Books by Maggie Shayne (248 page)

Edge looked up sharply. That voice. That familiar voice.

Bring my sister to me
! And suddenly, Edge knew what to do.

Amber watched in horror as everything in her dream came true, like a slow motion film reel playing in front of her. Edge crossed the room, picked up the dresser drawer and stared down into it. His chest heaved, and he turned toward the bed.

The drawer's front was ornately carved. From this angle, it looked like an elaborately engraved box. Just like the one in the dream. She jerked her eyes up to Edge's, saw the single tear, the same one she'd seen before, rolling down his face.

"No," she whispered. "No, Edge, this can't be happening… "

"Shh. Hold on, Alby." He came closer, to the side of the bed where her mother stood, holding the boy child, her face wet with tears. "Put him in here. Lay him beside his sister."

"But, Edge, she's—"

"Please," Edge whispered, so much emotion in his voice that it was choked and hoarse.

Rising to her feet, Angelica gently placed the healthy, wriggling baby beside the still child in the box. Edge knelt on the floor beside the bed, even as Amber sat up so she could see. She stared down into the face of her daughter. It was already tinged with pallor, a slight bluish tint to the skin. She was so small, so much smaller than the boy child. But even as she stared, her heart slowly being crushed by the weight of her grief, her baby boy's tiny little hand began to wave back and forth, almost aimlessly. When it touched, as if by accident, the still, lifeless hand of the tiny, frail child beside him, his hand opened and closed reflexively. He clasped his sister's fingers just the way a newborn child would clasp anything placed into its tiny fist.

The door opened, and Tamara and Eric burst into the room, followed quickly by the others. Even Will had managed to get himself this far. They crowded into the bedroom, then went still as, one by one, they took in the scene before them.

Amber knew they were there. But she couldn't take her eyes off her babies.

"Edge?" she whispered. "Her face… Am I imagining it?"

"No, she's getting more color. I see it, too."

"She's moving," Angelica whispered. "Look at her little foot… "

Suddenly the silence of the room was broken by a tiny, hoarse cry, like the bleat of a newborn lamb. The little girl in the makeshift cradle began to wriggle and squirm, as her scrunched-up face made her impatience clear.

Amber stretched out her arms, laughing and crying and shaking all over.

Edge leaned over the cradle, gathering both the babies into his arms. Rising again, he placed them into the bed with their mother, one nestled in the crook of each arm.

She gazed down at one baby, then the other, her tears flowing like rivers.

Edge stood there staring down at them for just a moment; then he sank into a nearby chair, as if he no longer possessed the power to stand.

"How… how did you know what to do, Edge?" Jameson asked, moving to the chair where Edge sat and hunkering down in front of him.

"J.W. told me. I think he… I think he healed her."

Eric nodded. "It actually makes sense. His mother's blood already had healing properties. Combine those with the enhanced powers of vampiric blood, and you get a powerful healer."

"Maybe." Edge shook his head. "Stiles had this insane theory that somehow the baby was controlling some things from within the womb. That's why Amber's blood suddenly had so much more power. That it wasn't coming from her… but from the baby. He even thought the child might have some control over how the power manifested. I didn't believe it… but now… I'm not so sure."

"Maybe we should give this new little family some time alone," Angelica said. She stood behind Jameson, her hands on his shoulders. "Not too long, though. I'm eager to start the spoiling process as early as possible."

Jameson rose to his feet with a nod; then he moved closer to Amber, leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "You were right all along to believe in him, even when everyone else doubted."

"You didn't," she said.

"I trust your judgment."

One by one they came to the bed, kissed the babies. Alicia was sobbing so hard she couldn't talk. Will only stroked their silken heads. Amber thought he looked better and noticed the bandage on his arm from the fresh injection. A half dose hadn't been enough, but now that he'd had the rest, the serum appeared to be working.

"Do you think it worked?" Amber asked him, searching his face.

"Does it matter? If it didn't, I'll just let J.W. here grab onto my finger."

She didn't argue with him, didn't say that they couldn't be sure J.W.'s healing power would work on others the way it had worked on his sister, and that they had no reason to believe it could bestow immortality. Even before she finished the thought, though, Will gave her a wink. "It worked, Amber. I'm sure of it."

He straightened away from the bed, walked slowly to the door. When he left the room and closed it behind him, she looked at Edge. He looked as exhausted as she felt. But he met her eyes, rising slowly from the chair, coming closer. "Can you part with them for a minute, do you think?"

"I don't want to stop touching them," she whispered. "But I can barely hold my head up."

He took the little girl from her arms. "She's going to need a name."

"How about Bridget?" Amber asked softly.

Edge looked up suddenly. Fresh tears came into his eyes as he met hers. "Thank you for that."

"You're thanking me? Edge, you did this. You kept your promise. You got the information from Stiles and made sure you did it without robbing Will of his cure. And you saved our little girl."

"Her brother did that."

"You both did it."

He snuggled the child for a moment, then laid her in the cradle. Next he took the little boy and hugged him, kissed his cheek and placed him beside his sister. "He's going to be a handful. He actually laughed at me when that gang of mortal females at the Sisterhood of Athena beat me down." He tickled the baby's chin. "I owe you for that, J.W."

Then he straightened and sat on the mattress, close to Amber.

He took her hands in both of his. "With all that's been happening, Alby, I haven't managed to get around to talking to you about… us."

She lowered her eyes. "You don't have to."

"Don't have to what? Talk?"

"Stay," she whispered. "You don't have to stay. With me, I mean."

He smiled slowly. "That's enough dancing around this already, don't you think?" She frowned at him. He said, "Just give in, Amber, and tell me you love me."

Her heart turned over, and she searched his eyes. "What?"

"Tell me you love me, Alby. Even though I'm not the prince you dreamed of, even though I'm not worthy of you by half. Tell me you love me anyway. But only if you mean it."

She held his gaze and stopped pretending. Pressing her hands to his cheeks, she said, "You are worthy. And you are exactly what I dreamed of. And I've loved you from the first time you kissed me. Even though you warned me not to."

"Did I?"

She nodded. "You told me you were not a romantic, not the kind of man who was going to fall in love or stick around or mate for life. And like an idiot, I ignored all that and fell in love with you anyway."

He smiled at her. The dimples in his cheeks, the light in his eyes making her breath catch in her throat. "It's just as well. It was all bullshit anyway."

"It was?"

"Hell yes. You haven't figured that out yet? Alby, I'm nuts about you. I've even developed a ridiculous attachment to that bunch of meddlers you call family." He kissed her lips, gently, slowly.

When he lifted his head away, she was still searching his eyes, and her own were full of questions. "I'm still not… What are you saying, Edge? Is it… if it's the babies, then—"

"It's not the babies," he told her. "It's not the situation. It's not the others. It's you, Alby. You are… the only woman in all creation for me. You've got my heart imprisoned inside yours. You own my soul. If I had to live without you, I think I'd wither and die. I love you, woman. Is that clear enough for you?"

Her throat tried to close off, and she couldn't talk. It was real. Everything she'd dared not hope for but hoped for anyway was real. He loved her.

She tried to tell him what that meant to her, but there were no words powerful enough. So with tears of joy streaming, she kissed him again instead.

Golden-haired Bridget wore a flowing skirt, a dozen bangle bracelets and big silver hoops clipped onto her ears. She was imitating her aunt Sarafina, who was teaching her to dance like a Gypsy while playing her new tambourine. It was the twins' second birthday, and the huge party had become an annual event by now. The family had agreed to take turns hosting it, and this year it was at Sarafina and Willem's home in Salem. The pony rides had been Rhiannon's contribution, and the bonfire and authentic Gypsy costumes were Tina's idea. There were cakes, ice cream, music and scads of adoring attention. Every gift the kids tore open was more elaborate than the one before. And yet J.W. was ignoring them all, spending his time running around the beach with his Uncle Willem in search of dying starfish. Every time he found one, he picked it up, held it in his hands long enough to heal it and then tossed it into the water again.

Amber reclined in a comfy chair on the redwood deck, surrounded by the women in her life. Her mother and best friend. Her aunt Rhiannon and Tamara. Morgan was there, and Donovan had finally brought Rachel around to meet everyone. Alicia's mother, Susan, was there, as well. It felt good; it felt right.

She watched as her husband talked with the other men. She saw how they looked at him, with respect in their eyes. They loved him, every one of them. Amber's father would lay down his life for the man who had saved his grandchildren, and Eric and Roland felt the same. Edge had even formed a new and tender bond with Donovan and Dante.

As for Will, well, Will would always be grateful. He was healthy, vital again. The cancer had died, and he had healed. And when he needed more of the formula, Amber could provide it. As predicted, her blood had returned to its original state. Rhiannon had "borrowed" some of the new batch of A-Six, to "test" it on her cat, Pandora, who was behaving like an animal in its prime again.

Laughing, Sarafina danced Bridget, with her mass of golden curls, closer to the deck, then sank onto the steps breathlessly, hugging the two-year-old in her arms. Dante parted from the group of men and came closer to her. "It's like we have our tribe back again, isn't it, 'Fina?" he asked.

She nodded. "Except no one here would betray us. Not ever." She stared out at Willem, romping now in the surf with J.W., his jeans rolled up to his ankles. "Will doesn't even have the limp anymore."

"I know," Amber said. "It's wonderful to see him so healthy. We came so close to losing him." She sighed. "I used to feel so alone. Such an outsider. Because I was different from the rest of you. Different from Alicia and Susan, too."

"Ahh, but the gang of outsiders is growing," Angelica said softly. "Now there are Will, and the babies."

"Now there's Edge," Amber whispered. "I'll never feel alone again."

Edge looked up, caught her eye from near the central fire. None of the vampires stood too close to it. And there was water everywhere, just in case. But life was risk, and having a fire, as in times long past, was a very small risk,

Sarafina had insisted. So long as none of them were stupid enough to get too close.

Hearing his whispered message, Amber got up and went to him, and he met her halfway. "Think they can handle the rugrats for an hour?" he asked.

"I trust them like no one else. Why? What did you have in mind?"

He smiled. "A little walk along the beach. I thought we could visit that spot we found once before. You remember it, don't you? That isolated little cove—"

"Where our babies were conceived?"

His eyes darkened, and Amber tingled all over. She sent Alicia a look, and Alicia replied with a nod, understanding perfectly. Then Edge slid his arm around Amber's shoulders, and they walked up the beach together, arm in arm.

"Are you happy?" he asked her.

She looked up into his eyes. "I've found bliss," she whispered. "Running you over was the best thing I ever did."

"I can think of several things you've done since that I enjoyed more."

"Mm Can you?"

"Yeah. Standing up for me with your family. Giving birth to those two little bandits back there. Healing Will. Healing me."

"When you burned your arm, you mean?''

He turned her to face him, stared into her eyes. "No, not my arm. My soul. My heart. You healed everything in my life, Alby. All just by loving me. You really are the Child of Promise. You're a miracle, and I'll cherish you until the stars fall."

He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her. And Amber knew she had found her place at last.