Blood Shadow: Book of Ariel Read online

settled back in to their comfortable existence once Joe, Valerie and Brandon arrived back in Portland, Oregon. The raw beauty of this Northwest haven made it easy for people to think peaceful and tranquil thoughts. It was the reunion of Valerie and her mother Katherine that carried the most weight in the days following their return.

  “How are you feeling, honey?” Katherine asked her pregnant daughter as they sat down in the den to have some tea.

  Joe and Brandon left minutes earlier to venture out Home Depot to do what men do, and the twins, Bryce and Cheryl, were out at school on this weekday.

  Valerie was now huge with baby, as the forenamed Ariel was growing in size each day. She was now in the final stage of the pregnancy, which was replete with a generally forgetful nature and a complete love for mankind.

  “Besides not sleeping for more than a few minutes a time because I can’t get comfortable and having cravings for pickles dipped in mint chocolate chip ice cream, I’m pretty good.”

  “Have you heard from the people in New York since you got back?”

  Since Valerie was in the throes of an advanced phase of pregnancy Alzheimer’s, she searched the dark recesses of her brain and came up with, “No, I don’t think so.”

  Katherine reached into her pants pocket and pulled out her cell phone, “Would you like to give them a call?”

  Valerie repositioned herself in tandem with her daughter’s movement.

  “That won’t be necessary, mom.”

  “I forget,” Katherine chuckled, “you’re able to talk internally with some of them.”

  It was the day after the first battle in Beach Haven, and the families had been taken off-line to each other and also outsiders. Valerie tried to mentally connect with some of the ladies of the Hartwell House Knitting Club, but her kind words of greeting went unanswered. She then tried Daniel, Maxwell and some of the men, but they were also unavailable.

  “I think something is wrong,” she stated.

  “Why do you say that?” Katherine questioned her daughter.

  Valerie paused to collect the information surrounding the hunch before she broadcasted the results.

  “I’d like to say that it was my idea, but… she said as she gently caressed her belly. “Someone else is telling me that there could be a potential problem over at the other coast.”

  Katherine was a non-believer, partially because she was on a continuous quest toward world peace, and primarily because she had just gotten her family back and would in no way let them walk back out that door in search of more trouble and danger. She put her tea cup down and sat next her daughter on the couch, clasping her hands for added impact.

  “I think the most important thing for you right now is to focus on the health of your baby and, most importantly, your health. Even if another vampire from the past and his army show up in Beach Haven, nobody can expect anyone from this house to participate at the moment,” shielding her true feeling that forever and ever would be an appropriate amount of time between crusades.

  Valerie had grown to love the group in Beach Haven and always wanted to be in the middle of helping people that mattered the most in her life. Even at her time when the skin of her stomach was looking like a balloon that had been over-inflated with helium, she was willing to put all of that aside because she knew that her baby was in perfect health and would soon be out in the world making a difference.

  “Okay,” she reticently replied. “But once Ariel comes out, we will be going to New York if there is still trouble.”

  Katherine was about to counter with the dreaded “We’ll see” response, but she knew the situation called for calm not parental resistance.

  “Okay, Valerie. If there are still problems, we will go help them.”

  Valerie smiled and rested her head on the cushiony comfort of her mom’s shoulder.

  Ariel chimed in and said internally to her mom, “Then pack our bags, because we’re going to the big red apple!”

  Back in the big red apple, relations between the two sides had downshifted from what could be termed as “icy” the previous day to a more robotic indifference after the first night and early morning of fighting. The six victorious and surviving hunters spent the night in their own beds, with Drew and Carla representing the only couple able to spend the early morning together.

  It was commonplace in previous fights to bring home the remains of fallen comrades so they could awaken in the warmth of familiar surroundings. However, everything was different about this round of fighting. The survivors merely cleared away the debris of carcasses and walked home without really caring for the remains. It was like they no longer had an emotional attachment or connection to the happenings surrounding the house.

  The vampires and protectors were the first group to wake up to the rising sun, because their bodies were dumped on a better angle to the first solar rays. Heads and bodies were inter-dispersed, so the reassembling procedure took a little longer than usual. Eight heads and associated body parts found each other and then the final stage – the healing stage – took place without any sign of reentry pain. The group slowly came to their feet as Garrison looked over at Hartwell and simply said, “I guess we lost that one,” without even the hint of emotion.

  The process was much simpler for the hunters in a small pile about 100 yards north of where the vampires and protectors had now vacated on their way home. Cal and Thad Brewster came back to life and surveyed an empty field at the crack of dawn. They were also alone, which was usually a good sign for their chances of victory the previous night.

  “Just us?” Cal asked his father.

  Thaddeus looked around, “Just us,” he replied without any hint of giving away his feelings about the outcome.

  The two men nodded in approval and then started the long, slow stroll back to the house without saying another word. A conflict that had always been infused with so much emotion had turned into a one-act melodrama devoid of feeling that was spilling over from the battlefield into suburban life. But the calm was definitely in preparation for the storm that was developing.

  NINE

  Night two of the battle followed a slightly altered script from the first night. Claire felt fairly satisfied that the necessary level of pain and suffering was inflicted on night one, but altered the match-ups for giggles and kicks and social misfortune the second night.

  VAMPIRES/PROTECTORSHUNTERS

  HartwellEmily

  GarrisonKayla

  DanielCarla

  NicoleAndrew

  MaggieAaron

  BlakeSharon

  BelindaCal

  MaxwellThaddeus

  Hartwell and Emily had a very brief dating history in the early years, and this close association would do work on both Maggie and Aaron’s jealousy database. Maggie and Aaron never had the occasion to either have much in common or enter into discussion of any length, but their relationship would make a complete u-turn at the sight of their loved ones in a warm embrace. Aaron had always admired Maggie from afar and would let his most latent feelings become known. Everyone in both families would be outraged that Gary and Thad would use their physical power and experience to harm Kayla and Max, who they now viewed as young, defenseless children.

  As long as the flames were rising, the groupings of Daniel and Carla and Nicole and Drew would reignite jealous feelings that burned so bright between the couples. Speaking of couples, former married couples Agent Blake and Sharon - who produced Nicole as their offspring – and Cal and Belinda – who joined forces to create Daniel – would be crossing the streams and igniting old relationships in the most unnatural fashion.

  The house was completely silent on day two until about 15 minutes before the usual dinner time in the house of 6:00 pm. Claire had Samuel going out for every meal and even when he was home, she made it seem that everything was copasetic in the house. He had absolutely n
o idea what was going on, especially during the battles at night. For all he knew, the house was calm and harmonious after the long struggle against Lowery’s army.

  Andrew strolled into the kitchen at 5:44 pm because he was hungry. In fact, Drew was always hungry and he was in and out of the kitchen about 30 times a day. Only this time, he was in the kitchen envisioning a full turkey dinner with all of the fixings when Nicole walked in.

  “A huge turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce would look great on the table right now,” he said, not even caring if anyone else was in the room listening to him. Drew felt if he thought hard enough about anything then it would eventually happen.

  “What about those yams with the marshmallows on top?” Nicole added.

  “Yeah, gotta’ have those!” he exclaimed as he picked up his head from the vision and looked at Nicole without scorn for the first time in days.

  Andrew and Nicole continued their Thanksgiving-themed discussion, as their spouses Carla and Daniel walked in on the conversation. Memories of a time just after high school flooded into both of their minds, as Drew and Nicole had had a brief affair – all 20 minutes of it – which put the father of Maxwell in question for many months after Nicole found out she was pregnant. Daniel was Nicole’s boyfriend turned vampire, and he had already consummated his relationship with Nicole weeks before Drew entered the picture.

  “What are you doing talking to that person?”