"Hey, Babe, Bobby is taking a group of us out tonight. Do you mind if I go?" Josh asked on the phone."No, Sweetie, go ahead and go have fun. I"ll be here when you get home." I answered him.
"Are you sure, Abby?"
"I"m positive, Josh, go have fun."
"Okay, I love you, Baby."
"I love you, too," and I hung up the phone. I sat for a moment, thinking about what I was going to do. I decided to call Veda but she wasn"t home and I was a little disappointed that I couldn"t talk to her.
I felt strange sitting there all by myself. It had been a week since I first met Adam and I found myself thinking about him and how he had acted that night. His blue eyes pierced my thoughts from time to time. I would see his smile, his black hair that stood out against his fair skin. I remembered the pull on my energy, like as if it were my soul, when our eyes met. The surge of energy and warmth of his hand as mine touched it.
I walked over to the computer desk and turned on the computer. I waited for it to boot up and found myself thinking about everything that had happened lately.
When the monitor showed the desktop, I clicked the Internet and checked my email. Mostly it was junk but I did see one that caught my eye. The name on the sender said, "Adam Garret." I clicked it and read it.
#
Dear Abby,
I wanted to apologize for my behavior the other night. It was extremely rude and I hope that you don"t hold any bad feelings for me for it. I have had a lot on my mind lately and I just couldn"t quite get my mind off of them. Hope we can do it again sometime.
Yours Truly,
Adam
#
I looked at the email for a few moments before replying:
#
Dear Adam,
All is forgiven. Hope to see you soon.
Love,
Abby
#
I closed the window after I read the email a few more times. I wondered what he meant by a lot of things. I wondered what it was that had him so distracted. I wondered how long it would be before I could look into his face again.
I decided to take a nice long bubble bath to soak my thoughts away. I turned off the computer and began through the kitchen toward the stairs. I stopped at the front door to make sure that it was locked up good then continued upstairs. I turned the water on and made sure that it wasn"t too hot, then poured my favorite bubble bath in. I turned to the bedroom and undressed, grabbing my pajamas to take to the bathroom with me.
As I soaked in the nice hot water I thought about Laylan and Josh. I thought of Adam and the way I felt somehow connected to him the other night. Before I knew it, I sank into a deep sleep.
#
I could feel myself in strong muscular arms, standing in the dark. I pulled back and looked deep into his golden rimmed blue eyes. I saw the light within him, shining ever so brightly. His eyes pierced me deep within, the electric color in his eyes sent a current into my heart. The darkness around us came full circle until his eyes were all I saw. And at that moment our hearts found its other half, becoming full within our chests. The only sound in my ears was the beating of our hearts, beating as one, our breath simultaneously in rhythm with each other"s. He leaned over and kissed me and a sense of euphoria pa.s.sed through my body and I could feel my soul intertwining with his. At that moment, I knew that I would never be the same.
He pulled back slightly and our lips parted. My eyes were still closed and I could feel his eyes upon me. "Do you love me?" he asked quietly. I shook my head, "yes" and felt his face against mine. The warmth of his breath in my ear was warm and soft as he asked, "Are you ready to remember, my love?"
Once again, I nodded in response. I felt his lips against my ear. "Then open your mind and you shall.
"I love you…Dru."
#
I jumped startled and realized that the water was cold. I looked over at the clock and noticed that I had been in the bath for an hour and a half. I climbed out and decided to go down stairs and watch TV. I surfed through the channels for a few minutes before finding the news. I stopped there and watched the news anchor talk about a traffic accident that had happened earlier in the day. A chill ran up my back as I watched the footage and grabbed my blanket off of the back of the couch. I wrapped up and got comfortable. Soon my mind was drifting to my dream that I had had in the bathtub. I didn"t know who he was. I thought of how I had felt when he looked deep into my eyes. When he kissed me and when he whispered in my ear, I had felt a current of electricity inside of me, coursing through all of me. I felt dizzy and faint and as darkness came over me, I didn"t fight it.
#
Suddenly, I saw Josh standing next to his truck from some distance watching over him. The other guys were leaving the parking lot as he reached into his pocket for his keys. I could see him fiddling with the keys just before he dropped them next to the truck. He bent down and grabbed them, and as he stood back up there was a shadow behind him.
She was short and blond. Her black eyes stared at Josh"s back and I heard her whisper something under her breath. Josh fell to the ground in a fetal position holding himself around the midsection and screaming in pain. His screams of agony were blood curdling and rang in my ears. I tried to move but found myself incapable of even a thought to move. I watched as she smiled and blinked and Josh stopped screaming.
"Hush now, this will be just as painful but I will try to make it quick." She curled her lips back and exposed her teeth as she lowered herself down beside him and bit him. I heard him scream for a moment then silence. I tried to scream this time but nothing came out. I couldn"t run to him no matter how hard I tried. I couldn"t even move. I watched as the blond woman continued to drink my husband"s blood not being able to do anything. Soon she stood and I saw her arm come up as she wiped her mouth. She turned and looked at me and her eyes fixed on mine. I saw her mouth move quietly, "Pain."
#
I shot up on the couch and realized that it was morning and it all was just a dream. I looked over at the television and noticed that the news was on again. It was the six o"clock news and I watched as the anchor woman was covering a story of a homicide at a club late last night. I could see a truck just like Josh"s in the background inside of the crime scene tape.
Suddenly, my heart started pounding and I jumped up, ran to the kitchen and opened the garage door to notice that Josh"s truck wasn"t in the garage then my heart stopped dead inside of my chest. A knock at the door startled me and I jumped. My heart was beating again, now in my throat. I began shaking at the thought of who was knocking at my door. I walked slowly toward the door and opened it.
Two officers stood in front of me in long coats and introduced themselves. They were detectives and they asked if they could come in. I agreed and welcomed them in. One was tall and thin with longer dark brown hair. It looked like one of those jelly bowl haircuts that was the style like ten years ago. His chestnut brown eyes were slit and observant of his surroundings. The other was shorter and stout in build. His light brown hair lay perfectly in place as if he had walked off the set of a soap opera. His light blue eyes were narrow and deep.
I lead them into the living room and offered them a seat on the couch. I grabbed the blanket, moving it out of the way and they both took seats. I walked around the edge of the sofa and sat in Josh"s recliner.
"Mrs. Williams, we need to notify you that we found your husband this morning. I"m sorry to tell you but he was murdered early this morning. We are doing everything in our power to find his killer." The tall one said. It all ran together in my mind. I already knew who had killed him. I had seen it last night in what I thought was a dream. Now I was realizing that it had actually happened. That blond woman with black eyes had killed MY Josh.
I could feel the burning tears in my eyes. I blinked once and felt the tears run down my cheeks. I saw in my mind, Josh lying on the ground with a bite mark on his neck that had probably drained him. I broke down and dropped my face into my hands. My sobs were all I could hear.
"We are sorry for your loss," the shorter man said. I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder and I felt some comfort in his touch. I looked up into his light blue eyes and my sobs lessened, I was able to finally stop the wracking pains in my chest. The man handed me a tissue off of the table and I took it and wiped my eyes and face. Then I looked at him again. He knelt down beside me and looked back into my eyes. "I"m sorry we have to do this but we need to ask you a few questions." I looked at him and nodded to continue.
"Did your husband have any enemies? Anyone that might have wanted him hurt or killed?" the tall man asked solemnly.
"No," I began, "No one that I know of."
"What do you know about last night? Do you know anything that might have happened?"
"No, all I know is that he called about four yesterday. He and some guys from work were going to go out together. I told him to go ahead and go. It was going to be his birthday in a few days." I stopped as I felt a wave of sorrow come over me. I brought up the tissue and wiped my eyes.
"What did you do last night, after you got off of the phone?" the shorter detective asked.
"After I got off of the phone and decided to call my friend, Veda." I continued to tell them what all I did the night before, all but my dreams of course. My dream of my mystery man didn"t pertain to what they were asking. And I didn"t need or want to tell them about my dream this morning. They would probably think that I was crazy or that I was lying to cover up something. I didn"t want them thinking that I had a part in this. If I had to, I would find the blond woman myself.
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The detectives continued to ask questions about who all had been with Josh the night before. I gave them names and they thanked me for my cooperation then left. I stood at the door and watched the men leave before it all sank in and I broke down. Josh was dead. MY Josh.
I slowly walked to the phone with tears in my eyes and streaming down my face. I was careful not to lose my balance in my own water world of tears and picked up the cordless phone to carefully dial Veda"s number. She picked up on the third ring.
"h.e.l.lo," I heard her say in a sleepy voice.
"Veda, I"m sorry to wake you, but I could really use a friend right now," I sobbed into the phone.
"Abby, what"s wrong?" her voice was panicked and alert now.
"Did Mitch.e.l.l make it home last night?" I asked as I realized that he had been out with Josh, too. I waited a second, sure that she was looking over to check before answering.
"Yeah, he"s right here in the bed next to me. What"s going on, Abby? You"re freaking me out, Girl!"
I took a deep breath and spoke. "Josh is dead!" I blurted out in haste. I began sobbing again; I couldn"t speak or even breathe. I tried to exaggerate and explain, but my words caught in my throat.
"Oh, my G.o.d, Abby, I"m on my way over. Don"t do anything until I get there. Okay?"
"Kay," was all I could get out before she hung up the phone. I sat on the couch holding the phone to my chest. A sharp pain started in the pit of my stomach and pulsed through me. My heart broke and shattered in my chest. I rolled over onto the couch in a ball and cried. The sobs wracked my body over and again. My mind flashed images of my dream. I saw Josh curled up on the ground in pain. I could see the blond woman standing over him. I remembered the blood on her face and the look in her eyes.
A knock on the door brought me back to reality. It took me a few minutes before I realized that somebody was at my front door. I rolled off of the couch and tried to get to my feet but my knees buckled under me. I fell to the floor and began sobbing again. I couldn"t do it. I couldn"t even get to my feet.
Before I even realized that she had come in, Veda was beside me. She grabbed my shoulders and hoisted me up into a sitting position as she wrapped her arms around me. "Abby, oh my G.o.d, what happened?" her voice was shaky and cracking as she spoke.
I looked up at her with tears in my eyes. I opened my mouth to speak but all that came out was more sobs. I fell into her arms and cried on her shoulder. She shushed me and ran her fingers through my hair. I felt her body jerk and realized that her breathing had changed. She was crying with me.
"Oh, Veda, I can"t believe it. He"s gone. He was murdered last night." I sat up to look into her deep brown eyes. "He was at his truck and she killed him! She drank his blood, all of it! The woman with blond hair and black eyes! If I ever find her I will kill her!" I was finally beginning to stop crying. My anger at the woman overruled my sorrow for Josh.
"What woman? Do the cops have a lead?" Veda asked surprised.
I looked up at her and got to my feet. I sat up on the couch and helped her up in front of me. I took a deep breath to steady myself before I started. "Okay, last night I was here laying down on the couch watching the news and I fell asleep. I dreamed of Josh." I finished telling her about my dream. I told her everything about it. When I finished telling her all of it, she looked at me with an astonished look on her face.
"Did you tell the cops?" Veda asked.
"No! Automatically, they are going to suspect that I had something to do with it since I am "the wife". I don"t need to give them anymore reason to think that I am trying to cover my a.s.s!" I abruptly said. My nerves were still shaky but I was finally in control of my tears, though I still hurt with sharp pains in my chest. At the thought of the police suspecting me shot another sharp pain through me. I brought up my arms to my chest at the new hole that was there. It pounded so hard that it felt as if I were being ripped apart.
"Abby, are you okay?" Veda asked. Her face was concerned and sad.
"Not really, Veda." My mind flashed to His eyes. Those brilliant colored eyes pierced my thoughts and comfort washed over me. I relished in the comfort, the soothing feeling within myself. I shook my head and closed my eyes then looked at her again. "I keep seeing Josh and I feel as if I am going to fall apart. Then sometimes I see Him. Not Josh but the man with black hair and beautifully colored eyes. I see his eyes and I find soothing comfort and tranquility in them. I even had a dream about him last night."
"Whoa, who?"
"The guy in my first Laylan dream that I still haven"t seen and can"t make out; all I can see is that his hair is coal black and his eyes are blue with gold around the outer edge."
"How long have you been dreaming of him?"
"Just last night," I admitted. A slight blush burned my cheeks and I lowered my eyes as I lowered myself back on the couch. I began to tell her about my dream in the bathtub. I watched as her eyes lit up and widened. Then, as I said, "Dru", she looked confused. Just as I thought she would. I had only mentioned Dru to one person before. To me, she was just a character that I would one day write about. Just a figment of my imagination and that was it.
"Who is Dru?"
"She is an immortal woman who is a Kethra."
"What?!"
"A woman who was born in 1359 as a princess, who then found out that she was a vampire hunter. Then she was bitten by a Kethra and turned immortal. She continued on training in various different techniques of fighting and combats until she was named the Champion of the G.o.ds. She loved a woman named Lena who was also a Kethra and they lived together for three hundred years before they died on February first, 1983." I blurted out a quick recollection of Dru"s memories in my mind.
"How long have you known this?" Veda asked shocked.
"I have always known Dru. Well, in a way. I know her and all of this through her memories, if you will. If she even exists."
"What do you mean? You have her memories?"
"Yes, if you can call them that, then I have six hundred and twenty years" worth of memories, all through Dru"s eyes."
"Wow, why haven"t you ever mentioned Dru?"
"Well, because, Laylan was who everyone loved, she was first, so she was the one I always focused on. Dru is dark and half demon, while Laylan is bright and a G.o.ddess. I always liked Laylan"s world over Dru"s because of that. But now, I am curious as to if I should have been focusing on Dru"s instead." I said as the realization came to me at that moment.
"Oh, wow." Veda remarked.
Suddenly my mind snapped back to the reality that I was facing now, "Man, I got to call Denise. Do you think I should ask her to come here to tell her? Or should I go to her house?" I asked Veda as I finally came back to the present issue at hand. I had to tell the family and plan a funeral. I dreaded the idea of having to tell everyone that we were about to have to say goodbye to our Josh.
"I would go over there. I"ll go with you if you want. If it would make you feel any better." Veda said.
"Okay, thanks. Let me go get dressed and we"ll go over there." I answered her gratefully. We both started up the stairs to my bedroom. Veda sat on the edge of the bed while I walked over to the wardrobe and grabbed a little muscle shirt and a pair of socks. I got into the closet and looked for some outer clothes. I glanced over and saw Josh"s side of the closet. A surge of emotion took over me and I fell to the floor crying. Before my second sob kicked in, Veda was right beside me holding me.
"Shush, Abby. Breathe." Veda began crying with me. We sat in my closet crying for some time. I don"t even know how long it was. Finally, I stopped crying and Veda helped me to my feet. I pulled some jeans and a shirt off hangers without looking and made my way back to the bed. I felt weak in Veda"s arms. I felt as if my heart had been ripped out and a canyon was left. I struggled in changing my pants my balance was off and I kept nearly falling. Veda told me to sit down. As I pulled on my pants, I caught a glimpse of my wedding ring. I felt a tear inside of me and I fought the wave of tears from coming out of my eyes.
I finished dressing and Veda grabbed my coat and wallet. I grabbed my purse and put the wallet in and a handful of tissues. Veda suggested that we take her car and in my current condition I agreed. I almost fell into her little Kia. She originally asked Mitch.e.l.l for a Kia Soul after seeing the commercial for them. It was a cute commercial with little hamsters driving it. And when she got it, she went and bought the alb.u.m with the song from the commercial and listened to it nonstop for the first month. None of us really ever wanted to ride with her because of that. But today I could probably use her crazy antics.
She got in and hit the "Start" b.u.t.ton and I couldn"t even hear it start. It made me miss my little Subaru Impreza that you could hear from a mile away when I put my foot in it. We were quiet for the trip as I stared out of the window into my own little world. The sky was a brilliant blue then I felt Him standing behind me. I could feel the joy from deep within my stomach and my hands were on my tummy. We were standing at a cliff, just like Laylan"s, and I could feel a thrill deep within me as his hands wrapped around me, to my belly. I watched as he came around and knelt down in front of me replacing my hands with his on my stomach. He pressed his face against my belly and I felt a jerk within me and knew. I was pregnant.
I jerked back to reality as we pulled into Denise"s driveway. I could see Denise"s car, Leiman"s big truck and there was a black mustang parked at the side of the road. I quietly thought to myself who"s car that could be. I met Veda"s eyes and she asked me if I was ready for this.
"Yeah," I huffed, "I think so. I"m not really sure if I would ever really be ready for this." I bit my lip as I looked up at the house. I didn"t want to think about what was to come so I jumped out of the car to hurry and get it over with. Veda was right beside me with her arm wrapped through mine as if she were leading me to the front door. I knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer the door. An older woman with long, dark brown hair and equally dark brown eyes opened the door.
"h.e.l.lo?" she said, her voice was soft and a little raspy.
"Hi," I said quietly. "Is Denise in?"
"Sure, come on in." She gestured us into the house. It was warm and smelled like pecan pie. From the smell and the warmth in the house let me know that they were burning wood in the fireplace. I could hear everyone talking and laughing in the living room. I felt a gasp of panic in my chest and tried to hold it back. Veda felt it and tightened her grip on my arm. I watched the woman in front of me move with grace and a slight bounce to her step. She moved toward a man that I recognized as Aiden, Adam"s father. Across from them, Denise and Leiman were sitting and as they turned to examine my posture and expression her face became serious and concerned. Adam was sitting in a deep chair beside the couch. As our eyes met, a warm comfort washed over me for a moment before my eyes met Denise"s.
My heart broke inside of my chest as she stood and walked quickly to me. "Abby, are you okay?" I shook my head and fell into her arms. She caught me and began to rub my head. "Abby, what"s wrong?"
I took a deep breath and calmed myself. "Denise, you need to sit down." I led her back to the couch, next to Leiman. I sat in front of her and looked into her eyes, dreading my next words. "Denise, Leiman, I have something to tell you. Josh went out with the guys last night, but he didn"t come home. The police came by the house this morning to inform me that they found Josh next to his truck this morning. He was murdered late last night or early this morning." I watched as tears filled Denise"s eyes and I nearly leapt forward to catch her in my arms. "I"m so sorry." I looked at Leiman and I could see his lips clench and his jaw tremble as he tried to stop his own tears.
It was an emotional day with Denise and Leiman. Aiden, Liza, the woman that answered the door who was Adam"s mom, Adam and Veda stayed for a while before leaving. Veda asked me if I wanted a ride and I declined. Denise needed me and I didn"t need to be home alone. So I stayed. We cried together for most of the day and into the evening hours. Leiman stayed quiet and offered occasional hugs to both Denise and me. I slept on the couch that night and dreamed of Him again.
#
We were standing in a garden of roses. His eyes on mine, they were brilliant. The coal black color of his hair was beautifully harsh in the garden and it shined in the full moon above.
I smiled at him feeling love throughout me, the ecstasy of his touch on my face flew through me. He leaned down and kissed me and the wave of euphoria took my breath away and I began to feel dizzy from the lack of oxygen from not breathing. I fell into his arms and surrendered myself to him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer.
I managed a quick breathe between kisses that were deep and pa.s.sionate. We fell to the ground gently together and he lay down beside me. I looked into his eyes and a smile crossed my face.
"Dru?" he whispered.
"Yes?" I asked.
"I love you," he gazes into my eyes with a smile in his.
"I love you, too." I paused looking into those eyes, "What"s on your mind?"
"Do you remember another time that you felt so much emptiness and anger?" He asked tenderly.
I laid my head back and closed my eyes. Suddenly, my world spun and I was standing in a cottage. There were two people there holding my arms still not letting me break their grips. There was a woman to my right, with blond hair and black eyes. She was the woman that had killed Josh.
To my left, was a man with dark hair and the same black eyes. His lips curled back in a smile and he looked in front of me.
I turned to see what it was that he was looking at and saw it. I knew the man, I hadn"t seen him before but I knew who he was. His name was Leonidas and he had been my fiancé before I was turned. I had been hunting him for a few years after becoming a vampire himself and he returned to my kingdom and killed everyone. My father, my maids and guards that I had grown up with always around, he had even slaughtered my people, peasants living under my father"s rule. Now we were in the western woods of my home, in a cottage that I knew and Leonidas staring at me as he held our son in his arms.
Darin had been born seven months after I had turned. He had been my gift, the only part of the man that I once loved who now held him in front of me.
"No," I mumbled in plea. "Please, Leon, don"t hurt him."
"Would it pain you to see this child die in my arms? What do you care? He"s just a carpenter"s son, a peasant." Leonidas spat at me.
"Please," I begged with tears filling my eyes.
At that, Leonidas bent down and sunk his teeth into Darin"s neck. I heard his cry and could see the fear and pain in his little eyes as Leonidas drank his blood.
Images of birthday parties with just the four of us flashed before my eyes. I saw his first steps, heard his first words. I saw his whole little, short life flash before my eyes. Then the life in his eyes was gone. He was gone. My heart shattered into a million pieces and I was left alone with him, my son, my Darin.
I really was empty and angry and the seed of hatred bloomed for Leonidas who had taken so many people away from me.