his summons are normally more forceful ... this is different ... still his power, but different."

"Did we get the summons, 'cause I didn't pick up on any of that? All I got was the s.h.i.t scared out of me." I sat up and he reached for me.

"You're not a vampire, love. I am." Lifting my hand to his lips, he laid the gentlest of kisses on it before turning and heading out of the room.

"I'll meet you downstairs."

I found my thick soled black boots, tossed them on then met James at the bottom of the stairs. We looked like we were attending a Goth get together or a funeral. I sincerely hoped it would be the Enchantress'. I had a sneaky suspicion that she was behind all of this.

"I'll be right back," James said, heading towards the kitchen. He returned quickly with the Caleb's weapons chest.

James picked a Beretta Tomcat and I went with the Sig Sauer P232 silver handgun that Pallo had left out for me. My knowledge of weapons had been forced upon me by Ken. He'd go on and on about them. The only way to shu thim up was to pay attention. Now, maybe I could put that knowledge to good use. I put it in the back of my pants and sifted through the endless supply of weapons that Caleb had. I grabbed two wooden stakes and a Bowi e knife. It had an arm sheath already, and I had James help me with it. I felt a little like a female Rambo--hmm, perhaps a faeriebo?

Gideon met us at the front door on our way out. "All set?"

"You're not going," I said, straining my neck to make eye contact with him.

"Yes, I am."

I didn't feel like wasting time arguing. I looked at James and felt our bond surge. Do you care if he comes?

Nope.

"Great, let's go!" I said out loud.

We headed out the door, and Nana came up behind us, calling my name.

"Here," she said and handed me a vial of ointment and small herb stuffed cloth doll. I gave her a puzzled look and she laughed. "These might come in handy. One's a banishin' potion and the other's a poppet ... used for bindin' if you need it."

I grabbed my black leather coat and put them in the pocket as I slid it on. Nana pulled James' head down towards her and put a pouch on a cord around his neck, then did the same for Gideon.

"Now, those talisman's should help with the problem of gettin' all caught up in her singin' lies," Nana said and then looked over at me. "Bring my grandson home safely."

I nodded, gave her a hug, and promised that I would bring Ken back to her safely. I hoped that I could make good on that promise.

Chapter 35.

We pulled up to the boat docks about forty minutes later. Gideon cut the engine and turned to look back at James and me. "You know that you two look like hit men."

I glanced at James and he smiled. Gideon shook his head. I couldn't help but laugh. "Tonight, I think that's exactly what we are."

I followed James out of the car and surveyed the area. The docks were poorly lit and there was no light from the moon to help us. Two large freighters were docked near us. They only served to add to an already dark situation. Their size alone was menacing and seemed to set the tone for the night.

James looked slightly purple in the odd night lighting. I laughed softly at the sight of him looking like a grape. I glanced around for oompa loompas but found none. Just as well, James would have gotten a kick out of being rolled by little men, I was sure of that.

James tipped his head to the side as he looked past the ships to a large warehouse. He was sensing something, and I was sensing him. We were a fine pare. I moved up closer to him and Pallo's pull grew stronger.

Something moved in the darkness near us. I knew that it wasn't friendly before it bothered to show itself, so did James. Gideon, on the other hand did not. He walked up behind me. Pushing him out of the way, I threw one of my stakes past his head.

"What the...?" Gideon's voice was strained. He thought I'd just tried to impale him. Men, save their life and they still a.s.sume the worst of you.

James bent over the slumped robed figure and gave me a "we are so very f.u.c.ked" look. Another robed man appeared behind James and saw me. Theman's focus went to my stomach and he gasped. s.h.i.t, they still thought I was pregnant.

James, behind you!

James stood quickly. He spun around and delivered a blow to man's upper chest. The man collapsed on the ground and it hit me then. They were human. They seemed so mysterious in my dreams, so untouchable. Now the y seemed fragile, and that was good for us and bad for them.

"I have an idea," I said.

A s.h.i.t-a.s.sed grin spread across James' face. "You don't say."

"It's been known to happen for time to time." I blew him a kiss and he laughed. "You two, grab their robes and put them on."

They did as I told them to and came up behind me. Great, they'd get in without a problem, now for me. They all thought I was still pregnant.

Looks like I had to give them a big belly. Glancing up at James, I winked. I closed my eyes and ran my hands over my stomach, remembering how large and swollen it had been only hours earlier. I let my energy flow through me and let my power work its shifter magic.

"Gwen," James said softly.

I looked down at my now huge belly. Gideon stood there with his mouth open. I reached up and pushed his bottom jaw closed. "I'm able to shift--morph my appearance. I guess it's a faerie thing."

"That is no ordinary faerie thing." Gideon didn't move. He just stood there staring at my swollen belly. Like it was the first time he'd ever seen me this way. I didn't really need a doctor who looked more like a deer caught in headlights than a trained professional, but he was with us so he needed to come along. I patted him on the arm and edged him forward .

"Okay gentlemen, its time to hand the helpless lil' pregnant woman over to the Enchantress' minions.You, helpless, that'll be the day, James' voice pushed through my mind.

We entered the large white door and were immediately hit with the scents of Jasmine and Lily of the Valley. One was used to stimulate attraction and l.u.s.t, the other, the Lily of the Valley, was used to lure faeries.

Both seemed to be doing a bang up job.

Mental note: Avoid Lily of the Valley in the future, only leads to trouble.

James went in first. He thought it might look odd if the prisoner was leading the captors. Tipping them off that we weren't what we appeared to be was low on the wants list at the moment. Kicking the c.r.a.p out of the Enchantress was moving up rapidly.

Gideon had his hand on my shoulder. His size alone made him look intimating, the robe only added to it. I was thankful he kept his head down. His worried eyes would give him away.

The inside of the warehouse looked more like a luxury hotel than a shipyard's storage unit. Granted it had a lovely eerie quality going for it, but some people paid big bucks for that. It just seemed to follow me free of charge. I'd make a joke about being a tourist attraction, but it would only lead to the obvious "everyone rides for free."

The place was covered in huge throw pillows and rugs. All looked to be made of soft, deep colored velvet. Candles stood on stands and hung from the ceilings all over the place. They acted as the only light source. The soft sounds of the waves crashing against the pier outside filled the building. The overall effect was almost dreamlike, in a spooky get you knocked up with demon power kind of way.

Chants began to sound around us. We walked further in and found a large opening. In the center sat an oversized bed done in deep burgundy. Smack dab in the middle of it lay a naked woman. She had a body that Venus would envy. My gaze followed the curve of her hipbone upwards to her rounded white b.r.e.a.s.t.s. I moved up her smooth neck and to her face. I took a step back when I realized I knew her.

"Dr. Brown?"

She laughed, running her fingers through her long soft brown hair. "Mostpeople call me Mira, but you, the surrogate mother of my child--my power, may call me whatever you like."

Her child? Dr. Brown was the Enchantress? My hand ran down over my stomach. I had a couple of choice things to call her, none of which were her name. I bit my lip and refrained. Kudos for me!

She extended her arms and let out a high-pitched sound. Robed men came flocking in by the pairs. I waited for the start of forty days worth of rain, but it didn't come. Gideon tightened his grip on my shoulder. He wasn't digging the idea of being surrounded either. Who could blame him?

Dr. Brown, Mira, motioned to James and Gideon to step aside. She looked to her left and two men appeared. They took their hoods down and I gasped. Ken and Caradoc stood by her side. Caradoc bent down and kissed her hand, moving up her arm. He took his time, savoring every moment of her soft skin beneath his lips. I wanted throw something at him and wake him from his trance. He was consorting with the enemy and that was not tolerable. I tried not to scream out or shoot Mira. I wanted to strike at the right moment and it wasn't quite perfect yet.

"My dear, Gwen, how do you like my boys?" She ran her hand across Ken's backside. I had to take a deep breath and let it out slowly to keep from lunging at her. "I have more toys, would you like to see?"

She motioned again and two more robed men stepped out. One was wearing a black robe and the other a red one. I knew that red-monk, or sort of, he'd been the one to come to Pallo and me in our dream. He'd been the one who had wanted to plant his seed in me. I shuddered at the thought of that.

"Come, boys, let her see you. She has earned it. Let her look at the power that fills my power in her body. Let her see what will destroy her."

The two men pulled their hoods down and I fell to my knees. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't move. How? How had she managed this?

Pallo stood there in the black robe looking past me, his eyes void. To his left was Caleb in the red robe. She'd turned them both.

"Oh, come now, Gwen. I shall let you keep one of them, that is, if yousurvive the birth." Mira let out a long sultry laugh. "The other I shall keep as a token reminder of my time here."

"Why? Why us?" I wanted to know--needed to know what we'd done to des erve this. We had a big enough mess of our own. We didn't need her added interference.

"Oh, that's easy. I needed to find a female who could withstand the gestation period for my power to grow to its full strength. An ordinary human girl would have died at conception. But, when you and Ken came int o my office, I knew I'd found the right girl. And, when the handsome faerie lover came into your life, I knew that the time had come. I gave you the pills that contained my essence and told you to take them every day. Your faerie lover was a match to you, which was needed to make it work, he fertilized it ... he set your womb in motion. Then," she put her hand out to Pallo, "I discovered that you had a mate from your past that still lived. The two of you were not so easy to get into the bedroom as you and the blond-faerie were, so I had to think of a more creative way."

"The dreams," I said, softly. Not wanting to believe what Mira was telling me but knowing it was the truth.

She smiled and turned her dark blue eyes on Pallo. "I was so happy to find out that I could call his demon. When his s.e.m.e.n entered you in his demon form, it was guaranteed that all was to be successful. I had to find a way to keep the blond one from interfering, so I lured him away from you, and gave him the urge to find other companions. It was hard.

His love for you was strong. His work was done, he had planted the seed--ripened the womb, and it was the vampire who needed to feed it."

I looked at Pallo and Caleb and tried to reach them with my eyes. I pleaded, fighting back tears the entire time. I didn't want to believe that I'd lost them both, I couldn't believe it. Neither one responded to me. They were gone.

"Oh, Gwen, you were so predictable. I remember you coming to see me afte r you'd broken off your engagement to this one." She pointed to Ken. I cringed. "Yes, you could not handle his betrayal. So, I sent some of my sirens ash.o.r.e as normal women and had them seduce your faerie. I have toadmit it took much energy for my sirens to lure him from you, and even then they could not get him to submit. He kept calling your name and coming back to his senses. They almost had him that night in the bar, when you and the police officer showed up. I was very disappointed but I knew that you'd seen enough to push him out of your life. You are so very predictable."

I tried to make sense of it all. My head was spinning. How could this have happened to us? Hadn't we been through enough already? I stared at Mira, willing her to burst into flames. It didn't happen. Instead, she summoned Ken over to her.

"Go, my love, and bring her to me. I want to a.s.sure the power is strong within her before I release it." She clapped her hands and hundreds of monks appeared. "You shall all take turns f.u.c.king her."

My heart leapt into my throat and I got to my feet quickly.

"Like h.e.l.l they will!" James shouted out.

Mira looked like someone had slapped her senseless. Too bad it wasn't me.

She seemed delusional to begin with so I'm betting it wouldn't take much to toss that one over the edge of sanity. I just hoped I'd get to be the one to do it for real. She stared at James and then at Gideon. She threw her hand up and their robes fell away from their bodies.

"Oh, you have been a bad girl, Gwen, a very bad girl." She turned to Pallo and Caleb. "Kill everyone but her ... hold her down for the others to have her. We must increase the power within her womb before it arrives. I need it. My time is nearing an end. GO!"

Pallo and Caleb nodded and rushed towards us. Ken followed close behind them. Gideon pushed up next to me. "Now what?"

"You run and don't stop, some will follow you. Get in the car and go!

Call Sive ... she'll know how to get in touch with Justin at the PR-Dept.

Tell him that we're going to need a really big clean-up crew here tonight." I looked up at Mira and smiled. She'd f.u.c.ked with the wrong faerie. "Now, I'm going to kill that b.i.t.c.h."

Gideon began to argue. I lashed power out at him and sent him flying out towards the door. I couldn't worry about him, too. James was capable ofhandling himself, Gideon wasn't. He was a healer not a fighter.

I tried to throw a wad of my power at the guys to slow them down. Caleb put his hand up and absorbed it into him. Pallo rushed at James and sent him pummeling into the wall. Caleb grabbed hold of my arm and flung me around. Pallo came up behind me and s.n.a.t.c.hed me by my hair. I kicked out and caught Caleb in the arm. He seized hold of my foot and threw it down.

Ken came out of nowhere and pulled at my shirt. I managed to free one of my hands from Pallo's grip and I slashed out and got the side of Ken's neck with my fingernail. He jerked back from me, staring at me with wide eyes.

"Gwen?" he said, blinking.

"Ken!" I'd managed to reach him. I remembered what Justin had told Caleb on the phone, the pain of love could break her hold--that was it. If someone they loved caused them pain, they could be reached.

Ken grabbed hold of Caleb and tried to pull him away from me. Somehow, he managed it and was left facing an expert in hand-to-hand combat with powers that could kill even me. Caleb would annihilate Ken. I had to stop it. Reaching up, I freed the knife from my arm sheath. I pulled it across Pallo's arm. It didn't faze him. I made a mental note to self, that Pallo didn't think getting his arm sliced open hurt. As much as I wanted to be freaked out by that, now wasn't the time. I'd have to do better--inflict more pain. He yanked my hair hard and pulled me to the ground. I tried to pry his hand from my hair, but couldn't.

Pallo had me pinned down. His body pressed firmly against mine. Black pushed through his brown eyes. His demon had surfaced and I really didn't want his demon on me. I held tight to my knife. "Pallo, please don't make me do this! Please."

He snarled and lunged his head down at me, brining the full weight of his body down on me. It all happened so fast. One minute he was attacking me, and the next he was laying next to me, clutching his stomach. Blood poured from his wound that still had my knife embedded deep in it. Oh G.o.d, I'd stabbed him in the stomach!

"Pallo!""Gwyneth?"

Joy ripped through me, giving me the energy I needed to get to my feet fast. Mira screamed and hordes of robed men ran towards me. I pulled the gun out and fired a warning shot. They kept coming--idiots.

"MIRA!" I screamed out.

She put her hand up and the men stopped. She smiled wickedly as she spoke to me, "What is it that you want from me?"

"Two things really ... One, I want to let you know that I am going to kill you before this night is over, and two...." I let my magic drop, allowing my stomach to go back to normal. A look of horror came over her.

"Yeah, about that vessel thing ... it ain't happening, hon', I don't give birth to demonic-magical-c.o.c.ktails. I date weird enough things. I sure the h.e.l.l don't want to give birth to more."

"KILL HER!" she screamed out.

Caleb turned and fixed his green gaze on me. I could feel his hot power creeping up. I knew that I couldn't survive the full force of his magic twice. I turned the gun on him and pointed it at him. My hand shook part of fear of having to hurt Caleb and partly because the gun was heavier than it looked. I had to bring my other hand up to steady it.

"Stop, Caleb!"

He took another step towards me and smiled. The temperature in the room shot up.

"Caleb no! Don't do this!"

The air around me grew hotter.

"Graim thu." Telling him that I loved him didn't even seem to faze him. I shot past him at first but he kept coming, the air around me was hard to breath. I was so hot, too hot. Caleb could blow us all up if wanted to, and it looked like that was exactly what he had in mind. I aimed the gundirectly at him. I couldn't do it--I couldn't pull the trigger and hurt him. I eased up on the trigger and heard Pallo shout my name.