Eternal Changes (Mikah) (26 page)

Ashton bowed with a flourish. “I’m forever in your debt.”

“It wasnae anythin’,” Mischuff said as she smiled.

Ashton looked over at Lucy as she yawned. “I think it’s time we hit the sack,” he said. “Lucy needs to get some rest.”

Mischuff looked at Lucy and nodded. “Phitz an’ ah will ginger in frae time tae time to check oan you.” She walked over to Lucy and handed her a long wooden whistle.  “Use thes algrace onie time ye need me and Phitz. We can hear it nae matter whaur ye ur an’ fin’ ye.”

Lucy took the slick cool wooden whistle and nodded as she looked at it. It was the length of a spoon and several holes were peppered throughout it. “Thank you,” she said as Mischuff walked over to Phitz.

“Yer welcome lass,” Mischuff said as she nodded at Phitz. “We’ll see ye again suin.”

The Eirian’s disappeared into thin air.

Ashton lifted Lucy up into his arms and carried her out of the bathroom. Lucy’s head dropped to his warm chiseled chest as he walked across the room. Lucy’s eyes slid shut and she could hear the algraces softly playing.

Ashton looked down at Lucy as he heard the soft sound of snoring. His heart ached for her as he tucked her into the large bed and climbed up beside her. The sun had already risen and Ashton was exhausted. He gently hugged Lucy to him as he succumbed to the sleep his body and mind were craving.

Talmadge woke up as the sun started to set to find Caoilainn in his room.

“Good evening,” Caoilainn said as she walked over to Talmadge as he climbed out of the bed.

Talmadge opened his arms and she rushed into them He laid his head on hers and breathed in her scent. She smelled like apple blossoms and pink jasmine. He always loved the way she smelled.

“Are you ready to face our daughter together?” he asked as she pulled away from him.

“I wasn’t expecting to see her again for a year after she went through the change,” Caoilainn said. “But, nothing has gone as I’d originally thought it would. Our clans have come together and there’s peace between the two for now. I just need to make sure she’s ok after everything that she’s gone through.”

“I think Ashton should be up by now,” Talmadge said as he took her hand in his. “I’ll lead you to his room.”

They walked in silence to Ashton’s room as other members of the Dragomir moved around them in a flurry of activity. Laughter rung throughout the caves.

Talmadge stopped at Ashton’s door and looked over at Caoilainn. She inclined her head and he knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Ashton yelled from inside.

Talmadge glanced at Caoilainn and gently squeezed her hand in reassurance as he opened the door to Ashton’s room. The first thing Talmadge noticed when he entered the room was that Lucy was still lying in the bed.

“Is she awake?” Caoilainn asked Ashton.

“No,” Ashton said as he looked over at Lucy. “She was exhausted when she fell asleep.”

Talmadge walked over to where his little girl was lying. Her blonde eyelashes glittered against her pale skin.

Caoilainn walked up behind Talmadge and wrapped her arms around him.

“She’ll be ok,” Caoilainn whispered as she looked at their little girl. “We’ve waited this long and we can wait a little while longer.”

Talmadge nodded as he blinked away the tears that were threatening to fill his eyes. He took a deep breath and turned away.

“Let’s go somewhere so we can talk,” Talmadge told Ashton as he left the room with Caoilainn not far behind him.

Ashton took one last look at Lucy before leaving the room.

They walked to Landyn’s room down the hall and went inside. Chloe and Landyn were sitting down as if they had been waiting for them to arrive.

“What are we going to discuss?” Ashton asked as he looked over at Talmadge.

“There are a few things that we need to take care of,” Talmadge explained. “Lucy’s adopted mom and the human boy’s parents are going to cause problems if we don’t do something about it now.”

“So, what’s the plan that you guys have conjured up to fix it all?” Ashton asked as he crossed his arms.

“Do you still have the clothes that Lucy was wearing last night?” Landyn asked.

Ashton looked at Landyn with an arched eyebrow. “Yes.”

“Her clothes have not only some of her blood on them, but they have his as well,” Landyn said. “We’ll take her clothes and a few strands of her hairs and scatter them in a field close to the boy’s home.”

“So, we’re going to give them the impression that both of them are dead?” Ashton asked

Talmadge nodded. “It’s the best course of action,” he said as he looked at Ashton. “There’ll be a small amount of closure which will be better than if the parents just thought Lucy and Michael were merely missing.”

 “I’ll get the clothes for you, but I want to see her mom one last time before you do anything” Ashton told them as he turned to leave the room. “Lucy’s still fragile from everything that happened and I owe it to her to give her mother some comfort.”

Ashton dissipated and arrived on the porch of Lucy’s old home. He looked through the glass window on the door. There were no lights on inside. He glanced behind him. The little Volkswagen Beetle was still sitting in the gravel driveway.

Ashton knocked firmly on the wooden door and waited. Nothing and no one stirred. He knocked even harder and waited.

A bad feeling washed over him as he turned the gold handle and walked inside of the gloomy house. “Mrs. Walden?” he bellowed as he moved up the stairs. Still nothing. He rushed up the rest of the stairs and threw open her bedroom door. A small well manicured foot peeked out from the side of the bed on the floor.

Ashton rushed over to the side of the bed. “No,” he whispered as he looked at Lucy’s mom. Red blood stained her light blue dress and her green eyes were wide open as they stared up at the ceiling. Ashton placed his fingers gently on her neck. Her skin was as cold as a December morning. Ashton shook his head in disgust. She had to have been dead for days. He tilted her head towards him and two familiar gashes marked the left side of her neck.

“Karver,” Ashton hissed as anger fused through him. “You’ll pay for this.”

Ashton sighed as he picked up Lucy’s mom’s limp body. There was no way he could tell Lucy about this right now. She was too fragile to handle any more devastating news. He shook his head as he left to give the woman in his arms a proper burial.

Chapter 25

Lucy’s eyes fluttered open as the sun set and took in her surroundings. Ashton was lying next to her and was slowly starting to stir. Lucy sat up and climbed off of the bed as she took a deep, steadying breath. Every scent was more defined now that the vampire part of her had been awakened. The room was an oily black, but she could see everything as clearly as if the room was lit up as she walked over to the picture Ashton had painted of Greensburg.

Lucy stared up at the painting. A few of the children were running through the streets barefooted as the women looked on. Lucy stared at the women and children. They didn’t know if their husbands or fathers would make it home alive, but it didn’t stop them from living. Life went on no matter what. These women and children were the epitome of courage and strength.

“Yes,” Ashton whispered behind Lucy. “They were.”

Lucy looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. “Thank you,” I said as I touched his cheek when he finally reached me. “For everything you’ve done for me.”

“I haven’t done anything, Luce,” Ashton said.

Lucy glanced back up at the beautiful picture. “This isn’t how I pictured my life ending up, but then again, those women didn’t picture their lives moving forward without their husbands by their sides.”

“Time does heal all wounds,” Ashton said. “Whether we want to believe it or not.”

“I just feel like I’ve created so much pain in so many lives,” Lucy said as she tried to analyze her feelings. “The fact that I took a life will haunt me for as long as I live. Michael didn’t deserve to die. There was so much life left for him to live and I took that away.”

“You couldn’t help it,” Ashton said as he wrapped Lucy in his arms.

Lucy breathed in his familiar scent and took the comfort he offered. “I think I’m ready to speak with Caoilainn now.”

Ashton nodded as he released me. “I’ll go get her for you.”

Lucy watched him leave the room and sighed. She didn’t even really know her birth parents. She was blood of their blood, flesh of their flesh, but there was no emotional attachment.

Lucy pushed the thoughts aside as she heard the gentle rustling of the door as it opened. She turned around as Ashton walked in with Caoilainn and the man who helped her the other night. His brown hair reminded her of the chestnuts she used to pick up from the ground as they fell off the tree in her front yard. Lucy’s eyebrows scrunched together as she stared into the man’s face. His soft brown gaze met hers and he smiled.

“Who are you?” Lucy asked.

The man glanced over at Caoilainn and back at Lucy. “My name is Talmadge,” he said as his gaze dropped to the floor and then slid back up to Lucy’s face. “I’m your father.”

Lucy’s eyes widened as she looked at Caoilainn and back at Talmadge. Lucy touched her lips. They were identical to his. Lucy took a deep breath and blinked as tears filled her eyes. “Why wait until now to tell me?”

Talmadge stepped forward and tilted Lucy’s chin up as he looked into her eyes. “We couldn’t take the risk of you knowing. If anyone would have found out when you were younger, you wouldn’t have stood a chance.” He glanced back at Caoilainn. “A vampire and a shifter coming together have always been considered taboo by other shifters on Euphranor.” He looked back at Lucy. “Some of them would have done
anything
to end your life because you were a half-breed. A Mikah was more of a myth amongst her people and no one really thought it was even possible.”

 Lucy rubbed her arm with her hand as she looked from Talmadge to Caoilainn.

“So you couldn’t keep me or you didn’t
want
to keep me?” Lucy asked.

Tears filled Caoilainn’s eyes as she looked over at Talmadge. The silence in the room was deafening as Lucy waited. She took a deep, shaky breath and released it.

Talmadge’s voice wavered. “It wasn’t an easy decision for us, Lucy. You were and are so special. The shifters on Euphranor and vampires have never really mingled. Most shifters detest vampires because of all the destruction they have created.” He sighed as he stepped back. “The Daroch try to protect all the life that encompasses Earth from darker creatures.”

 “There are so many creatures that would and
will
harm you because of what you are,” Caoilainn interjected. “Your father and I feared you wouldn’t live to go through the change if we kept you. You could easily have been killed until then.”

“Am I not as easy to kill now?” Lucy asked.

“You’re still vulnerable, but not as vulnerable,” Talmadge said. “You will need to be trained and tested by not only my people, but by the Daroch as well. We will test your abilities and hone in on them. We’ll make them better.”

“Why didn’t someone try to kill Caoilainn when she was pregnant with me?” Lucy asked as she looked over at Caoilainn.

“I kept it a secret,” Caoilainn said.

“How do you keep your pregnancy a secret from almost everyone around you when you swell out like a balloon?” Lucy asked.

“Our people don’t show like humans do when we’ve conceived,” Caoilainn explained. “It isn’t noticeable and the term of the pregnancy isn’t as long as it is for humans.”

“It was vital that we let very few people know our secret,” Talmadge said as he looked over at Lucy. “We loved you before you were born. The most important thing to us was that you survived. It wasn’t an easy decision or one that we wanted to see through, but we had to. We had to set our emotions aside and do what we thought was best for you.”

Lucy stood there as looked at Talmadge and Caoilainn. “Maybe one day if I ever have a child I’ll fully understand why you made the decision that you did. But right now, it’s a hard pill to swallow.” She crossed her arms. “I’ve always felt like a jagged puzzle piece that didn’t fit into the pretty picture. My parents were wonderful, but when daddy died, everything changed. I watched as my mom slowly fell apart. Daddy was the glue that kept us all together and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t miss him.” She stared at Talmadge. “You’ll never be able to take his place.” She turned and stared over at Caoilainn. “And you’ll never be able to take my mom’s place. You gave up the right to be my parents.”

Caoilainn glanced at Talmadge and back at Lucy. “We understand that we’ve hurt you.”

“It’s over and done with now,” Lucy said as she blinked back the tears. “It’s in the past and I’m ready to move forward.”

Relief washed over Caoilainn’s face as she rushed forward and hugged Lucy to her. Caoilainn’s tears splashed on Lucy’s shoulders as Caoilainn hugged her. Talmadge walked forward and took Caoilainn and Lucy into his arms. It was one massive bear hug in the middle of the room. Peace washed over Lucy as she closed her eyes.

“There’s so much you need to learn and so many questions I want to ask,” Caoilainn said as she stepped away.

“Well, knock yourself out,” Lucy said as she moved to the couch to sit down. “I’ve got plenty of time on my hands.”

“Can you feel her?” Caoilainn asked as she studied Lucy’s face.

“Yes,” Lucy said. “Constantly.”

“You’ll need to release your cougar soon,” Caoilainn said. “Nothing that’s caged can be held in for too long.”

Lucy nodded. The cougar prowling inside of her wasn’t something that she could just ignore or forget about. She made herself known on a daily basis. It was a weird feeling knowing that she was now a part of Lucy.

“I don’t know how to release her,” Lucy admitted as she thought about it.

“I’ll show you what to do soon,” Caoilainn said. “I’ll take you to our people and let you roam the forest floors with me by your side. That should appease it for several months while you train with the Dragomir. Then your training with us can begin afterwards.”

“Your mother knows it’s important for you to be able to control the urge for blood first,” Talmadge explained. “So, Ashton will help you manage the urge and then your training with Jayde will begin.”

Lucy’s head felt like it was spinning as she took in everything that they had just said. She felt like she was completely out of her element. Nothing was the same as it was before the change. The power she’d felt prior to the change was nothing compared to what was coursing through her blood now. Lucy knew that she needed help learning how to control every aspect of her new life.

“We’ll let you rest and spend some time with Ashton,” Caoilainn said as she stepped away from Lucy. “He’s been waiting for you to do more than just wake up every night. We started to worry if you’d ever be ok.”

“I’m not a hundred percent yet, but I’ll be fine,” Lucy said as she looked over at Ashton.

“Ashton knows where to find us if you need anything,” Talmadge said before he walked with Caoilainn out of the room.

“They really do have your best interest at heart,” Ashton said as he looked at me.

A sigh escaped Lucy’s lips. “I know. It’s just going to take a little getting used to. I didn’t even know them a year ago and now I find out that they’re my biological parents. It’s definitely a little weird.”

“I have an idea,” Ashton said as a mischievous look flashed across his face. “But you need to eat first.”

Lucy shuddered at the thought of having to drink blood. “That’s absolutely the worst part of the change.”

Ashton walked over to the fridge in his room and took out a jug of blood. “It’s something you have to do to survive.”

“It still doesn’t make it any easier,” Lucy said him as she took the bag that he’d opened for her.

Lucy squeezed her eyes closed before she took a big swig. The cool blood tingled as it slid down her throat. Her eyes popped open and widened. It was delicious. It was almost as if the blood had its own flavor and spices added to it.

“Not so bad, huh?” Ashton asked with a small smile.

Lucy looked at him. “No. It’s actually quite nice.” She tipped the jug up. “Ok,” she said as she finished the last drop. “What’s your grand idea?”

Ashton’s smile literally took Lucy’s breath away as he looked at her. Love shone in his gold eyes and his smile lit up his face. He was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. A smile broke out on Lucy’s face as he leaned down to her.

Ashton’s voice lowered to a whisper. “How about I just show you?”

Lucy’s breath caught in her throat. “Ok.”

“Put this on,” he said as he handed her a blindfold.

Lucy looked at the black blindfold he had dangling from his hand.

“I want it to be a surprise,” Ashton explained before putting it over her eyes and tying it.

“Well, I can’t see anything now,” Lucy said him as everything went black. She gasped as he lifted her up in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck. The gentle sway of the movement was soothing as he walked. The door made a slight sound as it opened up as Ashton carried her out of his room.

“Hold on tight,” he whispered.

Lucy laid her head on his chest and squeezed her arms to make sure that she had a good grip. The gentle swaying stopped as she felt Ashton speed up. It was weird that a vampire running was smoother than when he walked. The warm air hit Lucy’s face as they left the caves. She took a deep breath and all of the new scents erupted inside of her nose. Some of the smells were overwhelming and she started gagging.