"h.e.l.lo?"
No one answered me. I heard something on the line but no voice, just a low throaty growl. I repeated myself, but only the growling noise remained. I hung up the phone and turned around. Caleb was standing in my bedroom door completely nude. Oh, was he a sight to behold. Just looking at him made me want to run my hands all over him, and has his body deep within me again.
"Who was on the phone?" he asked running his fingers along the woodwork.
"Wrong number," I said as I walked up to him, putting my arms around him, hugging him tight. His picked me up and carried me back to bed. We made love several more times throughout the night, and each time he withdrew from me prior to his release. We lay in each other"s arms exhausted as sleep came.
Chapter 11.
When I woke, Caleb was not in bed with me. I sat up. My room was dark. Had I really slept until nightfall? Wow, I must have been wiped out. I grabbed a robe from my closet, put it on, and headed downstairs to look for Caleb. The smell of food hit me when I reached top of the stairs. I headed down to the kitchen.
Before I had even reached the kitchen, I saw Caleb standing near the stove, frying something that smelled delicious.
"Smells good, but I"d rather eat you again. Why did you get up?" I asked, heading towards him.
He stopped cooking and stood very still, eyes fixed on the wall behind the stove. I started to ask what his problem was, but when I entered the kitchen, I saw the problem. Pallo was sitting at the end of the kitchen table with his arms folded across his chest. His dark eyes locked on me. p.i.s.sed was an understatement.
Pallo scanned up and down my body, stopping slowly at my waist. I felt uncomfortable and reached down to make sure my robe was closed.
"Well, you have certainly made the most of your day off, haven"t you," he said bitterly.
Caleb turned from the stove slowly and walked up behind me, bending to kiss my cheek. I think it was more for show than anything else. I didn"t want to play their little game. I"d had enough.
"What the h.e.l.l are you doing here, Pallo?" I asked.
I heard the wooden chair sc.r.a.pe against the floor and saw a flash but it was too late. By the time I had registered what had just happened, Pallo was about an inch from my face, staring down at me.
"It"s nice to see you too, Gwyneth, or should I say donnaccia?" he said. Sarcasm oozed from every word that came from his mouth.
Caleb pulled me back from Pallo and stepped between us. "Enough, Pallo, you"ll not call her that. Enough." His voice held a warning that even the densest of men could hear. I wondered what donnaccia meant, but thought it best not to ask Pallo tilted his head and looked back at me. "I would have thought your earlier spectacle would have been enough. I guess I was wrong."
Caleb"s hand came up, and I felt his power rising. I was sick of this macho c.r.a.p and turned, walking out of the room. I stormed upstairs to my bedroom. I flicked the light on and got dressed. While I was lacing up my boots, I heard the two of them shouting at each other.
"She"s a grown woman, and if you ever call her a s.l.u.t again...." I heard Caleb yelling. The rest was m.u.f.fled and hard to make out. I didn"t care anymore what they said. I needed some fresh air, I needed away from their bickering.
I headed downstairs and walked quietly out the front door. They were too busy screaming at each other to notice that I left, and that was perfectly fine by me. I walked out down the lane, but in my haste to leave the house, I hadn"t brought a flashlight with me, so I decided to stick to the stone driveway. I didn"t want to fall and break my neck.
I sucked in the fresh air. It was cool, damp, and smelled of pine. The crickets and frogs were on overtime tonight. I walked at a fast pace, feeling the stones crunching beneath my feet. The faster I walked, the more Pallo and Caleb"s arguing faded. It was wonderful.
I couldn"t remember how I had let my life get so chaotic. I knew it had been going pretty well up until Ken"s phone call requesting me to go to Pallo"s theme park. I was trying to remember why Ken had wanted me to go when I heard a faint howling. I slowed, listening. It sounded far off in the distance, whatever it was.
It felt good to just walk my worries away. I was walking faster than I normally jogged, and my pulse was speeding up. I reached the end of the lane and stopped at the road. For a split second, I thought about heading back to the house. The road spiraled down a small hill just past the entrance to the farmhouse lane. At the base of the hill was a bridge that ran across the river. I hadn"t been down there for at least five years. It had always been so beautiful at nighttime. The stars would reflect off the water, and the faerie man had appeared to me often there.
I jogged down reached the bottom, slowing as I hit the bridge. The view was everything I remembered and so much more. I leaned onto one of the steel beams and looked out at the winding river. It was flowing fast tonight, but was not too high. The sound of the water splashing past the rocks, combined with the crickets, sounded like a lullaby.
I climbed onto the beam and sat. I had always loved doing that when I was younger. I pulled my knees up to my chest and laid my head down on them. It was such a perfect night. Such a glorious- Something hard struck my body. I kicked my feet out instinctively, trying to catch my balance but failing. My stomach leapt into my throat as I went over the edge. I hit the river with such force, it knocked the wind out of me. Water was all around me. It was pitch black, and I couldn"t tell up from down. I kicked wildly about for a moment and screamed. Water filled my mouth, bubbles floated from my lips. Bubbles--that was it--air would go up. Follow the bubbles and go up. I did, and my face broke the surface of the water. I sucked in the cold night air. I was caught in a fit of coughing. I tasted the fish water coming from my mouth as I treaded water and started toward the bank.
Something splashed into the water behind me. I was terrified. Whatever had knocked me off of the bridge was now in here with me. Hysterical, I fought against the rush of the water to get to the side. I sc.r.a.ped my knee on a sharp rock. I was close, I knew it. The smell of stagnant water came up from behind me. I heard a growl. I looked up to the bank of the river. Two small red flames seemed to be hovering in mid air. I focused. They weren"t flames, they were eyes. Something was waiting for me to crawl out. I slowed down and felt the weight of the water shift behind me.
The smell of something wet and rotting hit me again. I knew that smell--it was the smell of trolls. I screamed. My foot hit something slimy, and I made sure it counted. I kicked with all of my strength. It pushed up on me, grabbing my leg, pulling under the surface of the water. I reached my hands out, trying to summon my power. I needed it now, it couldn"t fail me. I felt my lungs tightening--no power came. I kicked and pulled to free myself. It grabbed my waist and pushed me further under. I lashed out at it and wrapped my fingers around a handful of wet hair that felt like seaweed, yanking it out. Its hold loosened, and I pushed to the top. I gasped, sucking in air, scrambling to get my footing. The river"s current kept sweeping my feet out from under me.
Before I could clear the river, the troll sprang from the depths beside me and knocked me down. My body slammed into the rocks, water rushed over my face, pushing at my body. I tried to push off of the rocks, but I had no strength left in me.
I let my head lay in the water and two thoughts came to my mind--Pallo and Caleb. I wanted to see them again, I needed to see them. My life had changed dramatically in the last two days, but I knew that they would forever be a part of it. I didn"t want to die face down in a river with a troll about to tear me limb from limb. I would not go that way. I felt my power creeping up. It was weak, but then again, so was I. I took what little I could muster and used it to give me enough energy to move. It was enough, it stood me up. The water pushed at me, and I staggered to the edge and fell to my knees. Red eyes sped towards me. I put my hands up in a defensive position. I braced myself for impact. Nothing came. I looked around. They were gone. No troll, no red eyes, nothing. I let my body fall against the rocky ground.
Something swooshed down next to my head. I closed my eyes and prepared for round two.
"Gwyneth." Pallo"s voice was soft. "Gwyneth." He leaned over me. I tried to pick my body up but couldn"t.
"Gwyneth! Gwyneth!" Caleb called.
"She is here!" Pallo called out to him. His arms slid around me as he gently turned me over."What has happened to you?" "Put me down," I said, coughing out more water. I thought about the troll and the mysterious red eyes. Pallo tensed.
"Which way did they go?" he asked.
I still hadn"t gotten used to his mind reading tricks. I shook my head. "I don"t know ... they just vanished."
"Pallo, is she okay?" Caleb was on top of the bridge. I felt a warm rush of power flow through me, and something moving behind Caleb. I was far away, but somehow I just knew. Caleb and I were linked now, and he was too worried about me to sense the danger near him. My chest tightened.
"Caleb!" I screamed.
Growling came from the direction of the bridge. I heard a loud splash, then nothing. I looked at Pallo.
"Help him, please, don"t let him die." I was crying now and my words were mumbled between the sobs.
"I cannot leave you alone."
I could feel the struggle inside of him. He was torn between helping his friend and staying with the one he loved. Loved? Yes, I felt his love for me. I shook my head. No time for that now.
My mind raced. I thought of Caleb, my beautiful new lover Caleb. I pulled myself up. Pallo touched my arm and I knew he shared my thoughts of Caleb.
"Come ... I cannot leave you," he said and picked me up in his arms. I kicked at him to put me down.
"Caleb! Help Caleb! We can"t just leave him!" I was screaming at the top of my lungs. What in the world was going on with him? Was he on drugs or something?
Pallo lifted me into the air. I felt like we had risen off of the ground. I looked down to discover we had. We were moving over the top of the bridge. It was empty--no Caleb. I cried out for him. Pallo held me tight. I slapped at his face. I didn"t want to hurt him, I just wanted down. I needed to help Caleb. Pallo didn"t loosen his hold on me. "I have to make sure you are safe," he gritted out.
He took me into the front room of the house and laid me on the living room couch. I jumped to my feet and ran for the door. He was on me in a flash, pinning me to the wall.
"I have to help Caleb! Let go of me!" I pushed at his face. His brown eyes locked on me. They held no anger for me, only sadness.
"I cannot let you go out there, and I cannot leave you by yourself. I do not know how many of them are."
"I"m fine. I can take care of myself," I yelled at him.
"I cannot allow you to do that."
"Why?"
"Cara mia, ti ama--my beloved, love you," he said, easing his grip on my body. I stopped fighting him for a minute. He had just told me he loved me. Did vampires really fall in love? I didn"t have time to a.n.a.lyze it. I couldn"t let anyone die at the hands of those things. Especially Caleb.
"Let me go!"
"Do you feel love for Caleb?" Pallo asked. I found that to be a strange question especially coming from him. I would have thought he"d ask if I loved him too, not Caleb. Besides which, Caleb was going to be dog food if we didn"t get back and save him.
I searched my soul for the answer because I had learned how pointless it was to try covering up the truth from him. "Yes."
"If you had never met him, would you have loved me instead?" I couldn"t believe he was doing this now. Caleb was out there, alone, and he needed us. I turned and started towards the back door. Pallo gripped my waist.
"Pallo, let me go!"
"Then your answer is no?"
I stopped struggling with him. "No...." He tensed "No, meeting Caleb can"t undo what was already done. Is that what you want?"
"I do not understand what you are telling me."
"G.o.d, Pallo, are you really that thick? I love you. I"ve been in love with you since the moment I met you. I"ve had dreams about you, I longed for you. My heart bled when I knew that I had hurt you, but I can"t help the way I feel about Caleb. I love you both. Now LET ME GO!"
He turned me in his arms and held me tight to him. "I still cannot allow you to go out there tonight."
"Why?"
"Because, there is a possibility that you may be with child."
I looked into his face. He was trying not to look at me. He was hurt, I could tell. "What do you mean? I can"t get pregnant. The doctor said it was next to impossible."
"Then the doctor was wrong," Pallo said, still not looking at me.
I stopped fighting him. "How do you know this?" I asked him.
"When you thought of Caleb telling you that you were ripe ... he meant you were fertile, you were ready to accept his seed."
I thought about how he had pulled out mid way through being finished. "But I thought that the odds of pairing up with someone who is a mate for you were one in a billion."
"I suppose this one was predetermined." He stepped away from me and looked at the closed front door.
I didn"t know what that comment meant, and I didn"t care. I slid down the wall and sat on the floor. I covered my face with my hands. Caleb was out there somewhere and he needed our help.
"Pallo?"
"Yes?"
"You"re telling me that I"m pregnant with Caleb"s baby?" I shook my head. It didn"t feel wrong to be saying this--it felt wrong to be leaving Caleb alone out there.
Pallo"s cool hand touched mine. "No, what I am saying is that there is a chance that you may be with child. We will know for sure by the end of next week."
I moved my hands down and looked up at him. "How will we know then?"
He forced himself to smile. "You will start to show."
"What?" I had heard that Si pregnancies were not like a human gestation cycle. I didn"t realize they were that different. It would take human females months to start to show. It was going to take me only a few days. I would carry the child for close to a year, but it would grow to full size in half that time, the other half would be spent soaking up my magic.
"Oh, my G.o.d!" I said, pulling myself to my feet.
"What is wrong?" Pallo asked me.
I looked at him. "If I am with child, then I have to find its father."
Pallo stopped me at the door. I wanted to hate him, I wanted to strike him down with my power and run to the river and look for Caleb. I wanted to have him hold me. The latter desire won out, and I pulled myself close to him. He embraced me.
"I can"t leave him out there, I can"t." I was crying against his chest.
He lifted my chin. "I have summoned for Caradoc and James. They will be here soon to help search for him. Do not worry, Gwyneth, we will find Caleb. We will find him."
Pallo kissed my forehead, and the thought of him bending down and touching my swelling belly came back to me. I felt like we"d been through this before, it felt like a bad case of deja vu. I closed my eyes and let him hold me tightly as I cried. I sobbed with every ounce of my body. I cried for Caleb, I cried for myself, most of all I cried for Pallo. I could feel his sadness and I knew it would last for an eternity. I let my body go limp. He caught me and carried me upstairs to my bed. He laid me down on it and kissed my head gently as I cried. I saw him sitting on the edge of the bed as my eyes grew heavier. Sleep welcomed me quickly. Seems like the harder I fought it, the more it won.
Chapter 12.
I sat up in bed. It was still dark out. I looked at myself and saw I was clean and changed. Someone had cleaned me up. I had a feeling it was Pallo, and I hoped I wasn"t wrong.
I slid my hands down my stomach and touched my abdomen. Nothing. It was flat and smooth. One night down ... a few more to go. I don"t know how I felt about possibly being pregnant. Caleb didn"t feel like a stranger to me. It felt as though we"d known each other forever. I felt the same way around Pallo. I couldn"t explain it. I could just feel it deep inside of me. If it was meant to be, then it was meant to be. I could support a baby if I had to. It wasn"t what I wanted to be doing with my life right now, but I would do what needed to be done. I had made love to Caleb, and I would deal with whatever came from that union. I wasn"t sorry for what had happened.
"Caleb?" I couldn"t feel his power around me anymore. I couldn"t feel him at all. I did, however, feel like someone had placed a lead weight on my chest. I wanted to cry, and I had to blink away tears. I couldn"t fall to pieces every two minutes--that wouldn"t help the situation at all.
I climbed out of bed and headed downstairs to the living room. Pallo sat on the couch with his head bent. The moment I saw him I knew he had bad news. My stomach twisted into a knot, bile threatening to rise.
Pallo looked up, his eyes full of pity ... pity for me. I knew by his look that Caleb was gone. I felt hot, flushed, and nauseated. I took off out the front door and fell down the front porch steps, landing hard on my knees in the gra.s.s. I vomited until I hadn"t anything left.
I pulled myself up and looked into the darkness. I had done this to Caleb. I had gone for the walk, I had gotten into trouble--he had come looking for me. I killed Caleb. Me. I staggered backwards and caught myself on the side of the steps.
"Do not blame yourself for this. Someone sent the creatures after you. You didn"t do this to him. He loved you very much. Wherever he is, I am sure he is happy to know that you are safe." Pallo"s words melted in my head. My body soaked them in and used them as a crutch to stand.
"Pallo."