Chapter 1

 

November 10, 2000

 

Here I sit once again writing in this journal. The past few days have been very exciting and sometimes trying for both Christopher and myself. He still has some adjusting to do as far as his new life is concerned. Trips to town that should take only half an hour turn into half a day when Christopher is with me. We have to stop and look at many things along the way and help every person who appears to be in need. One day he even climbed a tree to rescue a cat for an elderly lady. I have to keep reminding him that he’s now just at much at risk for getting himself killed as the next man. He admitted that he forgets this at times. What am I going to do with him? On a brighter note, we now have a mirror in about every room in the house and all the photo frames are…as I’m sure you can guess…silver. There are lighter weight curtains hanging in the windows and he has spoken about having a sun porch built onto the house. We went to a steak house three days ago and he ate a steak, which he asked to be cooked well done. It was interesting to see Christopher grimace when the man at the next table took a bite of the rare steak that he had ordered. Even with all his new, strange behavior he’s still the man I fell in love with many, many years ago. Has our love grown stronger? I would say it has and continues to do so everyday. As each day passes, we relive and review the times of yesteryear and count ourselves lucky to be where we are today. I guess I should say that yesterday we went to a maternity and baby shop on the other side of town and Christopher practically bought out the whole store. I believe the lady who owns the shop closed early that day, probably went out for a celebration dinner. The spare room is being made into a nursery and I have allowed Christopher to have free reign of what it will be like…well, almost free reign. I have voiced my unease and asked if we should take precautions as far as the window is concerned We don’t know just how our son will turn out, he was, after all, conceived when Christopher was still a vampire. I am almost four months along and Dr. Galen has told us that the child is advancing in its growth pattern, yet he can’t fathom why. This is a new kind of case for him so there are many unknowns for us to face. This child is neither totally human, vampire, or Pure One. At the present rate of growth, the child may be born in as little as three months. Will he also grow as quickly once he is born? We haven’t picked out a name for one important reason…the name has already been decided by the Great One and the Masters. We were told this when we were in the light of the Great One only a few days ago. At this time, I must say that there have been no disturbing dreams for either Christopher or myself, yet I have a sense of foreboding, a feeling that something is heading our way. Tonight we go to the club to visit Adrian and Randu. I need some time away from the daytime hours just so I can relax. I’m tired of driving. I have practically been forced to do so because Christopher has been so easily distracted during the day and it’s not safe for him to drive. Since we will be leaving for the club after the sun has set, I’ll let him have the privilege of sitting behind the wheel once again. Christopher has requested a few weeks off from work in order to acclimate himself to his new life. All those he works with are very happy for him and he has been granted his requested leave. Well, I hear him calling for me, so I better go for now. I’ll write later, but until then, I’ll always be-------

Jadyn Rina Varatoo

 

 

“Jadyn, come on!” he yelled from the door.

“I’m coming, Christopher.” She grabbed up her coat and headed toward the living room. She reached the front door and looked at Christopher as he glanced down at his watch. “I made it.” She furrowed her brows. “Were you timing me?” she teased.

Gray eyes took in the picture of loveliness that stood before him. Jadyn was dressed in a dark blue, two-piece, maternity slack suit. He could just see the slight swell of her stomach under the material that rested across her body. He loved to rest his hands on her stomach and feel his son move beneath them. Jadyn’s face was bright and happy tonight. He knew that she was looking forward to visiting the club, and so was he. They hadn’t seen Adrian for a few days and he had to admit that he missed his old friend.

“No, I wasn’t,” he replied as he assisted Jadyn with her coat.

Her eyes met Christopher’s and she smiled. “I saw you looking at your watch.”

He tried to appear innocent as he thought of something to say. “I just wanted to be sure we weren’t going to be there too early. You know they don’t open until nine.”

She clucked her tongue and shook her head. “Now you know as well as I do that you could get into the club before nine if you wanted to. Surely you could have thought of a better comeback than that.”

He gave in, and with a laugh, drew his wife into his arms and gave her a gentle hug. “You know me so well.”

She rested a hand over his heart and whispered, “I’ve known you for two thousand years, my dear Remiel.”

He glanced down into his wife’s face and saw happiness reflected in her eyes. “I love you so much, so very much…Hephate. Now and forever – forever and always.” He then claimed possession of her lips and they exchanged a gentle but passionate kiss.

She was caught up in the joy of the moment, but she knew that now wasn’t the time to pursue anything more. She broke the connection and stepped back from Christopher. “We’d better get going or they’ll start without us.”

He opened the door, and after Jadyn had stepped out onto the porch, he followed next and pulled the door shut behind him. He glanced across the front yard and saw a small van parked along the side of the street. He knew that inside was a guard that had been assigned to their house by Cortez. He waved then walked with Jadyn to their car.

After assisting her into the Firebird, and hearing her remind him again for what seemed like the hundredth time that she wasn’t into chivalry, he went to his side of the car and climbed in.

It only took forty minutes to get to the club. The traffic was heavy, but it was the weekend and people had places to go. He made one stop at a grocery store, and after he settled back into the car, he skillfully avoided Jadyn’s questions as to what he felt was so important to pick up before they went to the club.

“Couldn’t it have waited until later tonight or tomorrow?” she asked with great curiosity.

He shook his head. “No, it couldn’t and don’t ask me what’s in the bag, you’ll just have to wait and see.”

His mind was set and she knew there wasn’t anything she could do to talk Christopher into even giving her just a hint. “I could try and persuade you to tell me,” she teased.

“No. That only works on vampires and I’m not counted into that group anymore,” he reminded Jadyn happily.

She narrowed her eyes as she replied, “How do you know what or whom I can or cannot control? I don’t think you or even I know the true extent of my gifts.”

He glanced over at his wife and gave her face a quick study. “That’s true, you may be able to coerce me, but I don’t think you’d do it.”

She lowered her head and looked down at her hands. “You know I wouldn’t, Christopher, not unless I absolutely had to. I remember that you didn’t use your powers on me and so I can try and return the favor.” She quickly thought about the past.

He reached a hand across the car and brushed back the hair that had fallen across her face. “Jadyn, you may find that you’ll have to do many things that’ll be necessary to fulfill your destiny, but don’t let me be the one to stop you or stand in your way. I trust you and I have faith that whatever you do is for the best.”

His words meant a lot to her. “You have faith in me still?” she asked in a hushed tone. After all, she’d asked him to take human blood even after he had sworn not to ever again.

He pulled the car over to the side of the road and put the gear in park. He turned in his seat and took both of Jadyn’s hands in his. “Jadyn, look at me,” he said gently. When he had her attention he continued. “Yes, I have faith in you…in us. We’ve been through a lot together and I believe it’s safe to say that we shall see a lot more ahead of us, and it could be that one day the factors that’ll hold us together is our love for each other, and faith.”

“You don’t know how much that means to me to hear those words come from you, Christopher. Sometimes I’m not sure just what I am capable of or what we’ll find ourselves up against in the future.” She settled a hand on her husband’s cheek. “As long as you’re beside me I don’t think there’s anything we couldn’t do.”

“You just keep that thought at the top of your pretty mind and we’ll make it through anything that’s thrown at us.” He smiled at Jadyn then returned the car back onto the road.

 

(Continued...)