Wrenching Fate (24 page)

Akasha squinted in the June sunlight and fidgeted with the white graduation cap. The damn thing refused to stay put.

“It’s not fair that we have to wear white while the boys get to at least wear blue.” Xochitl complained for the tenth time.

Akasha laughed. It really
was
funny how pissed off and uncomfortable her Goth friends looked in the pristine white graduation gowns.

Beau laughed and threw his arms around them, looking quite handsome in his royal blue gown. “Just feel glad you didn’t go to Lake High. Their colors are supposed to be green and gold. I hear the girls there are wearing piss-yellow gowns.”

Aurora smiled up at him. “You say the nicest things, Beau. Let’s go smoke a bowl before the ceremony starts. Ya comin’ ‘Xoch?”

Xochitl shook her head so fervently that her cap fell off. “No, after that weird trip I had in Amsterdam, I’m never touching weed again. I must be allergic to it or something. Besides, I want to wait for Sylvis.”

When Beau and Aurora left Xochitl turned to Akasha. “It sucks that Silas wasn’t able to come.”

Akasha shook her head sadly. She’d told them he’d had a business emergency. “He should be out later for the party though.”

Xochitl nodded, tears in her eyes as she watched parents embracing their classmates. “I wish my mom could be here for this.”

Akasha put her arm around her. A lump formed in her throat as they watched the families gathering in the parking lot, laughing and smiling together while they headed toward the lawn.

And here we are; two orphans with nobody.
She shook off the melancholy thought. She had everything a girl could want. Love, money, and the promise of starting her dream career. Xochitl was no lost cause, either.

She was going to be a famous rock star, and would someday save the world. And with her exquisite looks, she would find love in no time. They didn’t need huge families smothering them with sloppy kisses and giving them flowers and useless paper cards. Still…it would have been nice.

Xochitl saw Aurora’s and Sylvis’s parents approach and ran to greet them. Akasha lifted the hem of her gown to follow.

She paused when she spotted a silver-haired man getting out of a blue picku
p that looked a lot like the new one she bought for hauling parts.

There was something familiar about him… something about the set of his broad shoulders and his stride. He headed her direction carrying a dozen white roses. The man stepped onto the lawn, and she could make out his grizzled features.
It couldn’t be!

“Max!” she shouted in disbelief and threw herself into his arms.

“Spark Plug!” He picked her up in a bear hug and twirled her in the air, dropping the roses. Neither of them cared.

“How did you get out?” Akasha asked when her feet returned to the ground.

“Your young man had a great lawyer,” Max said with a grin. “His lawyer convinced the parole board to spring me early and got them to agree to let me come to Idaho. McNaught then told me he took care of them government spooks too.”

She laughed into his hazel eyes, her own growing misty. Silas was her magic man. She now understood what that
Heart
song was all about. “Yeah, he did.”

“All I care about is if he’s treating you right,” Max said gruffly.

“You know I’d gut him like a sixteen pound trout if he didn’t,” she told him with a straight face. “So was that my truck you drove here?”

Max nodded. “Yup. Silas said you wouldn’t mind since you only use it for haulin’ parts. Does that mean you’re still wrenchin,’ girl?”

Akasha nodded, fighting a girlish urge to jump up and down. “Did you see that lovely green Roadrunner in the parking lot? I rebuilt her myself.”

“I did.” His proud smile warmed her. “You’ve done a beautiful job, Spark Plug.”

Xochitl returned with Sylvis and her parents, and Akasha introduced him with a vague explanation while Max picked the roses up from the grass.

“I’ll tell you more about him at the party tonight,” she whispered to Xochitl as they headed inside.

The ceremony was a drawn-out assembly-like affair with all the accolades going out to the popular kids and a few of the more dedicated nerds. Still, Akasha was filled with triumph and pride as she and her friends collected their diplomas. She could swear Max’s applause was the loudest.

The party was a sumptuous affair that Akasha had planned herself. She hired caterers and Xochitl’s band to play and invited all of the outcasts in the senior class. It touched her to see them smiling, finally welcome somewhere.

To their surprise, a few popular kids crashed the party and Akasha welcomed them as well. Their curiosity about the “freaks” was so transparent that it was hard to keep a straight face as she greeted them and gave them a tour of the house.

Max stared in awe at
Rage of Angel’s
performance. “Those kids are going places,” he said as he handed her a bottled Coors.

She nodded and looked out the window for the tenth time. It was finally getting dark.

“That’s the trouble with dating vampires, Spark Plug,” Max remarked as he opened his own beer. “They’re always late to these sorts of things.”

Akasha whipped her head around so fast her neck popped. “You
know
?”

He winked and clinked his bottle against hers. “I’ve seen a lot of weird shit in my biker days. Don’t tell him I know. It wouldn’t do to aggravate the ancient bloodsucker.”

Silas came in and Akasha fought back a squeal of delight as she embraced him.

“Thank you so much for getting Max out of prison,” she whispered and pulled his head down to devour his lips.

The band stopped playing and Beau nearly dropped his bass. Xochitl and Sylvis dissolved into giggles. Aurora set down her drumsticks and dug into her pocket, frowning.

“I knew it!” Beau shouted. “I knew you two were an item! You owe me twenty bucks, Aurora.”

Aurora rolled her eyes and handed him the money. “I hope you two are deliriously happy.”

Akasha laughed and squeezed Silas tighter as many girls looked on in naked envy. Akasha’s lips curved in a wry, secret smile.
Although they likely would react differently if they knew that he’d been my guardian.

Max coughed.

“I hate to be ungrateful, McNaught, but I can’t rest easy until I know your intentions towards my little girl. She’s the only daughter I have.” The retired biker’s tone boded ill if the response was not to his liking.

Silas alternated between accusing looks at her and guilty ones at Max. She decided to take pity on the vampire.

“Don’t get crabby with Silas, Max.” She fixed her mentor with a stern gaze. “He proposed already, but I don’t want to even think about marriage until I finish college and get my business off the ground.”

Max nodded. “All right, I suppose that sounds like a wise decision. Just what kind of business were you planning on starting?”

Akasha’s heart lit up in joy. “I’m going to call it ‘Resurrection Wrenches.’ It will be a full service automotive restoration and repair shop that will be open at night.”

Her mentor smiled in approval. “Well, that sounds like a promising idea. I’m proud of ya, Spark Plug.”

“One more thing, Max,” she said.

“Yeah?”

“I’ll need a partner.” She winked at him and held out her hand.

Max’s eyes grew misty before he ignored her hand and crushed her in a bear hug. “You got yourself a deal, girl.”

Razvan came in, followed by a vampire with waist-length black hair and a face full of piercings. He gestured for everyone to be quiet.

“This is Dominic Slade,” he announced. “He owns a club called ‘The Mortuary’ in Seattle. He would like to hear
Rage of Angels
.”

Xochitl and Beau screeched and jumped up and down. Aurora’s eyes were the size of distributor caps.

“An audition?
Now
?” she squeaked.

Sylvis shrugged her shoulders and giggled nervously. “Why not? Everything is set up.”

They whispered together for awhile before returning to their positions. Dominic sat down in a chair before the stage with a look of feigned boredom plastered across his features. Akasha wasn’t fooled. She could tell that he was fascinated with them already. His eyes followed Xochitl with an intensity that was laughable.

“Do you know any Seattle bands?” he asked.

Xochitl exchanged grins with her band mates. After some silent communication they played
Metal Church
’s “Beyond the Black.” The song was so hardcore that Silas and Razvan looked scared. The other guests were stunned silent. Dominic, however, had misty eyes.

“I’ve never heard anything more beautiful in my life! Could you play ‘The Dark’?”

Rage of Angels
’ career was sealed. Akasha relaxed in the circle of her lover’s arms and smiled at her friends as she thought:
So this is what “Happily Ever After” feels like!

Silas laid out the wedding photographs, ready to place them in the white leather embossed album. If he didn’t get them organized, no one else would. Akasha was out at her favorite tavern playing darts with Max. Silas was still exhausted from the honeymoon and happy to stay at home to attend to this poignant chore.

They’d spent a month in Europe. Silas even worked up the courage to take Akasha to his homeland of Scotland. It was a bittersweet experience, made better with her fascination. She was moved to tears when he showed her the ruins of his castle. But his new wife was a delight when she bought him a kilt and devoured haggis like a native.

Many Lords had insisted they enjoy their hospitality, but Silas and Akasha snatched as many nights alone as they could. The other vampires were incessant with their questi
oning him and Akasha about the prophecy, Xochitl, and the coming war.

Nothing had happened so far, besides Xochitl’s band becoming a world-wide phenomenon practically overnight.

However, Silas had a deep feeling they were languishing in an eerie calm before a storm. Something was going to happen, he knew it in his bones and the feeling was growing so intense that his chest was tight and it was getting increasingly difficult to breathe.

He turned his attention back to
the photos. Here was one of his bride looking mutinous as the wedding coordinator adjusted her gown. His heart warmed. It was hard to believe that after five centuries, he finally found the love of his life.

Here was another picture of her forcing the paparazzi away from Xochitl and the band. Her spine was straight and head was up in a distinctly militant pose, just like the general that Delgarias said she would be.

His brow furrowed. Someday Akasha would lead a war, at Xochitl’s side. She didn’t seem to be alarmed by this portent and Silas didn’t know if it was because she didn’t believe it, or if it was because she didn’t understand how bloody and awful war could be. Silas had fought enough battles to understand what war could do to a person’s body, mind, and even soul. He wished with all his heart that he could protect her from that knowledge even as he knew that she was strong enough to handle it. Hell, she was the strongest person he had ever met.

The phone rang, startling him. The photo album slipped off the desk as Silas reached to answer.

“McNaught Finance.” He tried to hide his irritation as he caught the album before it crashed to the floor.

Razvan’s voice was grave on the other line. “Selena has taken Post Falls.”

Silas paced back and forth behind the desk, his fingers absently twisting the phone cord in his fingers. “What? That’s right between our territories. What in the hell possessed her to try a crazy move like that? She knows we have immunity. Well, keep an eye on your end and we shall do the same. I had better tell Akasha.”

“Tell me what?” Akasha demanded from the doorway the moment he hung up.

Silas raised a brow. He was so shocked with Razvan’s news that he hadn’t heard her come home. He sighed. “Selena has taken Post Falls as her territory.”

“Why the fuck would she
do
that?” Akasha asked. “I know she’s crazier than a shithouse rat, but I didn’t think she was stupid. She knows we have immunity. We could go hunt her down and kill her right now!”

“Actually, we cannot.” Silas sighed. “Razvan told me Selena and her cult have moved into one of the newer suburban developments. There’s no way we can destroy her without risking injury and the awareness of all the mortals living nearby. And we do not have immunity from revealing ourselves to humans.”

“Damn it!” She slammed her fist down on the mahogany desk. “I hate that fucking bitch!”

Silas winced at the sound of cracking wood. He was fond of that desk.

“I think she came here to taunt us in revenge for making her look bad at the trial as well as to be close to the area,” he said with a calm he didn’t feel. “She knows the prophecy is centered around us. And I’m sure she knows that important events will be happening soon. She cannot resist keeping her dirty fingers out of it.”

Akasha clenched her fists. “If she sticks her nose in too far, I may just have to smash it…and a few other parts she may value.”

“What the hell is going on?” Max demanded, coming into the room.

Akasha and Silas exchanged guilty looks.

She gave her husband a level gaze. “You might as well let me tell him. He knows what you are anyway. And no, I didn’t tell him, he was smart enough to figure it out on his own.”

Silas sighed. “Very well. I suppose that’s where the immunity comes in.” His eyes narrowed on the retired biker. “Although I would like you to tell me how you’ve discovered my secret.”

Akasha turned to Max. “Do we still have a half rack in the fridge?”

Max nodded, eyes darting between her and Silas.

Akasha grinned at her mentor and business partner. “Good, let’s head on downstairs. Talking is thirsty work and this is gonna take awhile.”

***

“Push!” Joe Holmes shouted encouragingly to the panting woman on the bed.

The surrogate mother complied with a groan and clung to Lillian’s hand
like a lifeline.

Holmes’s daughter gripped her hand back and gave her a tight smile of encouragement before looking back at the monitors.

“They’re both still going strong.”

“Splendid!” Holmes crouched between the woman’s legs, heart pounding in anticipation. “It’s crowning!”

Moments later a mass of slimy, squalling flesh slid into his gloved hands.

He didn’t lay the infant on the woman’s chest like they did in maternity wards now
adays. It wouldn’t be good for the surrogate to form a bond.

Instead, he wasted no time in cleaning up the crying baby and ensuring that its airways were clear.

“Well?” Lillian inquired pointedly as she handed the surrogate a glass of water.

“It’s a girl.”

The baby's cries eased as she stared up at Holmes. One tiny hand gripped his finger tight enough to hurt.

“She has her mother's strength.” The question was, would she have her father's taste for blood or vulnerability to sunlig
ht? Or at least, as he hoped, healing powers and longevity?

The surrogate rose slightly from the bed to wipe sweat soaked strands of hair from her forehead. “Thank you so much, doctor, for giving me the chance to make amends, to do something good.” She clasped her St. Christopher Medal. “I hope the baby is healthy and her parents are happy with her.”

With that, she slumped back against the pillow, passed out from exhaustion.

Just in case, Lillian added a little morphine to the woman's IV so she could rest easier. “
Will the baby’s parents ever know she exists?”

Holmes tamped dow
n a pang of guilt. Although he’d lied to this woman regarding their reasons for needing her to be a surrogate, he'd paid her twice what surrogates usually earned and helped ease her conscience on her past transgressions.

I've done something good, he told himself. I've achieved a scientific breakthrough.

“Perhaps in time,” he answered at last.
Though I pray they never find out.