I awoke stiff and sore. I did my best to stretch the kinks out of my legs and hips, but it was difficult. Something large and heavy was pinning me down. When my eyes were better able to focus and my head cleared enough to remember where I was, I realized Luthias’s solid frame was sprawled possessively across me. I managed to get my arm from beneath him and shook him vigorously to get him to move. He was like dead weight.
“He’s in vampire sleep, lass. Ye won’t get him to move until he’s good and ready to wake up.” Gwendoline said from across the tent.
“What?” I asked with vocal chords that were barely cooperative.
“Vampires rarely truly sleep, but when they do, they go so deep ye would think them dead. Nothing wakes them,” she explained as she finished tying the lacing of her shoe.
“I have to pee,” I moaned, “and I can’t breathe.”
She moved to my bed and lifted his bulk as if it was nothing more than a blanket she was pulling off me. I slid clumsily from beneath sleeping beauty before she lowered him back into his original position. I was amazed to see we hadn’t disturbed his slumber. Had the situation been reversed, I would have been looking around wondering what was happening.
The morning sun was fresh and new as it fed the oasis that managed to survive through the trauma and turmoil that the war brought to the planet. The chill in the air felt refreshing as I performed my morning constitution. I was pleased to discover a wash station set up with all of the amenities needed to properly care for the body. I decided to take advantage of it as long as I was there. I felt grungy.
Gwendoline’s copper scrying bowl was doubling as the wash basin. I filled it with cool water and dipped the sponge she’d set out into it. I’d fallen asleep in in my tee shirt and panties, so I stripped them off before attacking my body with a vengeance. A cool breeze caressed my wet nakedness. It felt soothing. As I moved the dripping wet sponge over my abdomen I noticed it looked slightly rounded. This explained why my jeans felt a little snug and might also explain the reason my hips were hurting. Since I wore my clothes loose fitting, my body had room to expand before anyone would notice. Surely this hadn’t happened overnight. I was so focused on learning magic that I really hadn’t paid attention to my body. Gwendoline’s food was tasty, but I didn’t think I’d made a glutton of myself. To expand like this in such a short period of time from eating required I gorge an abundance of food.
I heard Gwendoline gasp as she approached me.
“Is this normal?” I asked as I placed my hand on my slightly rounded abdomen.
“Not for only a day,” she said. “‘Tis more of what would happen after a month, a few weeks at least.”
“I don’t understand,” I said.
“Nor do I,” she mused as she placed her palm against my womb. “Something’s not right. Sybil had the doc abort Geo’s seed, correct?”
I nodded.
“My informers assure me Prince Vogel used a sheath when he consummated your marriage. In fact, he used a sheath with barbs affixed to it so he could tear out any seed Sybil might have missed,” she mused. “How much did ye bleed after that?”
“I can’t remember,” I replied. “I know it was painful and the sheets were bloody but he... er... cleaned the blood off me and then gave me his blood to help me heal. I don’t recall much bleeding with either ordeal.”
“Ordeal?” she asked.
“Sybil’s doctor and my husband,” I spat vehemently as my mind brought forth memories of the torture I’d been forced to endure. “The doctor –who it turns out is my great uncle,” I said with a sarcastic chuckle, “used some sort of laser on me. I assumed it was to prevent bleeding since I was surrounded by vampires. He was in disguise. He’s part of Geo’s team that infiltrated Sybil’s society.”
“I see,” Gwendoline said softly. “Ye bled not at all?”
“Not that I can recall,” I admitted. “I worried about doing it though. I mean, even Geo’s vampires have trouble resisting a human... or so I’m told.”
“Some of them, yes,” she said. “I doubt Geo exposed ye to that lot.”
She took in every inch of my naked body with her eyes as she walked slowly around me. I was surprised at how relaxed I was under such scrutiny. When she felt one of my breasts and declared it was preparing to nurse, I wasn’t bothered in the least by her actions. Naked displays of my person were not something I’d gown up to experience. I was naked in front of more eyes since I met Geo than in my entire life.
“We have a situation here, lass,” Gwendoline said softly. “‘Tis a good situation, but also a bad one.”
I stood frozen while I waited to hear what she had to say. I was still trying to get used to the idea of becoming a mother, but that didn’t mean I wanted something to be wrong with my child. What did good situation, bad situation mean? Was there something wrong with my baby?
“Get dressed, lass,” she said softly as she stroked my cheek with the back of her fingers. “Come get some food in your belly and we’ll talk about this.”
I looked at my shirt and panties. They needed cleansing. It was my intention to wash them after I’d finished washing myself. After a brief hesitation, I dunked them into the bowl and scrubbed them with soap. I quickly dumped the water from the bowl and added fresh. I bent over the bowl to rinse my face and jumped back with a start when I saw Geo’s sad eyes looking back at me. I crept back up to the bowl and slowly peered back into the water, but he was gone. I rinsed my face quickly, rinsed the soap from my shirt and panties, and then checked to see if Luthias had risen. It would have been nice to utilize his speed in drying my clothes for me. When I saw no sign of him, I rung them out as best I cold and put them back on. My teeth chattered from the chill for a brief moment before my body’s warmth altered the temperature of the wet fabric. I looked at the sun’s position, knowing that as it rose in the sky so did the temperature. It wouldn’t be long before my clothes would be completely dry.
I settled on a stoop next to Gwendoline and accepted the cheese and biscuit she offered. Neither of us complained about the lack of variety in food. We were just grateful Tod had the foresight and generosity to provide it. Hopefully our rescue of Geo would be swift and smooth and we’d be back at the cottage enjoying Gwendoline’s tasty cooking in no time.
“Ye look a little shook up,” Gwendoline said as she planted herself next to me.
“I saw Geo’s face when I was washing up,” I explained.
“Ye can scry?” she asked with wonder.
“Is that what I did?” I asked.
“Apparently,” she mused. “‘Tis either the connection ye have with him or ye are more adept at magic than I gave ye credit for.”
“Or both?” I said with a weak smile.
“Or both,” she agreed, smiling back.
We were silent for a moment while we chewed our breakfast. I was curious about the situation she wanted to discuss, yet I was fearful to hear what it was. I absent mindedly caressed my abdomen while I waited.
“I believe ye don’t carry Luthias’s babe,” she blurted through the silence.
Biscuit spurt from my mouth as I choked out, “What?”
She patted me on the back until the coughing subsided and I was once again able to breath normally.
“I didn’t mean to do that,” she apologized.
“Is this Charles’s baby?” I practically screeched. “No! You said he wore protection.”
“I have it on good authority that he did,” she said quietly. “I don’t believe your great uncle aborted Geo’s seed. The laser you said he used wasn’t to abort it. It was just the opposite. It was to make sure nothing could remove it.”
I stood up with a look of disbelief on my face as I hugged my unborn child.
“I carry Geo’s child?” I whispered.
“Aye, lass. That ye do,” she said with a happy smile.
My heart felt like it was going to explode and an enormous smile consumed my face. For the first time since I discovered I was pregnant, I was truly happy. Geo and I were going to have a baby.
“That’s good, right?” I asked.
“‘Tis very good,” she said with a nod.
“So, what’s the bad thing you wanted to discuss,” I asked with hesitancy. “My baby’s alright isn’t it?”
“Luthias believes ‘tis his babe ye carry,” she said softly. “He loves ye unbelievably. The news will crush him.”
“Oh gosh, how do we tell him something like this?” I moaned.
“There’s a little secret I’m going to share with ye, but ye need to promise me ye won’t ever tell anyone else,” she said with urgency. “I only trust ye with it now because of the decision ye must make. There’s no one else alive who knows this secret.”
I nodded my head to indicate I’d keep her secret and waited for her to speak.
“I told ye a lie about Luthias,” she said while wringing her hands. “In fact, I told a lie about both my boys.”
I looked at her in confusion, but said nothing. She asked me to hold my questions until she was done and I agreed.
“I married one of the finest men in the county at a very young age. He was much older than me, but he was kind and had land, money, power and looks. A fine catch he was. After years of trying to conceive I grew frustrated, as did he. He worried about dying without an heir to take over his lands and position. He grew angry with me about the possibility of my being barren and actually threatened to cast me out for a new wife if I didn’t conceive soon. One night, I did the unthinkable. I coupled with a traveling warlock who was passing through. He was strong and beautiful. I remember how his jet black hair glistened in the moonlight and the way his taught muscular shoulders flexed as he thrust his seed deep inside me. ‘Twas a magical night to be sure,” she began. She paused briefly as if to gauge my reaction before continuing. When I said nothing, she continued. “He gave me the greatest gift a man could give a woman. He not only gave me Geo, but he saved my marriage. I never told my husband he was infertile. I just let him think it took time for me to conceive. We were happy for a few years, but then my husband’s age caught up with him and he grew sickly. His meddlesome sister started squawking about the possibilities of Geo dying -as so many children did back then- and leaving my husband without an heir. She insisted we try for a second son to assure this wouldn’t happen. I had no idea where my handsome warlock was by then. He was a wanderer after all. I was new to the use of my magic, but I tried to pull him to me with a spell anyway. It didn’t work. Out of sheer desperation I searched out a handsome virile lad from a nearby village and lay with him. He gave me Luthias. I’d barely conceived Luthias when my husband died of consumption. ‘Twas a nasty death that took its toll on all who cared for him. Because I was with child, my sister-in-law was his nurse. She soon followed him. I was left alone with only Geo at my teat and Luthias in my womb. The looks of the men I had lain with were vastly different. I feared my boys would also be opposite in their comeliness. I wasn’t mistaken. Both are handsome lads, but they clearly don’t have the same father.”
“You said you adopted Luthias from your sister,” I mused, forgetting my promise to stay quiet.
“Aye. ‘Twas to save the lad the humiliation of being labeled a bastard,” she sighed. “‘Twas an easy ruse to pull off. When my husband and sister-in-law died, I went to live with my sister in Ireland. She was expecting about the same time as me. I gave birth a few days before her, so I wasn’t able to help her deliver. The nag they brought in to do the job botched it up and both my sister and her babe died. My brother-in-law was full of grief. He blamed me for not being fit to help with the birth and cast us out. We returned to my husband’s lands with no one the wiser.”
“Luthias and Geo are brothers?” I mused.
“‘Tis a secret ye must keep lass,” she said. “‘Twould do no good to spill it now, after all these years.”
“Why did you tell me?” I asked.
“Whichever lad is the father, the baby ye carry has my blood,” she explained. “I felt ye should know ye are in the middle of true bothers, not cousins.”
“Something they themselves don’t even realize,” I said with a bit of angst.
For the first time since I was introduced to Gwendoline, I was annoyed with her. Her desire to keep her sons from realizing their true parentage forced everyone to live a lie.
“The pickle ye find yourself in is one I can’t help ye with. I love both of my sons equally. Both of my sons love ye. Both have bedded ye and one has impregnated ye. Yet the other has fed on ye, which gives him the strongest claim,” she said.
“Luthias,” I whispered.
“Letting Luthias feed on ye gave him claim to ye,” she explained. “‘Tis vampire law.”
“He said he wouldn’t enforce that,” I said hesitantly.
“I wonder,” she said. “I’ve never seen him like he is with ye. Both of my boys have surprised me where ye are concerned. I can’t guess what either will do.”