Talons (35 page)

“
They have not talked to me
since the wedding,” Eli said stiffly. “I don’t know who has
survived, the boy or the girl.”

Jericho gazed at him in compassion.
“Eli, it’s our way. There can be only one to lead the tribe. Your
mother lost three children the day you were born. You don’t
remember killing your siblings any more than your son or daughter
will when they’re grown.”

Eli looked bleak at his words. “I know
it’s necessary to keep the balance, but I wish they were born
without my gift.”

“
We couldn’t have known they
would both have it. You can’t predict it. Your mother had a litter
of seven, and four with your father’s power. Imagine her pain to
have known?”

Eli didn’t answer, knowing how Vivvie
would react. She was learning something new every day about their
people. He saw this as a setback. Learning her children were at war
inside of her wouldn’t go over easily.

“
My wife will grieve this
deeply enough as it is, Jericho,” Eli informed him with a bitter
look in his eyes. “She has picked out names for both.”

“
With every blessing there
is also a curse,” Jericho said sourly. “The demon laughs at times
like these.”

Eli went ahead of Jericho into the
elevator, thinking the same thing. How the demon enjoyed their
pain, the descendants of the tribesmen he tricked. In giving them
the soul of the panther, he stole theirs, giving them this
half-life between worlds, living as both men and beasts.

Eli refused to allow the demon the
satisfaction of feeling his pain now. He’d known the minute his
children were conceived that one wouldn’t live. He refused to guess
which one would be sacrificed.

That was one of the reasons he asked
the children to help to track Ryken. In turning Vivvie, his blood
scent was very much known to their offspring. His daughter had no
trouble finding Ryken, even less in killing him.

His son would be next, sent to find
Ryken to end the war that was coming. Eli received no answer from
either of them in weeks. He knew what that meant. One was dead and
the other felt responsible.

Eli was glad Vivvie would have no more
young after their children were born. She was planning to be
sterilized after Jericho delivered the twins. Knowing she would
have only one of the two she planned for nearly made him cry for
the cruelty of their kind.

The fussy blue and pink layettes she
bought to adorn their cribs in the nursery made him tense, wanting
to tell her not to plan for both. Then he decided he would leave it
alone. As soon as he knew both had his gift he lost the opportunity
to tell her the truth.

Vivvie would endure too much pain to
know the price of his gift to their children, and possibly hate him
for it.

Vivvie frowned as she waddled over and
adjusted the crooked lampshade on her children’s dresser. It took
her a full week to finish the room. She smiled to think of Eli’s
frustration in putting together the two cribs, finally making
Jericho finish them when he lost patience.

Eli was as anxious as she was for her
to give birth. She was close, every day she felt more movement,
sometimes so violent, she gasped as the two seemed to be jumping
inside of her. Eli said it was normal, but she became worried when
the constant movement stopped suddenly.

Now she felt only a kick here and
there. Jericho assured her all was well, but his yellow green gaze
refused to meet hers at times when he saw her weekly for her
check-ups.

Vivvie finished her classes. She was
taking a semester off to get used to being a mother. She passed all
her courses with two A’s and two B’s.

Vivvie went to an online funeral site
where her service was given. She read the guestbook with tears in
her eyes, knowing all her family and friends believed her dead. It
was surreal to read the comments posted about her.

Finally she came to terms with her
life. Ty was right. Now that she accepted what she was, she didn’t
dare return to her life. She shifted on a dime these days, her
emotions so taut over the pregnancy. Eli laughed when she would get
angry and the shift would come upon her.

Her husband teased her she would need a
new wardrobe when it was all over. That alone reminded her none
lied to her. She had no control over these moments, even if she was
stronger than most newborns.

Going back wasn’t an option anymore.
Louisa Ruiz left a comment about Vivian Leigh Collins, saying
goodbye to the girl she’d once been. Vivvie laughed to read Kevin’s
words about her, saying he lost the best thing that ever happened
to him.

In a roundabout way, she had everything
she wanted now. Eli could still enrage her with his arrogant
assurances he now owned her, but they both knew different. Her
husband’s growl was very much worse than his bite.

~~~~

Ty arrived back to the mountain looking
tanned and fit. He sought out Eli first after a rousing welcome
from the tribe. He found his leader gazing at a sonogram picture
with a pained look on his face. The conference room was empty
now.

Ty saw the sorrow there before his
leader looked up and it vanished. Eli folded away the picture and
grinned at him.

“
I should have known you
wouldn’t miss out on this,” he remarked and gestured for Ty to
sit.

“
The upcoming battle? Or
your being a father for the twenty-third time?” Ty asked jokingly,
seeing the flash of pain in Eli’s eyes and sobering. “What is
it?”

“
You know there can be only
one, Ty,” Eli said softly. “Vivvie has twins who both carry the
gifts.”

“
Does she know?”

“
No, Jericho said one will
appear to be stillborn,” Eli said wearily and looked aggrieved.
“She does not need to know. She would despise me, herself, and the
child that survives.”

Ty nodded in agreement, feeling sorry
for Eli and Vivvie both. The joy they awaited was also merged with
sorrow.

“
I’m sorry, Eli,” he said
and meant it. “I know you must be in Hell right now.”

Eli chuckled sourly and rolled his
eyes. “That is only the half of it. Ryken leaves his mark in every
town he passes through on his way here. The news reports several
deaths along his march.”

Ty was grim. “I heard. There are two
more dead in Georgia, and three in Missouri. He sends us a
message.”

Eli looked furious. “The humans are not
idiots, Ty. They will know they were animal attacks.”

“
I saw no sign of him or his
followers along the road,” Ty offered quietly. “I smelled the
creatures he found in the Everglades. They have no sense at all.
Ryken must be desperate to use them. They take chances most of our
kind wouldn’t.”

“
What of Mara?” Eli asked,
his blue eyes narrowing. “Tell me you found a fitting end for her
after all this treachery?”

“
I euthanized her, Eli,” Ty
said tightly and looked away. “In the end, I couldn’t be cruel,
even knowing what she meant to do to Vivian and her
young.”

Eli understood only too well how
difficult it was for all of them to deal with their own turning
upon them.

“
Ryken will be hard pressed
to find any of my men here willing to help him,” Eli snapped and
stood up. “We have not found the traitor yet. You’re sure someone
has helped Mara in this?”

“
I’m sure of it,” Ty said
forcefully, golden eyes narrowed. “She was called from the compound
land line and spoke with someone here. I heard her tell them to be
ready.”

Eli looked like he wanted to break
something as he paced the conference room. “Jericho has sensed
nothing among the tribe. He thinks whoever it is has some gift
we’re not aware of, to hide their thoughts from me and their
emotions from him.”

Ty smiled. “Does Vivian know about that
other little trick of yours, besides you running your mouth in our
heads whenever you feel like it?”

“
My mate would be furious to
know I have read her like a book since she arrived,” Eli said with
a happy grin. “She thinks her thoughts are her own. I would like to
keep it that way. Being a husband is hard work.”

Ty chuckled and shook his head. “I pity
you when she figures you out one of these days. Here she thinks
you’re the most sweet and thoughtful husband ever, to anticipate
her every need and whim, and you hear her thoughts.”

“
A man needs some advantages
against females,” Eli defended his actions with a shrug. “If I
didn’t know my wife’s thoughts, I’d be without a clue right
now.”

Ty chuckled warmly and shook his head.
“Still, I feel sorry for you, my friend. She will chew your ass,
literally, when she finds out.”

Eli grinned widely. “How many years do
you think I can get out of this, Ty?”

“
My guess, probably months
knowing Vivian, she doesn’t miss much.”

~~~~

Ryken looked down at the dead man at
his feet and smirked. The Hertz rental company representative
demanded proof of insurance. Ryken pulled out the 9mm at his side
and gave it to him. They needed new transport for his troops. The
thirty foot moving truck would get them the rest of the way to the
compound.

Dean chuckled as he picked the dead man
up and stuffed him into the back of the moving truck, hearing the
growls within. Soon, it sounded like a feeding frenzy. The troops
were hungry and hardly minded eating humans when it came to
it.

They had many hours left on the road
and didn’t dare stop again. The new recruits left too many signs
for the authorities to follow since leaving Florida. They had to
dump the last truck, knowing it was being tracked by the humans
because of the ignorant beasts who rode in the back.

It was all over the news. Bizarre
animal attacks or ritual killings, none were certain.

Dean approached Ryken and smiled, his
dark eyes amused. “What do you plan on doing with them when this is
all over, Ryken? You can dress them up, but can’t take them
anywhere.”

Ryken shrugged, yellow green eyes
filled with disdain for the creatures that aided them. “I doubt any
of them will even survive the battle. They’re merely padding for
our numbers. They have mated too much with the indigenous
population in Florida. None have the intelligence of our kind
anymore.”

“
Eli won’t just hand you
over the compound, Ryken,” Dean said worriedly. “We won’t get in
without a fight.”

Ryken made a scornful noise. “Do you
think that ancient bastard and the others scare me? Their time is
at an end! Our people are tired of bowing to Eli.”

Dean frowned. “Lydia has taken all
these chances, Ryken. If they should discover what she has been
doing…”

Ryken raised an eyebrow. “Your sister
has struck a blow for freedom, Dean. All we need her to do is open
the service doors after she is inside. How damned hard could it be?
All she needs to do is stay away from Eli and Jericho three more
days. I don’t need either of them homing in on her.”

Dean looked upset. “She wants your
assurance none of the children will be killed.”

Ryken smirked. “Yeah, like I’m gonna
just keep Eli’s kids alive to come after me later on? Why not
Gideon’s and Jericho’s too? I think we can all agree the compound
needs new blood. They all die, no exceptions! I want no ancient
blood in my way when we take over.”

Dean nodded but his dark eyes were
filled with unease. Thoughts of his own young brothers, cousins,
and his mother played havoc upon his conscience now.

After the last attempt on his life,
Ryken decided no mercy was to be given. Those that left with him
were the only ones who would lead the new regime.

“
How do you propose to get
to Eli?” Dean asked.

Ryken smiled. “That’s the easy part.
All I have to do is take his mate and he’ll come
running.”

Dean shivered slightly, thinking of the
elder’s rage to find his precious mate Ryken’s captive. He wasn’t
looking forward to facing his grandfather Gideon either.

“
Eli anticipates we go after
her, Ryken, because she carries the chosen one.”

“
There is no chosen one!
It’s all a fucking lie! The elders just said that so we would all
kiss Eli’s ass for the rest of our souls!” Ryken raged and looked
disgusted. “I’ll be the new Chief.”

Dean reserved his comments, knowing
Ryken was losing it. Ever since he lost his last soul, he had
become increasingly unstable.

Ryken’s last stand against the elders
was all he could do now. Derek and Gideon took over the compound in
Florida. The warriors hunted them now. They ran out of the money
Mara had embezzled from Eli.

“
The bombs are all wired and
ready,” Dean said. “Are you sure those kids are the right ones to
carry them in?”

“
Lydia will lead them in on
the school bus,” Ryken said and smiled. “Children always go
unnoticed. The bombs will cause so much chaos they won’t know to
expect what comes next.”

~ ~ ~