to the endless bookshelves all around us, "Juliet has been teaching the lower classes trades… Maybe the information is on plates… here somewhere."
"Plant anything in this sandy soil?" Silvanus scoffed. "Beneath the sand, there is rock-hard earth… Even if we could find a patch of fertile ground, how would we water the crops?"
Agatha signed and asked me to interpret. "She says it will keep us busy to figure it out… We might find a solution rather than waiting to—" Her gesture was self-explanatory. "Who knows, we might even find a water source; the island is rather large… Avrio must have supplied water for this region as well. She knows there are a few islands clustered together. One of them has a vast city, and so far away from the capital, most of the vamps here must have been willing to submit to the new rule of En-gannim."
"You think they might have built storage here for further developments?" Ira asked. "Because it was uninhabited… I guess it's plausible."
Silvanus stood and held out his hand to Agatha. Surprised, her lips opened slightly as if she would've said something. She hesitantly took it. "We will all go explore…" he said hopefully. Or encouraging her a little. "This island needs to be mapped and thoroughly gone over… Leave the kids here, and for the rest of the day, we will try to find some sort of solution."
***
Ten Months Later
Agatha's soft, rich brown strands were drifting on the wind behind her. Their bodies swayed—little hands and arms darted in different directions on the beat of music. Naji laughed every time Agatha would lower him down and swing him up into the air. The rest squealed and giggled like they should.
Ira walked toward me with his confident stride, always with a shirt tucked in at the front of his pants and hanging loosely around the back. I smiled up at the glint of mischief in his eyes. He sat on the chair beside me. A powerful masculine, intimidating physical presence. Handsome, I had to admit. Soft, dark brown eyes met mine. The corner of his lip lifted, stroking Mael's hair—rubbing a gentle thumb over his cheek.
The kids screamed at the top of their lungs, darting in different directions. Silvanus had landed in the middle of the group—manifested. The big monster they needed to run from. Ira and I laughed when he teleported at what looked like the speed of light and, one by one, gathered them up in his arm til the last one was crushed together in a firm grip. After he had them contained, he would dump them all on the grass.
"Hide and Seek!" Miné jumped up and down.
"Yes, Uncle Sil, hide and seek!" Sammy urged.
"Oh, no! You've had your fun… It's time to play with the babies before their nap."
The girls clapped their hands, "Yipee… I will take Jaali," Sammy said.
"Go get the blanket so we can all be outside." The girls ran into the house.
Silvanus turned to Agatha with a radiant smile, holding his hands out to Naji. The little boy leaned forward, falling into his grasp. Silvanus positioned him on his arm against his chest, Naji's little legs secured if he lost his balance.
Agatha stepped closer, and Silvanus placed his arm around her waist. They were the picture of the perfect family with the mountains behind them in the distance. I never knew En-gannim had Islands like these. It must be the only one. Large enough to maintain different species but no water of its own. I closed my arm around Mael, holding him closer. The reservoirs were nearly empty.
Across the lawn, the servants and four guards came walking back with the day's hunt. They were animated and laughing. The group had really bonded since we'd been held prisoner by an island. I drew in a heavy breath, "Why do you think they are so happy."
"They know it's our last month… I heard them speaking… They're going to try and enjoy whatever time they have left."
"Enjoy? You mean… Did any of them form couples? Ira, if one of the women ends up pregnant, what then?!"
"You know… If the two of us—" I tapped him playfully on his arm, "I'm just saying… if you wanted to… my door is always open."
My hand stayed where it landed, and I ended up caressing his skin. "Is it because we need to share a bed since the two love birds found a new way to release their passion…"
"No! I love having a woman in my bed… Your snores are adorable… I stay up most nights staring at you while you sleep."
"You do not."
He laughingly shrugged. Arima was there and bent down to take Mael from me. "Oh, yes, Ira and I have to do yard work today."
Ira stood and held out a hand for me, "Come wife, I will whisk you there."
"How gallant of you. I accept." Seductively, he pulled me into his arms, against his chest, and looked down into my eyes… I didn't want to complain every time he flirted with me. It was only his way to pass the time.
Ira took us to the fields, and before he put me down, I looked around at our efforts, "It's working… Now that we don't have any more water, the crops are actually producing." While still in his manifested arms, I could feel his eyes on me. "You can put me down now," I whispered. The attention was flattering.
"Oh, yes…" he said playfully and placed me on my feet to come back to his human features, "The servants also gave the last water we had allocated for the beasts today."
We strolled side by side through the many rows. Ira grabbed a long branch of grass and shoved it into his mouth. He was frustrated and not used to the celibacy. I chuckled, looking away, "Why do you think this large piece of fertile soil here… on this island? It's not like En-gannim ground at all… And since we've been watering, other things have sprung up… In a few months, we could've made bread."
"Ah, I miss bread…"
At least he was listening, to a degree, "I'm serious; this whole area looks like a dormant volcano. It's large and round and has the familiar little hill all around it. Almost a perfect circle."
"An alien ship landed." I laughed and took his hand. A little revived, he said, "Do you think there are volcanoes on En-gannim?"
"Tsk, no."
A gentle, smooth tug on my arm pulled me to a stop, and Ira made me face him. Could he be less charming? He took a step closer. Shyly, I adverted my eyes, my feelings in between angst and anticipation. "I'm just making conversation." He reached out and caressed my arm. "You did everything you could."
Ira wasn't stupid, was he? I stared out into the distance—his touch comforting on my skin. Memories—core moments—came to mind. My life flashed before my eyes; only a few days left to live. What a cliché I'd been. To fall apart would be best away from the children and prying eyes.
Ira's hand slid over my shoulder and up my neck. With a firm cupping grasp, he pulled me into his arms and onto his chest. I melted into him and wrapped my arms around his body. I closed my eyes and sniffled, trying to hold back my tears. He lifted my chin with determination and pressed his lips onto mine. The kiss was loving and done with only one goal—comfort.
He lifted his head, "I'm sorry… Sammy is Chris's daughter—my granddaughter, and the idea of seeing her suffer is unthinkable… I don't know…" He captured my mouth again, longer, harder.
The men have talked about it. Did we let the kids pass away naturally or— I lifted my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, opening my lips for him. We got lost in the embrace. It didn't mean anything.
Ira slowly ended the kiss, sensually lingering. His eyes were desperate for more, "You… are so beautiful… I don't know how you and Liam survived for two hundred years, all alone in that house."
"Since my daughter pushed your son into a car… my life has been… I want to say too much… Those years were nothing compared to what we went through in the last four."
"For me, it's been a bit longer… I am sorry I took Caleb… It must have been hard… I was so angry back then… Too angry… I've changed… I don't recognize myself anymore… And you're right… I can't remember much about my three thousand years…" he laughed lightly, "But after the car… I can remember everything…"
"How old was Satya when she had Chris?" Ira dropped me like a hot potato and turned away from me, jerkily ruffling his hair. "Ira!"
He went into a laughing jog, "I'm not saying… I'll start over there! I see some weeds."
I shook my head as I dug; the only thing I could think about was the age of the poor girl who had to sleep with a king. Sixteen? Fifteen!? Wasn't that when they were left to their own devices on Zoreah? Ira would never have approached her? Or would he? He didn't have a child yet… Did he think because she was so young, she'd conceive easier?
I slammed the small tool into the ground, tilling the soil of our neat little rows. On my knees, I moved through as many as I could, willing the day to be over. We even discussed killing the servants and Agatha's guards to save water. She couldn't get over it, and neither could I… What would be the point? Live a few months longer? Maybe a year. How long after we died would the teleporters come on again? An hour. A day? I couldn't imagine how Liam and Juliet would feel when they found our bodies—decayed with a baby in our arms. Liam was with Juliet… He would've gone to her… They were safe…
Hours later, I dropped my makeshift trowel, too tired to go on. I needed to feed Mael anyway… I told myself I'd keep breastfeeding until he bit me the first time… It had not happened yet… I sat there, knees in the dirt, looking out over the landscape. My life had been extraordinarily good to me. Liam made sure of it… How did we survive so close together with no one but us? We ignored each other for months on purpose. Planned it. Only to see who would cave first. We would have so much sex in the months to come. With the back of my hand, I rubbed over my cheeks to pat away my flushed cheeks. Oh, I was very innocent in the beginning of our relationship. In a way, I still was; I would never be adventurous… Then curiosity got the better of me… I suggested to Liam we should ask the dheka to… drug us with their ability. A giggle escaped my lips—the look on Liam's face.
One man for so long. One woman for him… He never asked… I didn't want to know…
The only other thing we could do was read… Learn… We could speak ten languages. We never told anyone… France to us was like walking into a hometown… Liam and I would, when we were learning a new one, not be allowed to speak in any other language… I laughed at us. It was fun to have to communicate, and you couldn't… Frustrating, but it worked. In a few years, we would be so fluent we could fight and debate for hours. And then, of course, there were new books from those countries we could read. When technology became a thing, our lives were a little bit more varied…
Liam made our income by teaching the boys on the compound… until Juliet…
The day I realized I was pregnant, I cried for hours without talking to Liam. For months, I hid it from him and kept it to myself. He had no idea what was going on with me. I had to reconcile with bringing a child into the compound. How irresponsible we were—thinking we could. How would a boy turn out in that world, and how would a girl survive? Liam thought I had reached a peak—my limits—to the life there. Finally, he broke and asked me if we should try to escape. Told me he would do whatever I wanted to do or do whatever it took to get me out. I should go. We could talk to Qadir and ask him to send me away—back home to En-gannim. I was already six months pregnant… Our child moved, and when that happens, you know there is someone else who is more important than you, alive and kicking to tell you they are.
I put Liam's hand on my tummy, and he could feel her, too.
I sluggishly got to my feet, scanning the rows to see how far Ira had gotten. He had not done much and was in his own little world. I turned to leave to give him some time alone. My feet were struggling over the uneven terrain, and I stumbled over—something. Didn't we clear all the large rocks from this area. What could we have missed?
I frowned; a firm corner sticking out of the soil caught the sunlight. My fingers were already dirty, so I wriggled them through the loose top layer—around whatever it was. Together with a chunk of ground, the little box fit in the palm of my hand. It wasn't something I'd seen on En-gannim before. The surface was rusted, and dirt clung to the thing—tamped down after decades of burial. You had seen better days. I wiped away the compact ground to find the opening.
With two fingers, I had to maneuver the lid off the tin. Again, I frowned. A stone? I lifted it and held it up to the sun. A beautiful brown. Who would bring a stone from Earth and hide it there? Marcus? Juliet? Some love token? The metal container was an old mint tin. I rubbed the smooth pebble through my fingers. It could be a supernatural one… But what did it do? The stone slipped through my fingers and dropped onto the ground. My feet shook and sent a heavy vibration up my leg as the ground moved under and all around me. We were standing on a volcano, and the stone kept it at bay. Quickly, I picked it up; however, halfway, I stopped, staring at the water trickling a little path in the soil, filtering away.
"Ira! I did something." I turned to see how he could not have felt the rumblings. He was already there, mouth a little open—dumbfounded. "What is it? Do you know? I just dropped it and—"
Ira yelled excitedly, wrapped his arms around my waist, and swung me in circles… I chuckled, getting caught up in his enthusiasm. Laughing, he put me down; two hands cupped my face, and he pulled my lips onto his. My hands reacted and jumped to his chest—shoving slightly while I mumbled and moaned, trying to speak. His kiss was ferocious, his tongue demanding. This was not comfort. He wanted to celebrate. Still, I hesitated, unable to kiss him back.
With ardent intent, he swiped my feet out from under me and caught me in his arms. I gasped, searching his face. Slowly, he lowered me onto the ground—in between grass and plants. I held my breath… His eyes narrowed to half-mast, and he came down on me, one leg between mine. Two firm thighs kept me contained. His voice was smooth, deeply powerful, "What do you say…? I won't ask again."