Golden Hue (18 page)

We walked out of the ballroom and headed towards the dead empress’s throne room. On the way there, we saw a number of vampires running up and down the halls – the mansion was in chaos. In the throne room we pulled up chairs and sat facing the door.

We sat alone for a long time not sure what we were waiting for. Finally the door opened and a short woman with brown hair walked in. She was escorted by a dozen other vampires.

“All bow before Dawn Mistletoe, the new Empress of Atlanta!” cried one of the vampires

I watched as the woman stepped up to the throne and stood in front of it. I looked at Sarah and she bowed before the woman; the rest of us followed suit.

The new empress looked at us and began to speak.

“Tell me what happened,” she said. “Tell me everything.”

We proceeded to tell the short, thin woman everything that had happened. I even told her how the empress had given Henry permission to assault my fiancé. In great detail, I explained how the queen knew Henry had attacked me, but let him attend the dance anyway.

Then the three witches, who’d mysteriously been absent during the battle, entered the room.

“Your highness, it’s in your best interest to ordain Sarah as Queen of Savannah, and grant all of these people full pardons,” Rachel said.

The new empress looked bewildered.

“Why is it my best interest?” she asked.

Betsy stepped forward and approached the new empress.

“We have looked into the future, and these people will be your greatest allies,” she said. “You want them as friends, not enemies.”

The woman sitting on the thrown looked at Sarah.

“If I ordain you as Queen of Savannah, do you promise to be loyal to me?” she asked.

“I swear,” Sarah said.

“Fine,” she said stepping forward toward Sarah

“Kneel before me.”

Sarah knelt on the ground and the empress put her hands on Sarah’s shoulders.

“I ordain you, Sarah, Queen of the city of Savannah. May you have wisdom and judgment in carrying out your duties.”

The empress stepped back and sat on her throne.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Now, please, all of you, go back to Savannah and stay away from this place,” she said. “I'll call you if I need you.”

We quickly left the throne room and hurried through the mansion to the suite where our bags were. Without changing we picked up our bags and got out of the mansion as fast as we could. As we moved through the hallways, thankfully we saw no one. Outside we found the car where we’d parked it the night before. We quickly climbed in and with Sarah at the wheel we sped out of the mansion grounds and into Atlanta. Before long we were on the road to Savannah.

I enjoyed the trip back home; Cathy held onto me the entire time. She talked about our wedding, the house she’d buy for us, and how she wanted to get a dog. Also, she told me that as soon as we made it back to Savannah, she’d call her friend Heather and ask her to bring my mother to see me.

Cathy said she’d let my mother live in the beach house until we bought a home of our own and built a motherin-law suite for her. I couldn’t help but wonder what my mother would look like as a vampire – fully rejuvenated, healthy, and young.

We made it safely to Savannah. Cathy kept her word, called Heather, and I was told my mother was packing up for the trip.

On the balcony of the beach house, I watched the sunset with Cathy and we decided to have the wedding on the beach – not in the mountains. We decided we didn't want to travel that far. Savannah was our home; the mountains were just a place to visit.

A few days later, with my mother present and well on her way towards becoming a vampire, we began to prepare for our wedding. We set March 4
as the date. That would give Meg enough time to travel with Lisa to the mountain home, search for her sister's spirit with the crystal ball, and return in time to be Cathy's maid of honor.

The days passed, and life started to feel more normal. Until we were married I’d live in the beach house with my mother. Cathy would live in her apartment, but she’d visit us every day.

I began to love my new life – more so than ever. Every day I woke up knowing the love of my life would be coming over by lunchtime, I’d be able to spend the day with her, and that soon we’d be married. In addition, I was able to see my mother grow healthier and younger each day. In a week's time, she went from appearing to be sixty to looking like a twenty year old. Seeing her so young was a little odd at first, but I quickly got used to it. Interestingly, in one of her training sessions, she began to glow golden – she’d be a hybrid like myself.

Sarah was able to settle several remaining issues in her kingdom, and the vampire residents of Savannah almost all accepted her as queen. The few that didn’t either remained silent or moved elsewhere. She kept Ruby as her second in command and made Cathy her personal assistant. In reality, this just allowed them to hang out together. She often came and had dinner with us at the beach house. My mother and Ruby would usually do the cooking. It wasn't long until they became good friends.

I continued getting checkups by Dr. Mills. He said that my vampire and human DNA were still in a positive feedback loop, and that over time I’d grow even more powerful.

Before long, I heard that Lizzie had found a boyfriend. Although she often called to talk to me, we didn't see her as often after that. However, I made her promise to be there at my wedding. She swore to me that she’d be there.

Two days before my wedding, I was taking a walk by myself. Cathy had asked if I wanted company, but I told her I didn't. I felt that I needed to be by myself for a couple of hours. It might be my last chance for solitude for a long time – my wedding was coming up fast.

I pondered my life and the future that was head of me. I didn’t have all the answers about what my future would hold, but I was happy. I was about to be married to a beautiful woman, my mother was safe and healthy, and I had a family that loved me. In addition, I’d never grow old and had powers beyond my wildest dreams.

All of a sudden, I heard a horn honk at me. I turned around, and I saw that it was Candace.

“I've been trying to track you down,” she said. “I'm so glad that I finally found you.”

She pulled the car over, parked, and walked up to me.

“I don't want to talk to you,” I said.

“Well, I want to talk to you,” she said.

“Too bad,” I answered, and I rushed away at lightning speed.

Walking back to the beach house, I heard my phone ring.

“Get here quick,” Cathy said.

I ran to the beach house, opened the door, and entered.

Meg and the three witches were standing in the living room. Rachel looked at me, and began to speak.

“They're coming,” she said. “You have to get out of here.”