Forever(63)

As they disappeared, a new one emerged. I focused on my hand. It was reaching toward a woman standing with her back to me. Her blonde, straight hair reached the small of her back and the wind fanned it, revealing the pearly white nape of her neck. Faint outlines, almost like a white tattoo, traced her skin, continuing around her shoulders and over her chest. She wore an off-the-shoulder dress the color of the moon and her dark blue eyes shone in happiness.

Her smile widened as she greeted me and opened her arms for an embrace. When we parted, I found myself reaching around her, clipping my blue topaz necklace about her neck. Her hand flew to it and I realized; this was my Leigh.

The wind picked up, pushing me away and I struggled to take her hand. Laughing, she turned to a man in a tuxedo, ignoring my cries. They leaned together, giving each other a sweet kiss. The image shrunk as if disappearing down a tunnel.

I didn’t want to leave. If heaven was being with my unborn daughter, I would take it. I raked at the pink air, desperate to stay with Leigh, but it was useless. Crushing ice hot pain, unlike anything I’d ever felt, coursed through me. And then I heard his voice.

“Morgan? Please come back.”

“I think you waited too long,”

“Come on! Just open your eyes!” His voice strained with desperation.

My love for Thayde tugged at my heart. I looked back at the small sliver of light and focused on Leigh’s face – her lovely, pale face until she disappeared.

“This has to work, please!”

The sun tickled my skin. The scent of the coconut trees and high tide mixed, teasing a sneeze from somewhere within me. I’d never experienced smells this potent before. The pain eased and when it was bearable, I woke up.

Thayde rocked me in his arms, splotches of blood covering him entirely. I drew in a deep breath of air and his blood stained face flooded with relief.

“Baby, I’m so sorry!”

He stroked my hair with his free hand. Love flowed around us, my aura circling about. Thayde knew me. He loved me. We were together again. Relief melted over me, spilling like the turquoise ocean waves, washing away the weight of the world.

Thayde breathed in deep. “I’m so glad it worked. Can you please forgive me?”

“What have you done?” My voice was rough and new. Thayde’s look was somber.

“I’ve made you like me.” He said.

“I’m a vampire?” I asked.

“You’re a mer-vamp.”

This was not what was supposed to happen. Perhaps this was heaven and Thayde and I were going to be together for eternity.

“Am I dreaming?” I asked and he shook his head.

“There wasn’t any other way to save you. When you took everyone’s pain, everyone’s wounds on yourself, it was killing you. I couldn’t let you die.”

I looked from his face to my pale arms. They used to be bronzed, sun-kissed. It wasn’t as pretty anymore.

“Morgan?” Thayde was terrified. “Did I kill the baby?”

Out of habit, I instantly ran a scan and was shocked that not only did it work, but the rapidity and efficiency of it was far greater than it ever had been. The power was amplified. I touched my little belly.

“She’s fine. I think I saw her on her wedding day.”

Thayde’s head hung in relief, a line of blood trickling off the end of his nose.

“How did you know about the baby?” I shook my head, trying to regain clarity.

“I told him,” Flynn stepped forward.

“You?” Images of his betrayal surfaced making me struggle from Thayde’s arms. I wanted to do nothing more than make Flynn pay. “You! You betrayed us!”

“No,” Thayde interrupted, holding me down, “he didn’t. He had to play along in Italy – they could read his thoughts. If he even so much as pitied you, they would have known. He had to do it.”

I resisted against Thayde. “Baby, I promise.”

It was confusing. Memories haphazardly shifted, slipping back into place.

“How did you remember me? What happened?”

Thayde grimaced. “I didn’t remember anything at first. My memory was fuzzy like yours is now and I felt like I had been asleep for decades. I remember you were talking to me and then you did something and I dropped you. I don’t know how Flynn found me, but he helped me focus all the memories and told me what had happened. I was desperate to find you. Fortunately,” he motioned to Flynn, “Flynn’s pretty in tune with everything and he knew right where you were.”

“You killed the Master,” Flynn said, changing the subject. “Thank you. I can’t tell you how satisfying it was to watch.”

I tried to filter through the images. They were difficult to retrieve. “If he’s not the Master anymore, who takes over as their leader?”