Revisited (Redemption Series) (10 page)

“And that’s just one of many memories, right?”

Becca nodded and wiped another tear from her cheek. “Yes. I could see they cared for each other more than they ever admitted to me.”

“You should have seen him at your bedside in the hospital. I repeatedly reassured him that you would be fine, but he needed to see it with his own eyes to believe it.” Peter nudged her shoulder with his. “You are special because you are the best parts of both of them: strength, beauty, intelligence, and most of all, a pure heart.”

“Ha!” Becca laughed. “My heart has been un-pure on more than one occasion.”

“Regardless, you are Sam and Anne’s daughter, and because of that you are presented with a choice.”

“Is this the part where you ask me if I’m prepared for the responsibilities I’m about to be offered?”

“In a nutshell.” Peter smirked as he took her bottle and placed it on the pew next to his own. “What do you say?”

She took a deep breath, wiped her cheeks one last time, and stood. “I’m ready.”

He stood next to her and took her hand. “Every journey begins with that first step. This is yours.” He led her to the door behind the altar and out.

The door closed behind them and Becca took in the scene, which she knew was not supposed to be there. “What the . . . ?”

Peter smiled and pulled her toward the small pond resting at the base of a fifteen-foot waterfall. It was as if a tropical paradise was integrated into the French countryside. It was a bit unnatural, but somehow seamlessly brought together to look like it had always been there.

“Just take off your shoes, then go wade in the middle. It’s not deep and there are no creepy crawlies in there.”

Becca chuckled as she slipped off her shoes. “Did you just say ‘creepy crawlies’? Really?”

“Just trust me.”

“Okay.” Becca walked to the edge of the pond and dipped a toe in. A warm current traveled up her leg and throughout the rest of her body. She instantly craved the warmth and walked in further, soaking her jeans and T-shirt.

She made it to the middle of the pond where the water hit her just beneath the bust line. She was awed at the feeling of the soothing warm water pulsing around her.

She looked back at Peter as he focused on her and she saw him clench his hands at his sides. She raised her arms to let them rest on the water’s surface. After a moment of nothing, she began to wonder if anything would happen.

As Peter was about to begin his part of the day’s events, Becca was violently pulled under.

Peter rushed into the water to find her, but even he couldn’t locate her.

Becca felt a slight burn, but nothing she would consider harmful to her lungs. She felt weightless under the water, with no pain, no fear, only a sense of bliss. She drifted toward the surface then broke through it.

Peter stood back as Becca rose above the pond’s surface and hovered above it. Her toes were the only things touching the water and they made small ripples. Her body gave off a soft glow, which bounced off the water droplets and floated around her in the mist from the waterfall.

Stunned and amazed, Peter got out of the water and stood on the bank of the pond. In the eons before where he had led Nephilim to that very pond, what transpired had never before occurred.

Becca kept her eyes closed as she moved through the air until she came to rest beside the pond.

“Becca?” Peter rushed to her side and tapped her cheeks. “Are you all right?”

She opened her eyes and turned to look at him. “Wow,” she said with a smile. She flexed all the muscles in her arms and legs, and found a new sense of strength within them. “I feel different, but good. Relaxed.”

“Thank goodness that’s—” Peter broke off his own words when he brought her into a tight embrace. “I thought I had lost you there for a minute.”

She pulled back. “Why?” 

“That has never happened before. I told you that you were different, but I had assumed this part would be the same.” He hugged her closely and placed his face in the crook of her neck.

“I’m fine. Better than fine, actually. Am I supposed to be able to breathe underwater?”

Peter snickered. “No, I guess you are more special to
Him
than we all thought.”

It didn’t take long for Lily to remember the days when she developed the cure with Martin. The notes she had skimmed through held no real interest to her. She knew what they contained. She knew what she would have to do.

    “Why don’t you explain it to all of us then?” Ryan brought Lily out of her inner musings with the question.

She looked around the kitchen to find everyone in the room looking at her. Nathaniel, Ryan, Jefferson, Renee, Abe, and Sam all sat in silence as they waited for her answer. “It’s not that difficult to understand if you know what you’re talking about.”

“Humor us.” Ryan raised a brow, aware of his wife’s brilliance.

Lily shifted in her chair before picking up a few sheets of paper. “As you probably know, the easiest way to create a vampire is for a vampire to bite a human, allowing their venom to enter their bloodstream. Martin was under the belief our venom caused a mutation in human DNA, therefore, when induced, the mutation occurred.” 

Lily singled out a sheet of paper with drawings of DNA strands and diagrams of single cells. “With a potent amount of venom introduced into the bloodstream, the mutation begins, whether it be through a bite or injection. The nucleus of each cell mutates, and one by one, they are all changed. Martin just found a way to reverse it.” 

 Nathaniel took one of the papers from Lily’s hands and studied it. “Fascinating.”  

“Yes. Martin used a combination of different blood types to make up the cure. Instead of introducing venom into the bloodstream, he injected blood into the venomstream. At first, it didn’t work how he had hoped. We ended up having to come up with a perfect combination of several blood types from specific donors. Together, a smaller amount was more potent. Otherwise, it would have been like receiving a huge blood transfusion, and we weren’t sure many vampires could stand the prolonged process.”

Nathaniel patted Lily on the back. He knew her thoughts were of the deadly formula Martin, and so many others of her kind, had drunk, which had caused their ultimate demise. “As most of you know, an ingested formula is what killed all but Lily, Filipp, and Debir many years ago. Since Lily told me the story of that horrific day, I have done my own research. As it turns out, I believe the ingested formula was a highly concentrated version of Anton Cadreanu’s.”

Ryan brought his arms around Lily as the rest of the room fell silent.

Sam cleared his throat and changed the subject. “Why don’t you all start getting packed? Once everything is settled, we will be able to leave sometime tomorrow.”

“What’s taking Becca so long anyway?” Renee asked, looking around for her new friend. “Does she have to meet with the big man
Himself
to get her powers?”

Sam chuckled. “No, but there are procedures for everything.”

“Come on.” Jefferson took Renee’s hand and led her out of the kitchen.

“Okay, now they’re gone; let us have the rest of the story, Lil. How difficult is this going to be?” Abe took Renee’s vacated seat at the kitchen table.

Lily looked at all four men. “We had a few successful human trials in the seventies. I know one of our successes is still alive.”

“What happened during the trials?” Ryan asked, taking Lily’s hand and attempting to soothe the story out of her.

“We tested hundreds, if not thousands, of people. After one specific blood type didn’t work, Martin had the idea of combining several different types, but it was the specific combination of the donor’s DNA that worked successfully. The type O could only come from one particular family bloodline, as well as the A negative and the B positive. I’ve gotten in touch with two of the original donors who are willing to donate, but I’m still working on the third.”

“Give me the information,” Abe insisted. “I’m going crazy here waiting for Becca. Let me be of some use.”

Lily smiled as Abe’s pain sent a pang through her own chest. “Thanks. That would really help.”

Becca felt a lazy hum work itself below her skin as she and Peter walked back to the chapel. They took a step through the doors, but the chapel was not what resided on the other side.

“What are we doing here?” Becca looked around and walked around one of the outbuildings of the Leatherby Estate.

“We need some practice time, if you will. I need to see what you can do.” Peter looked nervous and a little concerned as he led her out of the building and into the darkened fields surrounding it. “I will trust you on the breathing underwater, but I would like to revisit that one at a later date.”

“Agreed.” She pulled a hair tie from her pocket and swept her wet hair up into a messy ponytail.

“Even with my abilities, this body is human in many aspects. Why don’t we try to do some healing?”

Becca looked him up and down quizzically. “You are going to injure yourself just to see if I can heal you?”

“Yes. Now, turn your back. I don’t think you want to see this.”

Becca turned and squeezed her eyes shut for good measure. A loud snap pierced the air before a distinct groan and the sound of knees hitting the earth did. She turned to find Peter, his right arm limp in the grasp of his left hand. “Oh, Jesus! You broke your own arm!” She was instantly on her knees beside him, her hand cradling his arm.

“It’s not too painful, but just to be safe, let’s make this a quick lesson.” He grinned and then winced.

Becca urged him to sit down on the ground. 

“Now, the break is right here.” Peter pointed to the middle of his forearm with his left hand. “Take it in your hands.”

Becca wrapped her hands around his right arm.

“Right, now just feel your strength. Pass it on to me.”

Becca cleared her mind and brought forth what she thought was strength. After a moment of nothing, she sighed in frustration. “This isn’t working.”

“Just try again.” Peter winced. “I’m sure you’ll get it.”

“Bet you wish you had just broken a finger now, don’t you?”

“Don’t make me laugh.” He tried to resist, but his laughter slipped through anyway.

“Okay. I’ll try again.” She cleared her mind once again. Instead of grasping for strength, she reached for the calm that overwhelmed her when she had been pulled under the water. Her fingertips warmed, and she felt a slight shift beneath her skin.

“That’s it.” Peter pulled his arm from her grasp. “Good as new.”

Becca inspected the healed arm in awe. “I did that?”

“Yes, and very well. It feels better than it did before.”

A rush of excitement fluttered in her stomach as she stood. “What’s next?”

Peter rose to his feet and thought of what else they might try. “Well, let’s see if teleportation is possible.”

“You mean like Abe?” Becca’s eyes brightened, remembering the rush she always felt while traveling with him on thousands of past occasions.

“Not exactly. Your type of teleportation would be voluntary, transporting others only at their choosing. Abe can transport people without their consent.”

“Ah, I see.” She rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. “What should I do?”

Peter led her to where the outbuilding was once again in view. “Visualize yourself over on the steps of the outbuilding, then—” Before he could finish his sentence, Becca disappeared from his side. A heartbeat later, he looked to where she stood on the steps. “Now, back,” he shouted in vain, because she was next to him.

“That was such a rush! So much more than when I’ve gone with Abe. I can’t believe
I
can do all this.” Becca did a little run-in-place happy dance.

Peter stood somewhat dumbfounded. He shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around the concept of what had unfolded before him. “I just don’t understand this. Nephilim don’t have this much power.” He turned to see her excitement had faded. “No, I’m not saying there is something wrong here, or you are undeserving. You are just such an anomaly to me.”

“You sure know how to sweet talk a girl.” Becca sat down on the ground with a pout. “I love being called an anomaly, or better yet, an enigma.”