Heart Two Heart (15 page)

“How much do you know about my current
trauma? Do you know that the child within me is a result of that
trauma? Did you know that I was brutalized and raped by more than
twenty skinwalkers?”

I stopped just long enough for my words to
cause the doctor to become visibly uncomfortable. I watched him
swallow and knew that I’d his full attention when he nodded ever so
slightly.

“I don’t want to give myself daily insulin
injections for the next several months. In fact, I think you know
that I don’t want this baby at all. To me, it is a reminder of the
pain I have already survived. I believe that it is cruel and
unusual punishment to force me to carry the monster within me to
full term. Please tell me that you will provide me with a
solution.”

I allowed the tears to flow down my cheeks
and land on the crisp white paper on the examining table. I watched
the doctor flinch and swallow hard before he said

“Seraphina, I am well aware of your
circumstances and I must agree with you that carrying an unwanted
child of this nature to full term is a huge burden no one should
have forced on you. If you had come to me last month or even two
weeks ago I could have performed the procedure with no risk to your
health. Now however if we were to try we would be placing your own
life in danger. I am so sorry to have to tell you it’s not possible
at this time.”

I heard his words but thought that the old
coot was being overly precautious so I upped my dramatics and
allowed myself to moan as if in pain and the tears drastically
increased as I said between loud sobs

“Please doctor you have to help me. You are
my only hope. I would have come but I was forced against my will to
keep the child. My eternal heart’s family had me committed to a
hospital where they tied me to a bed. They took away my choices and
forced me to agree to keep the child. Then when I came home they
told me how they wanted to give me experimental treatment that
could kill me and make the baby some kind nagual thing. What if it
turns out to be evil like the men who raped and brutalized me? You
have to help me please.”

By the time I finished speaking my voice was
almost a screech. It was like nails scratching up and down a chalk
board. I knew that my tears and words cut through to the old
doctor’s heart. He was looking at me with sympathy and sorrow in
his old eyes. I watched as he reached out and rested his hand on my
shoulder. I watched closely as he took a shallow breath of air and
his body trembled. Then I smelled his fear before he said in a
voice that was shaking

“I can’t do it without risking retribution
from your eternal heart’s family. They knew you would approach me
and have already made it very clear that I was not to terminate
your pregnancy.”

I felt my own hysteria building. I’d thought
to woo him to my side but now realizing that he was going to
decline helping me I felt trapped and started to shake. My anger
rising at Ulric’s self-righteous holy than thou family. How dare
they decide what is best for me and my body! I felt real tears of
anger and frustration building in my arms as my heart rate
increased. I watched the old doc put his finger to his lips then
touch his ear before he said to me in tone that was so quiet I’d to
struggle to hear him.

“Take these pills home with you. Take four
and drink two glasses of water. When the cramps start take four
more. Try to move around the house as much as possible, when the
bleeding starts call me not Ulric’s family.”

Then he raised his tone and said

“I really wish I could help you more. I
understand having the baby is not your choice but honestly all life
is precious. Go home for the night and rest. I can teach you to
give yourself the insulin injections tomorrow.”

Then he patted my back and opened the exam
room. To my surprise Emilio, Ulric’s father was sitting in the
waiting room waiting to take me home. I looked over at him then
turned back to the doctor. I smiled at him before saying loud
enough for Emilio to hear me

“You are just as bad as the rest of them. I
would have thought that at least you would have understood my pain
and shame.”

Then I shoved the crutches under my arm and
hobbled past Emilio. When Emilio stood and followed me out of the
door I turned towards him and said

“You may be the father of my eternal heart
but you are not my family. Stay away from me. You and your wife
caused this to happen to me. Everything that is wrong with my life
is a direct result of either yours or Kealoha’s actions.

It’s your fault those skinwalkers tore me
into pieces and used my body for their pleasure. You had them
create the perfume and you never told me it wouldn’t have a smell.
It was your plan that sent me into the bar.

Then when you found me beaten and raped
instead of taking me to a tribe doctor and having them abort the
baby you took me to a mental hospital and had them tie me down. I
had rights. You had no right to force this baby on me. Then when
Ulric finally comes home you chase him away again telling him he
needs resolution. Well screw you and your wife. You have done
enough to ruin my life. I don’t want either of you anywhere near
me.”

My words did the trick. I watched the pain my
words caused him flutter across his face before he took a huge step
back from me. I turned my back on him and quickly placed the pill
bottle the tribe doctor gave me into the pocket of my skirt. I made
my way home and closed and locked the door behind me. The moment I
was sure I was alone I swallowed four of the little red pills and
swallowed down two glasses of water.

Then I started pacing back and forth from the
kitchen to the living room. After an hour I started to get heavy
cramps in my stomach. I smiled and swallowed down the other four
pills.

Ulric’s Perspective

“Ulric, I think you should come home. It
would be best for Seraphina and the baby. I know that you believe
you can’t be with Seraphina until you’ve avenged her but she needs
you now.”

I halfheartedly listened to my pop. I know
that he believed coming home was the right thing to do but I
couldn’t disagree more. I’d no intention of going back to Arizona
yet. As far as I was concerned they had everything under control.
There wasn’t really much I could do. Seraphina was in stable
condition and the baby was getting all the care it could. I trusted
the tribe doctor. He was good and would do everything he could to
help my eternal heart and the baby. I was too close to blowing the
whole organization wide open. If I stopped now they could pull back
and go into hiding. I kept my voice even when I said back to
him

“Pop, thanks for calling but I’m confident
between Mum and the doc, Seraphina and the baby are in good hands.
I’m so close to getting all of them I just can’t come home right
now. Can’t you and mum step up and help me out here. I just need a
little more time.”

“Ulric, I didn’t want you to find this out
over the phone but, Seraphina is rejecting the baby. She won’t even
look at it. She even refused to name it. She’s confused and needs
you to come home and help her connect with the baby. This is your
child too. Come home Ulric, I know you think making the men pay is
important but your eternal heart and baby are more important right
now.”

I hated what my father said. He tried to use
guilt as a way of controlling me. I know that in his eyes all
children are a blessing. But the truth was the way Seraphina felt
was too close to my own true feelings. I couldn’t admit it but the
child wasn’t mine or really even hers. It was a byproduct of
violence and shame. I just wasn’t ready to come home yet and make
this work. I took a deep breath and said

“Pop, I hear you but I can’t come home yet.
Don’t worry about Seraphina and the baby. If you and mum can’t help
out just hire one of the childless tribe members to care for
it.”

I paused realizing that I’d never even asked
if the baby was a female or male. Honestly I didn’t care. Whatever
sex it was as far as I was concerned it was just going to be a
burden that Seraphina and I’d to deal with. I need just a few more
weeks then I’ll come home and figure something out. I sighed before
continuing

“Listen pop I have a lead and I have to be
somewhere in the next fifteen minutes so I gotta go. I’ll call you
later this week. Love you” then I quickly hung up the phone before
my father had a chance to respond

I did a double take and felt my heart slam
roughly into my rib cage. I looked her in the eye and she winked at
me before slowly walking towards me. I could tell she was
intentionally rocking her hips to make sure each step she took was
as seductive as it possibly could be. I could feel my heart rate
increasing and my brow instantly beaded with a drop of sweat.

I knew the woman walking towards me wasn’t my
eternal heart it was just her body. I also knew that I needed to
keep my cool long enough to get her somewhere very private and end
her life. I was beyond shocked that I’d stumbled upon her without
even trying. Last night during my interrogation of a NOFS member
he’d claimed that he was in Texas to collect the camazotz known as
Tiana and deliver her to his superiors within the organization.

When I applied just the right amount of
pressure he gave me every single detail. Where to find her, what
she’d been up to, even where to locate the belongings that she
tried to keep secret. I knew everything I needed to make our
reunion a reality. I licked my lips and smiled brightly up at her
as she moved closer to me. I caught a whiff of a heavy perfume and
had to force myself not to crinkle my nose. No self-respecting
chupacabra would ever allow themselves to stink so heavily of an
artificial scent.

“Oh Ulric, thank god you escaped and found
me. I was so worried about you. I’ve missed you so much. You have
no idea at how horrible it has been trying to scrape by without
you. I’ve had to sleep in nasty dirty little hotel rooms more than
once.”

It took only seconds for the Vaettir to use
the body against me. I felt her press her lips against mine then
quickly got herself thoroughly wrapped around me so that we she
could bump and grind against me. It was like having sex with our
clothes on in public. I was trying to keep her occupied but was
becoming increasingly uncomfortable with her public show of
affection and managed to pull my lips away from hers long enough to
say

“Oh Taini, I missed you so much too. Let’s
head back to your hotel room so we can finish what you’ve already
gotten started.”

Then I took her hand and placed it over my
manhood. She smiled her face full of desire and said

“Follow me big boy.” Then she grabbed my hand
and dang near drug me to her hotel room.

She pushed open the door and my nose was
assaulted with more foul smelling perfume and surprisingly men’s
cologne and sex. If I’d to guess I would think the Vaettir was
using the hotel room to turn tricks. I knew she was desperate for
money and had refused to tap into the real Taini banking accounts
for fear that one of the NOFS members searching for her would find
her. I was surprised that she was stupid enough not to know that I
knew the truth.

I smiled and could feel my pulse quicken with
excitement. I knew she mistook my nervous anxiety for desire. That
made me even happier. I waited to hear the door click before I
reached behind my back and swung the Samurai sword with the
intention of removing her head in one quick motion from her
shoulders.

She managed to drop to the floor just as the
sword would have sliced cleanly through her neck. Then to my
surprise she quickly pulled what I think was thirty three
millimeter Beretta from her bra. Then without even blinking she
rapidly unloaded the entire content of clip into my chest. The
force the bullets slamming into my chest forced me to take several
steps backwards. Knowing that the bullets posed no real harm to me
I couldn’t help but smile as I growled out

“You didn’t really think that was going to
slow me down did you?”

She cackled and said

“One could hope!”

Then she launched herself to her feet while
snapping in another clip. This time she aimed for my face and head.
The moment the first bullet exploded in my face I knew she had a
momentary advantage. While I would certainly even from face and
head shots with enough bullets rattling around in my brain even I
could be temporarily taken of the game. So before she had a chance
to squeeze the trigger a second time, I dropped to the floor
forcing her to unload the rest of the clip into the back of my head
at close range.

The pain was much worse than I could have
ever guessed. With each shot she took huge hunks of my brain tissue
out. I felt my world blurring and new that I’d sustained enough
brain damage that she was most likely going to get away this time.
She just needed to step over my body and out of the door for
freedom. I felt her move next to me then felt her shove her hand
into my crushed skull.

I pushed my eyes open despite the terrible
pounding in the back of my head. I was face down on a dirty floor
in a room that smelled of old sweat and sex. I could see movement
out of the corner of my left eye. I tried to turn my head but pain
forced me to remain still. I wracked my brain trying to remember
where I was and how I came to be on the floor.

Then it hit me. The Vaettir had emptied
several clips in the back of my head. Why was she still lingering
about the dirty hotel room? If she had half a brain she would have
taken off the moment I went lights out. In the least she should
have been smart enough to try and cut off my head. Who knows that
just might have killed me.

I watched her feet shuffle around the room
and I realised she was actually taking the time to gather and tribe
her belongings. Based on the size of the suitcase I could see on
the floor she’d most likely left and gathered her other hidden
objects and brought them back here. That’s when I thought of the
spell. I wondered if it was possible that she had it in her
possession.