Emma
We were finally back home, and definitely in the mood to celebrate. Bryan had taken a shower, was wearing some of Daniel's clothes, even though they were a bit big. Vance had dropped off some blood for him, knowing he must have been starving after being kidnapped for that long. We'd thanked Vance and were surprised when Carol simply poured Bryan's blood in a glass, then broke out the champagne for the rest of us. I know I was dating a shifter, but the blood thing would have freaked me out. I could see it in Bryan's face too. He had been worried how Carol would handle his need for blood, and his expression when she poured the drink for him said it all. He knew she was the woman for him, and that with her, he'd never have to be embarrassed about being a vampire.
Even if the rest of us might need a little time to get used to him and having a vampire in a group. But for Carol, we'd do anything.
“I dare you to do the chicken dance,” Beth said, pointing her champagne flute at Deva, already on her third glass, not that we minded. I was pretty sure we were all on our third or fourth glass.
Deva moaned and stood, flapping her arms while singing the tune to the chicken dance way off key. The rest of us dissolved in giggles at her antics. It truly did feel like the end of a ridiculously long week. But it was more than that, it'd been a really emotionally draining week. Seeing Carol in love, seeing her hurt, and trying to untangle the chaos that was figuring out vampire secrets had not been easy. What we needed now was fun and laughter, which was exactly what we were doing now.
Work hard, party hard. Apparently, that was my new philosophy in life.
“There!” Deva collapsed into the recliner with a laugh and Beth handed her another glass of bubbly. “Who’s next?”
Henry and Alice both said, "not it!" at the same time, which only made everyone laugh harder.
Daniel wrapped an arm around my shoulder, and I leaned into him, feeling like I was wrapped in a blanket of love. "I feel like if we can get through all of this, we can get through anything."
He grinned down at me and then planted a kiss on the top of my head. "Agreed. Although these experiences always remind me not to piss off Karma."
I laughed. "And don't you forget it."
Bryan cleared his throat, and all eyes turned toward him. He'd finished his blood, which somehow made him look less pale. "I just wanted to say thank you, to all of you. When I became a vampire, I thought my life was over. I thought I'd never have friends," he glanced at Carol. "Never have love. Never have a real family. But you guys have shown me that being a vampire doesn't mean I'm... without value. It's still hard for me, but I can't thank you enough."
"No worries," I told him with a gentle smile. "We're just glad to see how happy you make Carol."
"I'm going to spend my whole life making her happy and making up for the time we lost," he said, his hands clenched into fists.
Carol planted a kiss on his lips. "I'm going to do the same."
He looked down at her, pure wonder in his eyes. "How did I get this lucky?"
"Not luck," Beth said with a laugh. "Just karma. The good kind you rightfully deserved."
He nodded, and then his gaze met with Daniel's. "I also want you guys to know that as much as I loathe my coven, I'm going to try to put those feelings aside. I'm going to try to fix what's broken in it and make it... something better. No more Turning young kids. No more reckless spending. That coven is going to be shaped up by the time I'm done with it - if Trista will let me help"
To my surprise, Daniel saluted him with his glass. "I believe it." Then, he untangled himself from me and headed for the kitchen.
Bryan smiled and stood, offering Carol his hand. “Want to go for a walk on the beach?”
She took his hand, her face glowing. "Always."
“Oooh,” Beth said as Deva and I pretended to titter. “The love birds.”
Daniel walked in with a fresh beer and rolled his eyes. “You women are worse than any locker room.”
I threw a pillow at him, narrowly missing the bottle in his hand. “You gossip just as much as any of us, and you know it!”
“First comes love, then comes marriage…” Beth sang as they walked out. When Carol and Bryan were out the door, she turned her antics onto me. “What about you two?” she asked. “When are you going to get married?”
Marriage? Uh, there was no way we were ready for that talk yet. And definitely not in front of all my friends.
So, I just snorted. “When we talk about it amongst ourselves, I’ll consider telling you Nosey Nellies. But we aren’t in a rush.”
Henry’s girlfriend, Alice, rose from her spot beside Henry on the loveseat. “Maybe Henry and I will beat all of you to the—” She cut off with a gasp. “Oh.”
Before I could figure out what was happening, Henry jumped to his feet. He grabbed her as she fell forward, narrowly avoiding her hitting her head on the coffee table. He got her maneuvered onto the love seat as she looked up at us in shock.
Time seemed to stand still as we all looked at each other. Alice had powers. Powers that I still didn't entirely understand. I'd asked Henry a bit about it, but he'd just shrugged and said she could feel things and see things that others couldn't.
Was she seeing something now?
As if in answer, Alice gripped her head and moaned, sitting up just enough to tuck into a ball. “They’re coming,” she moaned, thrashing. “They’re coming for your powers!”
Ice ran through my veins. Coming for our powers? Who? Why?
“Whose power?” Deva asked, dropping to her knees in front of Alice. “What are you talking about?”
When Alice looked up at us, blood ran from her eyes like tears, shocking the entire room. “Emma,” she finally whispered. “They’re coming for your powers.”
We stared at Alice in shock as the blood filtered into actual tears. She dissolved into sobs in Henry’s arms, burying her face against his chest.
"Is she okay?" I asked, my entire body shaking.
Henry nodded. "She'll be fine in a few minutes."
Then, everyone was looking at me, and it hit me. Alice saw the future, or at least, possible futures. If she said someone was coming for my powers, then there was a pretty good chance they were.
“Is—Is that even possible?” I stammered, looking around at my friends helplessly.
Could my powers really be stolen? Could I end up as just Emma once more and someone else running around as Karma? The idea alone made my stomach twist.
"Is it?" I asked again, and my words seemed to snap everyone back to reality.
They shook their heads, but their expressions said they weren't sure. So, I turned to Daniel. My big bear shifter. He would tell me the truth, and he knew a lot about the supernatural world.
But his expression told me his answer before he even spoke the words, “I don’t know,” Daniel whispered. “I just don’t know.”
I crumbled onto the edge of the couch, my hands curled into fists on my legs. Apparently, we'd celebrated a little too early. Trouble was still coming for us. Coming for me.
And by the end of it, I might not be Karma anymore.
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