CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"Guy Balmont attacked me," Meghann said abruptly, and two concerned, aghast voices immediately fired questions at her.

"When? How did he find you? Why didn't we feel his presence?"

"Are you all right? Meghann, let me examine you. Did you sustain any injuries to your abdomen?"

Meghann took her right hand off the steering wheel, holding it up for silence. "First, I feel fine but I agree, Lee. You should examine me—if for no other reason, a month's gone by since the last exam. Guy didn't strike my stomach but I felt contractions during the attack. I was able to stop them quickly but I don't know if anything was damaged."

"Was there any bleeding?"

Meghann shook her head and watched through the rearview mirror as Lee sagged against the backseat in relief.

"Guy attacked you?"

Meghann turned her head, and saw Charles's pale skin was mottled red with fury and his eyes mirrored the hatred she'd seen in Simon's expression when he killed Guy.

"He knew you went to San Francisco," Meghann explained. "He planned his attack so I'd be alone—"

"What about Lord Baldevar?" Charles demanded and then his eyes lit up with comprehension. "Now it makes sense… Guy didn't know Simon was here?" At Meghann's confirmatory nod, Charles went on. "So Simon saved you? No wonder you turned to him but, Meghann, I don't understand. Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I wanted to," Meghann said. "But Simon made me see the only way they could know I was pregnant was by reading your thoughts while you were at Ballnamore."

Charles frowned. "Yes, that makes sense but who read my thoughts? No one on the Council is in my bloodline and I don't understand… wait! The Council doesn't know you survived! That's why Simon spirited you away—he wants them to come investigate so he can do away with them."

"And if I told you any of this and they arrived—"

"They could read me and Lord Baldevar would lose the element of surprise." Charles glanced around the isolated desert surrounding them. "Is that why we're driving out of town? To lure them into Simon's trap?"

Meghann nodded. "He wants me to take you to the spot where Guy attacked me."

"So he can fly the astral plane and arrive in a matter of seconds. How can he be so sure the Council will be waiting?"

"Simon felt the presence of other vampires the moment we returned," Meghann said. "He's camouflaged our presence from them and he says when they sense the two of us out here by ourselves…"

"They won't be able to pass up the chance to attack," Charles finished grimly. "I assume you have weapons in this car?"

"Two axes in the trunk," Meghann answered and pulled the car over to the side of the road.

She killed the engine and Charles fetched the weapons out of the trunk.

Charles handed her one, and she came out of the car, gripping his hand. "Charles, you do know what you're doing tonight? If you stay by my side…"

"I'll do what I damn well should have been here to do when that lowlife attacked you." Charles glared over at the debris from the mesa she'd destroyed as if the red boulders were something obscene. "I'm receiving images, Meghann. How dare they torture you like that in our dead master's name! You think I care that I'll be considered a turncoat after tonight? I will not align myself with anyone that would try to destroy a pregnant woman and her unborn child!"

Meghann smiled softly, feeling some measure of happiness in spite of her anxiety over the battle she knew could only be moments away. The only shadow over her joy in the past month was the thought that Charles would reject her now that she was Lord Baldevar's consort again. But now, seeing him at her side, she felt that last worry slip away. "You understand now why I'm with Simon?"

"Meghann." Charles sighed. "I can only guess at how frightened you were after they attacked you. Of course you turned to Simon for comfort. I know no matter what else he's done, he saved your life. For that, I owe him a huge debt of gratitude and I intend to tell him so the next time I see him. But has it occurred to you that you're mistaking gratitude for love?"

"I know what I feel," Meghann said quietly. "God knows I've tried my best to deny it but even when I despised Simon, I think some small part of me still loved him. But this is a discussion we should have at another time… we have to prepare for attack now."

Charles nodded and glanced at Lee, standing a few feet from them. "Was it wise to bring him out here?"

"How can we be certain they don't have someone at the house? It's better that we have Lee where we can see him and protect him."

Charles started to nod and then stood ramrod straight. "You feel it? Lee, get between me and Meghann!"

Meghann and Charles turned their eyes to the five figures approaching them from the mountains. Strangely, Meghann felt her fear evaporate and then realized where her sudden sense of relief came from—Simon was nearby, shielding his presence until the right moment came to strike, but he'd given Meghann a brief moment of contact to bolster her spirits. Now she could raise her head high and glare at the remaining members of the Council with unconcealed scorn.

She was surprised that Sir Walter (the oldest member of the Council after Alcuin and Guy) was able to meet her eyes—more surprised when he offered her and Charles a congenial smile. "Children, you won't need those weapons this evening. We mean you no ill will."

"Where I come from, attacking a vulnerable woman is ill will," Charles snarled.

Sir Walter sighed. "We've come here tonight to offer our apologies. Guy Balmont was only supposed to bring Meghann to Ballnamore to make her see reason and have an abortion."

"Is attacking me, ripping my clothes off for the sole purpose of humiliating me, and attempting to ram a sword through my womb your idea of reason?" Meghann inquired icily.

Sir Walter flinched and his companions fidgeted uncomfortably. "We never sanctioned such actions. We merely wished to get you alone and make you see the wisdom of having an abortion before Lord Baldevar learns you carry the philosophers' stone."

"You think we trust you now?" Charles cried. "You wouldn't send Guy unless you meant for Meghann to die—you know how he hated her!"

"Charles, we did not and do not mean for Meghann to die but the pregnancy must stop. Now, your new friend performs abortions, doesn't he?"

"Not on unwilling women," Lee spoke up from his position behind Charles and Meghann.

"This is why we sent Guy," Sir William said. "There is no reasoning with any of you. Now, we don't want to harm you but we are prepared to use force if necessary." Sir William gave Meghann a patronizing glance. "I know you somehow eluded Guy and his apprentices but that was a month ago, dear. You're in no condition now to fend off five vampires. If you force battle, all that's going to happen is Charles will be hurt and I don't think you want that. Why don't you come along peacefully?"

"Stay away from her," Charles said when the older vampire took a step toward Meghann, rage choking him so the words came out in an almost unintelligible growl. "I'll slice the head off the first one of you bastards to try and take her. And I won't be alone."

Sir William laughed uneasily. "You cannot think this mortal will help you. Charles, how can you slay five vampires with no one to aid you but a pregnant woman? Meghann aborts or she dies—it's as simple as that."

"Meghann is protected by your worst enemy—it's as simple as that," Charles retorted. "Are you stupid or simply denying the truth? Just who do you think got a sword through Guy Balmont's chest? It wasn't Meghann."

"You're not telling us Lord Baldevar has discovered her pregnancy?" Sir William didn't wait for an answer but turned to the cloaked figure by his side. "How could you not see Lord Baldevar in Charles's thoughts?"

"Show yourself!" Charles roared at the mysterious vampire. "How dare you invade my mind… Paul!"

"This is Paul?" Meghann said, when her friend simply gaped at the attractive but somehow weak-looking vampire. "Your lover—the one that transformed you? I thought he was dead."

"Afraid not, Lady Baldevar," the vampire said coldly, though his voice was far friendlier than the rage-filled eyes that settled on Charles. "Did you even care when that bastard wounded me for revenge against you because you took this tramp to Alcuin?"

"I cared," Charles said, and Meghann saw nothing but pity in his dark eyes when he gazed at his master. "I came to you, Paul, and that action… Simon Baldevar hurt you so he could get me away from Meghann before I could take her to Alcuin. She was alone with him and he nearly destroyed her—"

"Shut up!" Paul howled. "I'm so tired of hearing about this little slut! Why is she so special to you? I gave you transformation and you'd only stay with me ten years but this… this woman… forty years you've been at her side! Why?"

"She's my friend," Charles said simply. "And you know that's something we were never able to be to each other."

"I suppose this mortal is also your friend?" Paul threw Lee a scornful look. "Are you going to transform him because he satisfies your lust and tolerates you giving your heart to Baldevar's whore?"

"Stop calling her that!" Charles flared. "I'm sorry I couldn't be the eternal lover you were seeking and I'm sorrier that you're so alone but I will not allow you to take your frustration out on a blameless woman. You condone what the Council plans to do to her?"

"Of course I do. Since she's entered your life, you live only for her… some girl you've never even desired—it makes no sense. What hold does she have over you? Keep the boy if you want him but I'm getting this witch out of your life once and for all."

"No!" In a surprise move, Charles shoved Meghann from him and lunged at his ex-lover, brandishing the ax. Two of the other vampires grabbed Charles while Paul wrenched the ax from him.

"All right," Sir Walter said. "He's disarmed—grab Meghann. Just behead her before Lord Baldevar arrives."

"I think not." Simon Baldevar appeared, standing behind Meghann. "See to Doctor Winslow, sweetheart."

Meghann moved to Lee, wide-eyed with shock at the encounter he was witnessing while Simon raised the broadsword in his right hand so the moonlight reflected off the steel blade. "Look familiar, Sir Walter? If your recollection is faulty, here is something to aid your memory." Simon tossed the object in his left hand high in the air and then used his power to make the jar containing Guy Balmont's head, carefully preserved in formaldehyde, land intact at Sir Walter's feet.

"This weapon belonged to him," Simon said, giving a cold smile to the vampires, who couldn't take their panic-stricken gaze from the jar on the ground. "I delighted in taking it from him, just as I'll revel in slaughtering every one of you."

A sharp cry interrupted his speech. Taking advantage of the momentary shock of his captors, Charles crushed the kneecap of the vampire to his right, grabbing up his sword when he fell to the ground. The other guard tried to hold on to his prisoner, but found himself lifted off the ground. Struggling and screaming in midair, the vampire couldn't prevent his body from flying to Simon's side where he was swiftly decapitated while Charles killed the still wounded vampire at his feet.

From there, everything happened quickly—so quickly Meghann barely had time to register the slaughter before her. Somehow she'd always thought battle was a long, drawn-out process; it never occurred to her that it could be done in the blink of an eye.

Sir Walter leaped at Simon but Charles quickly ran his sword through his back, neatly impaling him.

When one of the others tried to grab Charles, Meghann flung the ax in her hand, feeling a sense of grim satisfaction when it landed in the center of his head. Charles yanked the ax from the vampire's scalp and chopped his head off while Simon decapitated Sir Walter. Now only Paul remained, leaning over Charles with the ax he'd taken from him.

"Paul…" Charles stared up at his master, black eyes glistening with regret and sorrow.

"How could you do this?" Paul screamed, gesturing to the carnage all around them. "Slay your allies for this worthless—"

Paul let out a cry of frustration when an unseen force pulled Charles's body away from him. He ran after him, wielding the ax like a madman, but Simon blocked his path.

"No," Meghann whispered when Lee tried to run to Charles. "Stay here."

Meghann went over to her friend and almost cried when she saw how haggard Charles looked as he observed Paul thrashing about, desperately trying to break Simon's hold. Like an old man, he shuffled beside Meghann, walking in a stiff, slow manner as she led him to the car.

She locked eyes with Simon and he nodded at her silent plea. "Come on," she said to Charles. "We're leaving now."

"What? But Paul…" Then Charles understood—Lord Baldevar wouldn't kill Paul until they left. Perhaps Meghann was right after all… to those he singled out, Simon Baldevar was a powerful friend.

Charles turned to him, and ruthlessly shut all of Paul's pleas and accusations out of his mind. The creature that thrashed about in Lord Baldevar's grip was not the gentle vampire Charles had fallen in love with. Charles saw that years of loneliness and jealousy over the life Charles was able to form without him had warped Paul into something he'd never understand, something he was grateful to Simon for putting down, out of his misery.

Thank you, Charles said and Lord Baldevar tore his gaze from Meghann long enough to acknowledge Charles with a small nod.

"Meghann's with Lee," Charles said when Simon appeared in the living room. "He's examining her."

Simon nodded and sat down on the plush tan sofa, elegantly crossing his legs.

Charles eyed him uneasily; in a way the polite, constrained silence that hung between them was worse than enmity. At least then Charles knew what to say, how to react. Finally, all he could think to do was offer Lord Baldevar the bottle of absinthe cradled in his hands.

Simon shook his head and though his words were brusque, his tone was almost kindly when he spoke. "Intoxication is a sign of weakness, and vampires must, above all else, be strong."

"You mean in four hundred years you've never been drunk?"

Simon shook his head. "I did not care for liquor overmuch before I transformed and it's dangerous to be out of control. Besides," he said and gave Charles a flickering grin that made him see the charm Meghann always insisted Simon Baldevar possessed, "the stuff tastes like paint thinner. How do you force it down your throat?"

"After half a bottle, you don't taste much of anything." Still, Simon's lecture on weakness struck a cord—all the past month Charles had been drinking to excess. He closed the bottle and turned to Simon, feeling as if he were groping his way through a mine field as he tried to speak with this formidable being who was now a permanent part of Meghann's life—and his too. "Can I get you something else while we wait?"

"Perhaps you have some coffee of good quality?"

This was unreal, Charles thought, standing in the center of Lee's homey, cheerful kitchen with its bright yellow wallpaper and curtains, chatting with Lord Baldevar. What would Alcuin think if he could see this? Then again, how would Alcuin feel about the behavior of the rest of his Council this evening?

While the coffee brewed, Charles turned to Simon. "Why did you help me tonight? Don't you want me dead? Meghann could have been killed when I went to San Francisco—Guy's attack was all my fault."

"You take too much upon yourself," Simon said mildly. "It is not your place to protect Meghann. Besides, like Meghann, you tend to forget your youth and inexperience. I am glad you were not there. Had you fought Guy and been killed, I am sure Meghann's grief could have caused a miscarriage."

"You're not angry with me?"

"You are a valiant friend to Meghann. The only way you can anger me is by hurting her."

"What about you?" Charles said, determined that he not take the easy way out and simply accept the compromise Lord Baldevar seemed to be offering. "I… I wouldn't stand by if you hurt Meghann."

"I would not expect you to." Simon accepted the steaming mug of coffee Charles gave him, drinking it black with two lumps of sugar. "But you must understand I will not tolerate any interference in my relationship with her—do you always put six spoons of sugar in your coffee?"

"Damn!" Charles emptied the mug into the stainless steel sink, and poured some more coffee into a fresh cup, keeping his eyes on the cream and sugar while he spoke. "Lord Baldevar, I think we should clear the air between us."

Simon nodded and poured himself a second cup of coffee. "Clear the air—you remind me of Meghann when you speak. I must admit, it was sheer brilliance on Alcuin's part to send you to my fete to speak with Meghann."

"What do you mean?"

Simon raised an eyebrow. "It was inevitable that you become such good friends. Your lover showed a shocking lack of sensitivity or even basic intelligence tonight if he could not understand the bond between you and Meghann. What a fool—thinking a man and woman can't have an enduring friendship without being lovers. I rather think you remind Meghann of her brothers. All her life she'd been surrounded by men. I'm sure your platonic friendship never struck her as odd. Why wouldn't you turn to each other? Two novice vampires with similar personalities, likes, and dislikes; and besides that, you're both outcasts—Meghann for being my consort and you for your predilections."

That was the first time Simon Baldevar alluded to his homosexuality without some kind of stinging insult. "You don't mind my friendship with Meghann?"

"It makes her happy," Simon responded.

"But I'm the one that convinced her to leave you."

Simon's face darkened but his voice was calm when he said, "That was at the behest of your pontiff, was it not? As I've told Meghann, there is no need to dwell on the past and its ugly memories."

Charles nodded, thinking perhaps all Lee had tried to drum into his head over the past month was true—if they couldn't kill Simon Baldevar, it was high time they made peace with him. "Just don't hurt her, that's all I ask."

"You have my word," Simon said and then cocked his head. "Do you sense blood in the air?"

Charles sniffed and then the coppery smell hit him hard. He followed his senses and heard a soft slurping sound—a vampire drinking blood. But if Lord Baldevar was in front of him, the only other vampire that could be drinking was Meghann!

He followed Simon to Lee's examining room and found Meghann on the examining table, dressed in a white hospital gown and drinking from one of the transfusion packs of blood.

"It's okay," she said to Simon when he came to her side. "I feel fine… better than fine… wonderful!"

"Meghann told me about how… hungry she's been," Lee explained. "That she was starting to want more than you could provide so I thought her rejection of foreign blood might simply be a disease of first-trimester pregnancy. Now that she's in the second trimester, she seems able to feed without any problems. Besides that, I have to say Meghann's in wonderful shape. Apart from the early sickness, she's having a model pregnancy—blood pressure is steady, weight gain in the acceptable range. We'll do an amniocentesis tomorrow night to check for congenital defects but I really don't expect to find any problems since you and Meghann are the closest blood relation. Tonight we'll do an ultrasound—I was going to invite you and Charles in here for it. I wanted to do it long before tonight but you needed to leave town because of your, um, enemies."

"We'll be able to see the baby," Meghann said to Simon, clutching his hand. She gave him a blinding grin and Charles had to swallow hard against the lump in his throat—he'd never seen Meghann this happy. He knew as well as she did all the atrocious things Lord Baldevar had done in his four hundred years but Charles thought there must be something good in the creature if he could cause the joy that radiated from Meghann's emerald eyes. Perhaps impending fatherhood was having a mellowing effect on Simon.

"Ready?" Lee asked and laid Meghann down on the table, pushing the hospital gown up to expose her abdomen, which he coated in a slick gel.

"Cold," Meghann complained while Charles started running the transducer over her stomach as Lee had taught him to do. Soon, blurry images appeared on the screen beside him.

"Stop," Lee ordered and frowned at the screen for a few moments before an expression of surprised delight appeared on his face. "Meghann, you're having twins!"

"Twins?" she gasped. "Are you sure?"

Lee pointed to two strange shapes and insisted they were the babies' heads. "And here… that's two placentas, thank God. The biggest danger in multiple pregnancies can come from two fetuses sharing the same placenta; one might be deprived of oxygen and nutrients. They're both developing at the same rate; see how one isn't significantly smaller than the other?"

"She's having twins?" Something flickered over Simon's face… to Charles, it almost seemed like fear.

"What's the matter?" Meghann asked. "Simon…"

"Nothing's wrong, little one," he said and gave her a quick smile. "I'm just a bit concerned. Don't twins carry a higher risk of premature labor and preeclampsia?"

"I intend to keep a close eye on Meghann," Lee said. "There are special tests to run on multiple pregnancies as the mother's due date approaches—"

"I'm sorry, Doctor. I must interrupt." Simon looked at Meghann and Charles. "You two understand that though I've destroyed the Council, there are still vampires that would slay you both? Meghann for carrying my heirs and you, Doctor Tarleton, for standing with me this evening. I think it would be provident to leave this area but I cannot ask Doctor Winslow to abandon his practice."

"I've already thought of that," Lee broke in. "Meghann's pregnancy is special and demands a high level of care—more so now that we know she's expecting twins. I'd already planned to bring another doctor in to handle my workload so I'd be free to concentrate on Meghann for the last twelve weeks of her pregnancy. I can be ready to leave here in a month."

"Wonderful," Simon replied. "The estate I've obtained—yes, Meghann, it's the house in Southampton, has a small guest cottage. You and Doctor Tarleton are welcome to reside there for the duration of Meghann's pregnancy."

"Of course," Lee said before Charles could answer but Charles simply nodded his agreement.

"Can you tell their sex?" Meghann asked while Lee finished the examination.

"Sorry." Lee grinned. "They're turned toward each other… my crystal ball is clouded. Anyway, how come you can't just 'read' what they are?"

"Probably because their brains aren't functioning at the level we need to intuit thoughts," Simon answered. "That's why we cannot read anyone suffering from profound retardation or mental illness."

"Do either one of you have a history of twins in your mortal family?" Lee asked.

Simon shook his head but Meghann said, "Two of my uncles on my father's side were fraternal twins. Simon, is this the first instance of a twin vampiric pregnancy?"

"As far as I know," he replied and kissed her cheek. "Trust you to do the unusual. I'll wait outside while you get dressed, little one." He stepped outside and Lee went with him, leaving Meghann and Charles alone for the first time that night.

Meghann pulled her green evening dress back on and turned her questioning eyes on Charles. "Is everything… okay between you and Simon?"

Charles shrugged and gave her a lopsided grin. "Politics make strange bedfellows. We're both agreed that we want the best for you—I told him the only way I'd take him on is if he hurts you. You would tell me if something happened, wouldn't you?"

"What do you think I am?" Meghann said scornfully. "I wouldn't stay with him if he tried to bully me like he used to do—even if he won't admit it, maybe he learned you can't use brute force to make someone love you. I told Simon the only way I'd be with him is if he didn't try and take away everyone I've come to care for in the past forty years."

"What about Jimmy Delacroix?" Charles asked quietly.

Meghann swallowed nervously and cut her eyes to the door. "I'm still working on him, Charles. What Simon did to him—it's despicable and unforgivable but I feel if I bring him back, it will make things better. And, Charles, he is better… wait till you see him! He's improved so much while I was gone… I think maybe all my chatter was holding him back or putting too much pressure on him. Maybe he needed to be left alone but when I got back… he grooms himself now! I lay out clothes and he puts them on, he eats on his own… he's even started showing some interest in picking out music."

"Is he vocalizing?"

"No," Meghann said. "Charles, I try to read him and it's like there's this wall up in his mind—I don't know if it's a defense mechanism to shut me out or he's hiding from himself. But I'm not too discouraged… he isn't even on Clozapine anymore! Charles, there's one thing I need to ask you. If Jimmy has a full recovery—well, he's not going to be very happy with me, and I hardly blame him. But he'll need someone to guide him into our life—would you be his mentor?"

Charles thought Jimmy wouldn't be overly happy with him either—he'd ask why Charles hadn't done something to drag Meghann from Lord Baldevar. How could Jimmy Delacroix understand all that had happened when Charles didn't really understand himself? All he knew was Meghann finally seemed secure and happy, and on top of that, tonight had proven the only person who could really protect her was Lord Baldevar.

So Charles smiled at his best friend and nodded yes, he'd help Jimmy Delacroix, swallowing all his misgivings and praying the little voice that whispered Meghann was making the biggest mistake of her life was wrong.