Page 67 of Silent Stalker
Expecting him to be a while, I picked up one of the branches I’d recovered and began removing the leaves one by one, setting them aside in a pile until I could figure out how to make use of the tree’s gift. Most of the twigs wouldn’t survive the carving process, but I realized I could braid them together, especially if I carefully stripped off the bark and sanded the wood beneath smooth. Before I finished, Emerick returned, and he sat beside me, observing as I fought with the uncooperative wood, which tended to spring back to its original shape. Somehow, without breaking any of the twigs, I managed to fashion a strip, which I could shape into a cuff. “If I can figure out a way to secure it, maybe it can be turned into a cuff?”
“That’s nothing some glue and perhaps a little magic can’t handle,” he replied, reaching over and brushing his thumb against my cheek. “Go wipe your face and blow your nose.”
To my astonishment, I realized I’d been crying. “What the hell is wrong with me?”
“Nothing. You just had a shock, and it’s natural to cry over such a thing. You had your entire life turned upside down on you in a span of no more than an hour. I’d cry, too. If I could just let you sit here and cry the rest of the night, I would, but we need to figure out what your father is going to do, what this miscreant brood is going to do, and then figure out how everything that’s been going on fits together. Oh, and act. We need to act. After tonight, I think we’re both in need of a good hunt.”
I nodded. “And my dietary problems? Is that because of my childhood?”
“An influx of my maker’s blood and months of nothing but vampiric blood likely adapted your digestive system. You’re already doing better. You were hungry this morning. But now that we have a better idea of what’s going on and why, I suspect you’ll recover over time. Your father wasn’t worried about it, and he made it clear he knows a lot more about what is going on than we’d prefer. He has his connections, and your dietary needs are common knowledge with allied broods in case we’re separated and you thirst. He was not worried, so I will do my best not to worry much. I will worry some, as that is my nature and I cannot help it.”
One fear rose over the rest, and I whispered, “He thought I might kill my mother, Emerick. As a baby.”
“Yes, he did. I’m sorry, Pepper. I wish I could tell you something to assuage that guilt, but he told you the truth and nothing but the truth. It took us months to teach Edgar to control his thirst. You, as an infant, had no hope of controlling your thirst. You would have attacked your mother so you could drink, because you didn’t want milk when you needed blood. That he mentioned only a nip means he acted quickly to draw you to him and give you his blood, but you would have been raised half on his blood and half on your mother’s milk. They must have taken so much care raising you as a baby. He never would have been able to leave your mother unsupervised with you, not when you needed blood as much as you needed milk. It’s truly incredible how dedicated they were to you.”
“And my mother still loved me, even after that?”
“Oh, Pepper. How could she not? You would have been her miracle, risen from the dead. Maybe I don’t know your mother well, but I have been surrounded by mothers for much of my long life. Some are not the parents I wish they could be, but many of them would do anything for their child, even pay the ultimate sacrifice. For your parents to stay together so long for your sake? I have no doubt that she loved you more than life itself then, and I doubt anything has changed since.”
Something gave way in my chest, and the tears that had started slipping out of their own accord rushed out in full force. Sighing, Emerick came to me, wrapped his arms around me, and held me. “You’ll be all right. Cry as much as you need. Things will get better from here, that much I can promise.”
It tookan hour to work through my emotions, and crying left me with a skull-splitting headache, which meant Emerick decided to push off contacting my brother. He lured me to our bed, tucked me in, and promised he’d work in bed using a nightlight and his laptop. There had to be something to my father’s claim tucking me in somehow conveyed a sense of security, as I passed out long before the sun went down.
When I woke, I discovered that rather than having stayed on my side of the bed, I’d opted to use Emerick as a bed. A rather amused Salania crouched beside us. She held up a finger to her lips and nodded in Emerick’s direction. “If you stay quiet and don’t wiggle too much, he should remain asleep.”
“With me trying to smother him?” I whispered back.
“He is the instigator this time. We were talking when he decided he was done working and wanted to go to sleep, and he lured you over in your sleep, situated you to his liking, and dropped off. As I vary on if I’m awake at night or day, I decided I’d just play guard. The sun is going down, and we will be having guests within two or so hours. I wanted to give you some warning.”
“We’re having guests?”
“Master Clarke is bringing your mother. It seems your father contacted him after leaving last night and made it clear he understood Clarke had her, suggesting he bring her here so you can see her, as you need reassurance.”
My eyes widened. “He did that? For me?”
“He did. Your father came over with papers earlier for you, along with some things your mother had at the house she might want. He also brought gifts, things appropriate for a vampire father to give his daughter. He has also decided he wishes to toy with the master of our brood, so he has brought a vehicle for you. He took a moment to explain he had prevented you from driving due to the risk of an accident and wakening your aggression.”
My eyes widened. “He really considered everything, didn’t he?”
“It seems so. Annora and Gerry received a packet of recipes and timetables on how to work with Edgar. I suspect your father spent most of the day working on that project. He did poke his head into your bedroom long enough to confirm you appeared quite pleased with your living arrangements. He took a picture. I didn’t have the heart to stop him.”
“I’m more concerned about how many in the brood took pictures,” I replied, stretching and debating if I wanted to escape Emerick’s hold. “He really brought over a car?”
“He did. Ben volunteered to drive him back to his residence, as he’d come alone. It seems his empire is made up of many older vampires who were aware of the situation, and his brood is quite displeased their mortal child, so to speak, was imperiled by this Breckenan fellow. They’re preparing for war, and he wanted to make sure he had matters handled with you first.”
“Is it a nice car?” Emerick asked.
“It is quite a nice, fun car,” Salania stated, and then she laughed. “We didn’t mean to wake you.”
“I was awake before Pepper, I just played pretend because she was snuggling, so I didn’t want to interrupt her. It seems I will have to thank him for the tip regarding tucking her in. We need to do that with Edgar. She immediately relaxed.”
“He took care with her upbringing, it seems.” Salania rose. “I took the liberty of having the car enthusiasts of the brood do a bumper to bumper check of her new vehicle for any additions. There was one tracker, which we opted to leave installed while adding one of our own. If he wishes to monitor her safety, it might be wise to play along. He was considerate enough to leave his initials carved into the tracker so that we were aware he put it there.”
“How considerate,” Emerick muttered. “If it’s a sports car, I will insist you learn in a safer vehicle, like my Civic.”
“It is most definitely a sports car, and it will not bring any shame to the garage.” Salania grinned. “It’s a rather nice Jaguar. He thought a cat-branded car for the mistress of a brood of cats was appropriate.”
“He’s not wrong,” I said, wiggling free of Emerick’s hold and sliding out of bed, heading to the dresser to find clothes. “These presents are a little disconcerting, though.”
