The Scent (The Bryn and Sinjin Series Book 2) (4 page)

Nearly reeling under the weight of his stare, I glanced up at Sinjin, and found him watching me intently. There was no expression on his face.

“Maybe I should try to reach out to Rand through our bond?” Jolie suggested, glancing up at me with newly found hope in her eyes. “Just to let him know I’m safe?”

“No,” I responded immediately and shook my head. “It’s too risky. Luce would be able to pick up on any conversations you both have right away.” I inhaled deeply and then exhaled, not enjoying being the bearer of bad news. “Just focus on yourself for right now, Jolie,” I offered. “You and I both know that that’s exactly what Rand would want you to do.”

She nodded and looked as if she were about to say something when she suddenly pushed away from me and bent over, gripping her stomach. “Oh, God!”

“What?” I demanded as my heart plummeted all the way down to my feet. “What’s wrong?”

But Jolie didn’t answer. Instead, she shook her head and an expression of utter pain completely overcame her face. She bent over, gripping her stomach. “The … baby,” she finally answered. Within a blink, Sinjin was at her side. She started to breathe in and out very quickly as she gripped Sinjin’s hand tightly. He gently assisted her, placing her onto the sandy floor of the cave where he’d already laid out his suit jacket.

“Please tell me this is just a bad case of indigestion or something,” I said in a panicked voice. Shaking my head, I briefly tried to convince myself that this really couldn’t be happening. Not in a cave, for God’s sake!

My sister didn’t respond, but continued to wince in obvious discomfort. She labored to breathe in for a count of three, and then out for a count of three. Somehow I didn’t think this was what indigestion looked like …

“The baby is coming,” Sinjin announced matter-of-factly. He directed his comment toward me, like I was the only one having a panic attack.

“What?” I replied while shaking my head harder and instinctively taking a few steps back. I nearly tripped over a stalagmite on the floor of the cave. “Now? No way! That can’t be right! The baby can’t be coming … NOW?” I exclaimed frantically, my voice revealing my horror. “Jolie, you aren’t due today, right?”

Sinjin immediately started to laugh. “Bête Noire, babies are rarely, if ever, born on their due dates.”

“Okay, even so,” I started as I shook my head and then wondered if it wouldn’t have been better to face off with Luce after all.

“He’s … right,” Jolie managed between more facial winces and heavy breathing. “The … baby is coming.”

I didn’t say anything more. I commanded my panic to subside for a moment, in order to come up with a reasonable plan.

Babies are born in hospitals
, I thought
, so maybe we need to get Jolie to a hospital and a doctor’s care?
Seconds later, I got angry at how ridiculous that concept was.
A hospital?
I nearly reprimanded myself aloud.
Really, Bryn? We are stuck in the middle of a cave, you idiot! There’s no way we could make it to a hospital!

Well, then, maybe you could somehow find a doctor and bring him here?
I asked myself, then shook my head and forced the ludicrous thought right back where it came from.

“Okay, I’m shit out of ideas,” I admitted helplessly.

“The situation is what it is,” Sinjin responded.

“That’s no help at all,” I said, ungrateful for his completely empty words.

Sinjin chuckled. “Inform me then, Princess, how I may be of help to you?”

“Hmm, well, for starters, can you deliver a baby?” I asked, spearing him with an expression that insisted his response be in the affirmative.

He chuckled again, this time more deeply as he turned to face me. “I might be considered a liability, my little paramour.”

“What? Why?” I asked, throwing my hands on my hips. My only goal now was to talk him into delivering Jolie’s baby because the very idea of having to deliver the baby myself terrified me.

“The … blood,” Jolie managed to sputter before she started breathing heavily again. She clenched her eyes shut and apparently suffered another conniption, or whatever those things were called.

“Ugh!” I groaned. The sad truth was that Sinjin couldn’t deliver a baby since there would be so much blood involved, and he was a vampire. So that left me. Yep, I would have to deliver Jolie’s baby. Me … someone who knew nothing at all about such things. And, furthermore, preferred to know nothing at all.

“I will help you through the beginning stages, my little assassin,” Sinjin started in a consoling voice. “Once I can no longer remain with you, I will talk you through the rest of the birth from outside the cave. That way, I will remain downwind and thusly, not pose any liability,” he finished.

“I suppose now you plan to tell me that you were a doctor once upon a time, in your few thousand years?” I asked.

“No, I was never a doctor,” Sinjin replied with an amused smile. “And I am merely beginning my sixth century on this planet, little imp, contrary to your beliefs.”

“So you were never a doctor, yet you know how to deliver babies?” I asked incredulously. The tone of my voice conveyed my disbelief.

“I believe it is safe to say that I know more than you do.”

“Good enough,” I answered succinctly. With a nod, I shook my hands out so I could feel my fingers again. Jolie and I looked at each other as we both took a few deep breaths. Then I attempted to mentally prepare myself for the situation I would soon be in.

“I know you … can do this, Bryn,” Jolie said. She faced me with an encouraging smile, which, just moments later, turned into another grimace.

“Well, that makes one of us,” I answered.

THREE

Four hours later, I was drenched in sweat even though it was pouring rain outside and frosty cold inside the cave. I was sweating because I was already exhausted after spending the last few hours buffering my sister in a cloud of warm air. I was trying to keep the chill inside the cave away from her, and it wasn’t an easy feat by any stretch of the imagination. Relying on my magic for such a prolonged period of time was, in a word, exhausting.

Even though it was still dark outside, I assumed the morning was only mere hours away. That meant Sinjin would have to seek shelter from the sun. That is, of course, unless the rain continued. In that case, the dark storm clouds would probably do a good enough job at keeping the sun concealed so he wouldn’t be turned into a pile of ash. And ensuring Sinjin stayed in the flesh was definitely my preference; I needed all the help I could get.

We were now four hours into Jolie’s labor, but there still was no baby. According to Sinjin, however, this too was to be expected.

“I don’t understand why any woman in her right mind would willingly go through this,” I grumbled. Standing up, I stretched my arms above my head. My fingers were beginning to go numb due to the coldness inside the cave. There were goose bumps covering my entire body but I tried not to notice. Instead, I was content to know Jolie was as comfortable as her current situation would allow her. “Not that you aren’t in your right mind, Jolie,” I added, glancing back at her as I thought I should probably be more careful about what came out of my mouth. But she didn’t seem to notice since she was … preoccupied.

“That is because you do not possess one ounce of maternal instinct, Princess,” Sinjin said from where he kneeled beside Jolie’s head. He faced me and offered me an amused smile before glancing down at his wristwatch and gazing at my sister where she lay on the ground, her lower half facing me. “Your contractions are two minutes apart now, my queen,” he said in a soft, kind voice. “I believe the baby will make her appearance very soon.”

“Her?” Jolie asked with an exhausted smile. Her fatigued body started to shake with another contraction and her face went white again as she closed her eyes and sweat beaded all over her forehead.

“Yes, I imagine the little sprog will be a girl,” Sinjin smiled with a chuckle.

“Sprog?” I repeated.

“Pardon,” Sinjin replied. “That would be
baby
to you Americans.”

I wasn’t sure how she managed it, but Jolie laughed. “I’m looking forward to the day the so-called
sprog
asks Uncle Sinjin for a piggyback ride,” she said with a fatigued smile.

“Uncle Sinjin?” I had to laugh, thinking those two words didn’t belong together. But then, the more I thought about it, and studied Sinjin as he leaned over my sister and offered her support, it didn’t seem so alien an idea after all. Surprisingly enough, I imagined Sinjin would probably be pretty good with children. He certainly had a boyish, charming side to his otherwise off-putting personality …

“Uncle Sinjin,” the vampire repeated while nodding and smiling contentedly. “It does have a certain ring to it, does it not?” He cocked his head to the side as he further considered it before he smiled even more broadly.

“I think so,” Jolie agreed before her voice died on the wind. She scrunched up her face as another contraction ripped through her worn out body.

“If Rand were here right now, I’d give him a piece of my mind!” I announced as I paced forward and back a few times, irritated that it was Rand’s fault my sister was in such pain.

Sinjin looked up at me and immediately burst into laughter. “What a shame he is not. I would very much have liked to witness that interaction.”

I just glared at him with my arms crossed against my chest. Jolie groaned again and I pulled my attention from the charming vampire back to my unfortunate sister. “Are you sure you don’t want me to try to take the pain away?” I asked her even though it sounded more like I was begging. I just hated seeing her in such obvious agony, especially when, as a healer, I could take all of it away. I started to pace back and forth again as I attempted to rub the cold out of my arms. I even considered warming myself up with my magic, but decided I should save as much of my energy as I could. I wanted to make sure Jolie’s delivery was a warm one.

“No,” she managed between deep breaths. “I don’t want … to … take any chances.”

I wasn’t exactly sure what chances Jolie thought she might be taking, but figured there was no use in arguing with her. Instead, I sighed long and hard but honored her wishes all the same. I continued to pace back and forth as I attempted to rub the tension out of my neck although I wasn’t successful.

“Perhaps some more heat, little heathen,” Sinjin said as he eyed me with an expression of impatience.

I briefly nodded and then closed my eyes as I reached my palms out toward my sister so I could gauge how much I needed to buffer up the warmth surrounding her. Then I focused as sharply as I could and imagined an envelope of balmy air surrounding her and only her. Sinjin was basically a glorified corpse so he didn’t care whether it was cold, hot or something in between. Once I’d finished warming my sister, I opened my eyes and dropped my hands. “That should last another twenty minutes or so before I have to do it again,” I announced.

“Very good,” the glorified corpse responded with a curt nod. “Perhaps you should assume your position again,” he finished with his eyebrows raised in a rendition of “Why the hell are you pacing when you’ve got work to do?” Glancing down at Jolie again, he smiled and held her hand as she squeezed his. “The time is almost nigh,” he whispered to her. His gentle tone and the way he gazed down at her with so much caring in his eyes made me suddenly feel all squishy inside as my eyes started to sting.

Oh my God, Bryn, really?
I chided myself.
You are seriously going soft!

“What? Why?” I asked once I remembered Sinjin’s words. My eyes went wide as I wondered if maybe the baby was about to make her entrance—a thought which completely petrified me.

“Your sister’s contractions are lasting roughly one minute, and they are coming two minutes apart,” Sinjin informed me, as if I had any clue what he was talking about.

“And translated that means what?” I barked at him as I threw my hands on my hips and tried to talk my wayward heart into calming the hell down. Me having a panic attack wasn’t going to do anyone any good.

“Translated, that means you should buckle down and prepare to deliver your sister’s baby,” Sinjin replied in a calm manner as he released Jolie’s hand. He stood up in one fluid motion, looking completely out of place in his black suit. Of course I didn’t fit any better, given that I was still wearing my maid of honor getup. “And on that note, I must now make my exit,” Sinjin finished.

With that, he took a few steps toward the front of the cave. I immediately sidestepped him and blocked his exit, even going so far as to push both of my palms against his chest to let him know he wasn’t going anywhere so soon. Not if I had anything to say about it.

“You … you’re leaving?” I asked, my tone of voice daring him to respond in the affirmative. He glanced down at my hands on his chest before looking back up at me and smiling knowingly. I cleared my throat and suddenly thought better of touching him, but I made no motion to release him because I was afraid he’d simply materialize right out of the cave.

“Although I must admit I quite enjoy your tender touch, my little imp, the time for me to leave is drawing nearer,” he announced as he brought his hands to my arms and began rubbing them up and down. I wasn’t sure if the goose bumps that suddenly sprung up all over my skin were due to his touch or the frigid cave.

“No!” I almost yelled at him. “You can’t go!” Without even realizing what I was doing, I wrapped my fingers around the line of his button-down shirt to ensure that he wouldn’t be able to go anywhere. “I need you!”

“Although I am marginally softened by your tantrum, pet, I am afraid I must go now, as in … posthaste,” Sinjin replied coolly. Then he made a big show of gripping both of my wrists and extricating my hands from his shirtfront. “I refuse to put our queen’s safety in any jeopardy.” Then he eyed me with furrowed brows. “Or yours, for that matter.”

“Oh my God,” I muttered while shaking my head. I crossed my arms over my chest and frowned at him. “What is it with you bloodsuckers? You’d think after a few thousand years you might have mastered the discipline of self-restraint.”

Sinjin chuckled and studied me pointedly as I felt myself gulp down my own words. “I do hate to disappoint you, my diminutive hellion, but alas sometimes I must accept my own disappointment …” He turned his back on me, which basically sent the same message as if he’d just flipped me the bird.

“Sinjin!” I yelled frantically as my only means of assistance was swiftly starting to retreat. Now I’d be on my own when it came to delivering Jolie’s baby and that was a future I wanted no part of … My heart pounded loudly and my stomach started to sour. “I’ve never even seen a newborn baby, let alone birthed one! I have no idea what to do! If you leave me here alone, you’re basically rolling the dice when it comes to Jolie’s and the baby’s safety!”

“You would have made a very good actress, pet,” the tall vampire responded even though he didn’t bother turning back around. Instead, he continued forward, toward the hole in the ceiling of the cave. “As I said, I will guide you through the process.” Then, before I could stop him, he disappeared in the ray of moonlight that streamed into the cave, as if he’d never been there at all.

I swallowed hard and faced my sister. “We’re going to get through this together, Jolie,” I said in an unconvincing tone, all the while hoping and praying I spoke the truth. “Just make sure you breathe,” I continued, mostly to remind myself of the same thing. I dropped down onto my knees beside her, trying to ignore the freezing cold sand that greeted my naked knees. I gripped Jolie’s hand, and squeezing it hard, I breathed in deeply and readied myself for the Herculean task that lay ahead.

“We can do this,” she said with a sincere smile that suggested she actually believed it.

“Yes, we can.”

Yes I can!
I reiterated while trying to steel my courage.
You can do this, Bryn. It’s just delivering a baby! It can’t be that hard, right? Of course not! I mean, come on! Being a midwife has got to be a lot easier than
one-on-one combat, or training a bunch of new recruits …

That’s a good way to think of it,
Jolie answered me via her thoughts. I glanced over at her and found her smiling at me.

“I don’t want you to worry, okay?” I said. I suddenly felt the urge to try to calm her fears because I knew it wouldn’t do her any good if she was as worried about my birthing skills as I was. “I mean, when you think about it, women have been giving birth for like … forever; and a long time ago, hospitals didn’t even exist, right?” I decided not to mention that childbirth was one of the top reasons why women died in those days. I figured it was probably better left unsaid. “That’s right,” I answered my own question.

“I’m okay, Bryn,” Jolie managed as another contraction rocked her body and she clenched her eyes shut tightly as she rode it out. Moments later, she dropped her head back, opened her mouth, and screamed so loud, my heart nearly stopped.

“What?! What’s wrong?!” I cried, utterly panicked as I jumped to my knees and tried to decide what the hell I should do next. “Sinjin!” I yelled in despair as I turned to face the empty cave and narrowed my attention to the hole in the roof. I prayed he hadn’t gone too far away and could still hear me, especially over the pounding rain. “Are you still there?”

“Yes, pet,” he replied, his voice not sounding as far away as it should have. I guessed it was just another form of his vampiric powers, although I couldn’t be sure.

“She’s screaming!” I called out. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her!”

“Of course, she is,” Sinjin called back, sounding completely unconcerned. “Need I remind you that she is having a baby?” I didn’t say anything in response to him, but looked back at Jolie. She was no longer screaming, but there was sweat still pouring off her forehead.

“Okay, well tell me what I’m supposed to do!” I called back up to Sinjin. “I have no idea what to do next!”

“Has the baby crowned yet?” came his calm response.

“I don’t know what that means!” I answered, feeling completely useless. I wasn’t used to feeling this way at all and could honestly say I hoped never to experience it again. Ordinarily I was the one barking orders at people. Ordinarily I was the one who was in control of the situation as well as in control of myself.