Chapter 33.

I crawled on the bathroom floor, trying to reach the edge of the tub to pull myself up. Another pain shot through my lower body. It felt like someone was pounding my lower back with a sledgehammer. After Pallo an d the others had left to meet Mark, I told James I wanted to soak in the tub and relax awhile. He offered to help me, and after I socked him in the arm, I gave him a job. I sent him on a blood run. I knew that would keep him gone for a little while. I knew the vampires' blood supply was running low at my house and the last thing I wanted running around was hungry vampires. So sending James to the blood bank seemed like a good idea. I had no idea how bad the contractions would get or I would have rethought it.

I tried to pull myself up again and failed. I lay on the bathroom floor screaming out in pain until I heard the bathroom door burst open.

"Hey Shorty, you weren't thinkin' of tryin' to do this all by yourself now, were ya'?

"Nana?" I lifted my head to see Ken's tiny grandmother standing beside me. "How'd you know?"

"Oh child, I've known since you came to my house for tea. You had that look about ya', it wasn't exactly a new momma' glow, but it was somethin'."

I tried to sit up to see her but another pain hit me. My forehead hit the floor with a thud.

"Now, why don't ya' just lie still. Let me help ya' ... the girls and I took a look at those pills the doctor sent over. He was right about them havin' a spell on them and he was right about them havin' some type of fertility drug in them, but he was wrong about them doing nothin' to stop you from getting' pregnant."

Intelligent conversations were beyond me with the contractions coming closer and closer, so I just listened to her talk. She told me about pills being used to help something grow and have life, but not necessarily a baby. The spell that was used on them allowed me to act as a succubus, a female vampire that can become pregnant. This explained my blood cravings and my falling body temperature.I listened as Nana went on about sensing that I was carrying something deep within me when I came to see her the other day. She also made it very clear that it was not a child in me. I knew that but hearing it said aloud again only served to confirm it. She had talked to Dr. Gideon about it and he agreed. He hadn't wanted to worry me, but the two beats that he heard were not heartbeats, they were something else. Betty, one of Nana's sisters in the coven, figured out that I was acting as a vessel for the merger of two magics, two powers, and that when it came time for them to be released, they would kill me--or consume me. The women in Nana's cov en had spent the last day making large amounts of banishing and purifying potions.

I watched as Nana filled the tub with water and added jelly jars full of thick liquid. The smell of anise hyssop and lemon verbena filled the room. She looked down at me and smiled.

"Do you understand what I'm about to do?"

"Yes," I said between gritted teeth. "Banish the evil spell that holds the ... power ... oww ... in me."

"Very good, now let's get you up and in the tub."

She put her plump hands under my armpits and tugged on me. At four foot ten inches tall and pushing only eighty pounds, she wasn't going to budge me. Another contraction ripped through me. I screamed out.

A gust of wind hit us. "Gwen?" I heard James' voice. "Who the h.e.l.l are you?"

"Don't take that tone with me, Shorty!" Nana said. She rubbed something on my stomach. The pain intensified and I screamed out. I felt something warm running from my nose. James was next to me in an instant. His hand came to my face. He pulled it back and showed me that it was blood.

"What the b.l.o.o.d.y-h.e.l.l are you doing to her?" James made a sudden move towards Nana. I heard her giggle and saw James land on his b.u.t.t on the floor. Messing with a witch was never pretty. James looked at me with his blue eyes wide. "Get a load of the ol' nasty nana."

"James, its okay ... help her do ... what needs to be done." I struggledto get the words out. Our gazes locked and he nodded.

"Great, now that that's settled, let's get her in the tub," Nana said, still laughing at James.

James picked my body up and set me fully clothed in the tub. My skin felt as though it was singeing off. I screamed out as smoke rose up from my arms. Nana grabbed me.

"Help hold her still, boy!"

I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. I wanted out of the water. I wanted away from the room, the house, my body. I clawed out, fighting to run, I caught James' arm and he winced but did not let go. Nana began to chant and throw salts and oils in the water with me.

Something clawed at my stomach from the inside--digging up, trying to get out. I reached down and pulled my shirt up high to see what was causing the excruciating pain. Hundreds of tiny mounds rose up under my skin. I heard screams and cries and the sound of heavy breathing. I realized the screams were coming from me and also James. He held me down, staring w ide eyed at my now grossly disfigured stomach.

Nana repeated a low chant over and over again. The pain increased. I grabbed James' hand and squeezed it as hard as I could. I screamed and fell backwards into the tub full of oils and water. Water covered my face. I screamed out again as pain riddled through my body and took in a huge gulp of water. It burned on the way down. James yanked my head out of the water and I coughed as he hit my back. Water flew out of my mouth and nose at him. He didn't move away, he moved closer. At this rate, he'd be in the tub with me any minute.

"Good, you're here." I heard Nana say.

I screamed again and didn't look behind me to see who'd come in. I didn't care if they let the whole city in. They could charge admission to see the faerie giving birth to the demonic power for all I cared. I just wanted whatever was in me out.

"Let me in there," Dr. Gideon said. His head of red hair swept down next to me. He began to check my vital signs. He glanced at James and I sawJames' eyes widen. They didn't need to tell me how bad it was. I was living it.

The clawing in my stomach returned. Gideon glanced down and caught sigh t of the ripples. "Oh, my G.o.d!" He backed up slowly.

When your own doctor is freaked out by you, you know you're screwed.

"Do it, Sive," he said, backing away from me more.

Sive was Nana's real name. I looked at her and nodded my head. I needed her to know I trusted her and that if my end was near, I was happy that she was here, too. Gideon began to walk towards me. Nana put her hand up and stopped him.

"Nothing alive can be near her when this happens. You boy, make a circle of salt around her, and then get out fast, if you value your life."

James looked at her and then at me. He grabbed the bag of salt Nana was holding and did as he was told. When the circle closed I suddenly felt like I was suffocating. I pulled at my throat trying to get air in. My fingers dug into my skin and I knew that I was drawing blood but I didn't care--I wanted air.

"GWEN!" James screamed.

"Don't go in there child, you won't survive it."

James stared at me, his eyes full of pain. "I'm dead already ... I'm a vampire."

Nana shrugged her shoulders. "Well, that's a bit unnervin' but good in the sense that it can't harm you. Go on now, boy ... and whatever you do, do not let her past the circle till' I say so."

James agreed and rushed over to me. I couldn't get air into my lungs and my chest was pinching tight like it was about to explode. My body shot up out of the water and I screamed out. Hot air moved down and filled my lungs. Something jerked my body backwards and I hit the wall. James grabbed me to him, and my hands went around his throat.I didn't want to hurt him but something else was controlling me. Pushing him backwards, I knew that if I made it over the salt line I'd be free of this pain. I'd be dead but definitely free of the pain.

"Gwen!"

I looked into James' blue eyes. I struggled with the power within me and let go of his neck. He pulled me into his arms. My stomach and b.r.e.a.s.t.s were exposed to Dr. Gideon and Nana. It was embarra.s.sing, but I really didn't want to die so I lived with it. Nana picked up a small purple gla.s.s bottle with a cork in it and threw it at me. It hit my stomach and exploded in a cloud of smoke. It felt like someone had run something the size of a telephone pole through me. I heard screams and screeches, then the chants of the robed men, and finally a fading sweet sounding song of a siren--of the Enchantress.

The smoke cleared and I fell forward.

"Gwen?" James was on me in an instant. He rolled me over and I looked up at him. His eyes scanned my half naked body. "Gwen, look!"

I looked down and saw what had surprised him. My stomach was normal. It was flat, and my b.r.e.a.s.t.s had returned to their normal size.

"You're warm," he said.

He was right. He leaned over me and pulled my ripped maternity shirt up, trying his best to cover me, then looked back at Nana.

"Can I bring her out now?"

"I think that'd be fine, Shorty."

Chapter 34.

I snuggled closer to James' back. Snuggling against him felt good, right.

He hadn't left my side since the banishing took place. He'd been the one to help me get cleaned up, dressed and he'd insisted I eat. Nana had tried but James was too pushy even for her. Now, as I looked at him, I was extremely happy with my decision to keep him here with me. He'd proved himself to be most valuable--a true friend indeed.

His weight shifted a little. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, and you?"

He turned towards me slowly. "I feel like I got a leg over last night."

I smiled at him. "Jameson." I reached up and ruffled his perfectly spiked hair. "I don't understand half of what you say. Are all Brits like you?"

"Tis' better to be daft, than dodgy," James said, giving me a huge grin.

The man had an incredible smile. "Sorry, just toying with you, love. No, I try not to do it. Pallo likes us to blend in and all."

I touched his shockingly blond hair again. "So, how's the blending in thing working out for ya'?"

"It's going well, thanks. So, are you hungry?" By his tone, I got the impression that something wasn't right.

"James, you okay?"

He smiled and appeared fine, but the strangest thing happened--I heard his thoughts as he stared into my eyes. No, I'm not okay. I held you in my arms, terrified that if I loosened my grip, even a bit, I'd lose you.

I touched his cool cheek. "But you didn't let go of me, James. You held tight and I made it through because of your strength, because of...."

He lifted his head a bit and c.o.c.ked an eyebrow up. Tell me you can't read my thoughts.

"Uhh, okay ... I can't read your thoughts. Happy now?""f.u.c.king h.e.l.l," he said, under his breath.

"What's wrong?"

What's wrong? What's wrong? She can't be serious! I'm f.u.c.kin' bonded to my best friend, who doesn't seem to understand that that means my power, h.e.l.l, my body perceives her to be my f.u.c.kin' wife--like its easy tryin'

to s.h.a.g another chick when your f.u.c.kin' w.i.l.l.y's developed a sudden case of monogamy! If that's not bad enough, she also happens to be my master's girlfriend and she asks what's wrong! s.h.i.t....

James narrowed his eyes. You heard all that, didn't ya?"

I nodded and ran my thumb over his smooth cheek.

I don't suppose you'd be willin' to push me out into the sunlight come morning? It'd be a right bit better than havin' to look you in the face.

"That's not funny, Jameson!" I cupped his face with both hands. "We'll figure this out and once we do...."

He grabbed my wrists. "You won't have to put up with my lovesick ramblin'. I try to keep it to myself, Gwen. I do, because I know you don't feel the same way. I get it and I'm fine with it. h.e.l.l, it's probably some c.o.c.kamamie magic-thing gone bonkers that'll wear off and we won't even be able to stand the sight of each other."

"Maybe we should rethink the whole 'you not reading me' thing."

James looked puzzled. "Why?"

"Because if you read my thoughts, you'd know the real reason why I want to figure out what's happening with us."

"Gwen."

I pressed my finger to his soft lips. "Go ahead, do it."

He hesitated for a moment before I felt the slightest of tickles in myhead. Peace washed over me and I could have sworn that my hair lifted slightly. James was a h.e.l.l of a lot more powerful then he let on. I barely had a chance to think about what that meant before James pulled back from me as though he'd been struck.

Shaking his head, he stared at me with wide eyes. "Gwen?"

James didn't need to verbalize what he'd found in my inner most thoughts.

The ones I had somehow been able to keep from Pallo, I already knew them.

I just didn't want to admit it.

He leaned forward and kissed my forehead gently. "I feel the same way."

With that, he turned and climbed out the bed. He didn't look back as he headed out the door and I knew why. We would have crossed "that line,"

the one we barely managed to stay off as it was. The one that would mean his death. There was no way in h.e.l.l I'd risk his life over something we didn't understand. It made no sense. Caleb and Pallo, they made sense. I had a history with them. James made no sense at all.

I think the Fates have a personal grudge against me.

I sat on the edge of my bed and stared out the window at the night sky.

The continued need to run my fingers over my stomach to a.s.sure it was back to normal consumed me. So much so, that I didn't hear Nana come in.

"You look a h.e.l.l of a lot more comfy now."

I felt a thousand times better. She and Dr. Gideon had discovered I was acting as an incubator for some sort of a magical presence. It fed off the power of others, so it was draining me along with whomever else I came into contact with, in the biblical sense of the word, of course.

Gideon had narrowed the cause of it to the pills that Dr. Brown had given me. From all he could figure, someone had wanted me to act as the vessel for this rising power, and I had. Nana said she could feel both faerie and vampire magic in it, and that was more than likely the cause of the two heartbeat-like sounds.

I thought of Pallo and how disappointed he'd been when we found out it wasn't a child in me, but rather someone's sick attempt at harvesting, creating, unleashing a h.e.l.lish power. Thinking of him made me think of his sweet smell, the feel of his hard body as it pumped into mine and the brief glimpses I had of him truly happy.Suddenly, Pallo seemed to be all around me, like he was tugging an undetectable string. He was calling me. We'd thought that meant that the child, or magic, I was carrying was his, and in part it was, but as his pull on me grew I knew that it was another one of the side effects of him bringing me back to life with his bite.

James rushed into my room and looked down at me. "I have to go."

"So do I."

He gave me an odd look.

"I felt his pull too!"

"b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l! Oh, he's gonna love knowin' he's got power over you," he said. There was no hiding the hurt in his voice. He took a deep breath in before continuing. "Pallo's near water, a larger body of it. A woman's with him. I get the sense she's the one who's havin' Pallo call us ...