The Billionaire’s Baby(52)

He snickered to himself quietly, patting his forearm's ‘massive muscles’ which were in truth hardly bigger than Kellen's own.

“Change.” Kellen shrugged, tossing a shirt at him.

To the vampire’s utter dismay, he fit easily into Kellen's tunic, though he insisted it was because he stretched the tunic first. And even more to his dismay, he was much more comfy in this dry shirt.

"You don't talk much, do ya?" Chirped Ellis, eyeing Kellen for a while. He was reminded slightly of Dag's personality, though Nia's father had a much more pleasant air about him.

Kellen was much too forlorn looking, eyes solemn and too wide for his face, rusty brown hair too straggly, and arms and legs just a bit too long. But he was handsome, in a funny, somehow threatening way to Ellis.

And it made Ellis angry.

"I'm going back to Nia's room." He muttered, frustrated at the pervasive silence, and bolted from the room while Kellen watched with an unchanged face, silently closing the door after him.

Ellis barged through Nia's door, just as Nana had finished slipping a pearly white nightgown over the girl after rewrapping and treating her torn stomach. The illusion was quickly waring off, leaving her skin splotchy yellow and bloodied.

Nia’s wet hair was neatly braided again, keeping it free of her sleeping face and tied neatly at her side with the pretty blue ribbon which was frayed just slightly at the ends.

The old woman jumped slightly as his noisy entrance, glancing over her shoulder with a sigh, "I told you it would be fine for a little while!"

"Ugly over there was annoying me." He responded with a rough gesture towards the wall that Kellen's room shared, dark eyes daring the old woman to tell him leave again. She didn't however, turning away from the vampire instead to look at her granddaughter.

"She's a good girl, you know." She mumbled, quite softly.

Ellis rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah."

Nana fell silent again for a moment, face conflicted, "If Dag was alive, that gives me hope that other people survived as well."

"What happened?" Ellis suddenly persisted, words dripping in intense curiosity, sweeping forward and dropping to his knees at the side of the bed, one hand falling absently on Nia's tiny knee, eyes staring up at the wrinkled face of the old woman who was probably younger than the teenage looking boy beside her.

"I wasn't there, so I don't know for sure…" Her voice cracked, regal composure breaking just slightly behind her eyes, before she continued, "I only know what the elders of Nia's village have told me."

"The elders survived?"

Again Nana hesitated, and it was only then that Ellis noticed how stiff her hands became and how white her knuckles became clenched against her skirt, "No."

"Then how-" Ellis said in confusion, shaking his head as the still damp ends of his hair swept over his dark eyes.

"The new elders told me. They weren't even adults and they had to…to step up to that position. They were the first to tell me about Nia's prophecy."

"You know it?" He was suddenly intrigued, smirking brightly.

Ellis was positive he was the 'special person' of Nia's life. They'd met in the forest after all. He wanted to be praised for it and called special.

She nodded, once again brushing her fingers across Nia's tan cheek, "You're not him." She said, one corner of her mouth twitching into a grin at the vampire’s expression.

The vampire was floored, "I'm not what?" He demanded. He'd heard wrong. Obviously.

"You've misunderstood it. She's misunderstood it. You're both so wrong." Her words trailed into silence as the old woman stood up, "I'm sorry but this conversation has tired me."

Her face was grave and the empty vacancy of her sad eyes reminded Ellis of Kellen, "She might wake up tonight, I'm not sure. I'll explain more about the soul sharing tomorrow, but for tonight, please stay close to her. You shouldn't feel any effects for the rest of the night, it's when her soul starts looking for her that you'll feel anything." Nana swept regally towards the door, standing there for the briefest of moments.

And then she was gone before Ellis could ask any questions, and Ellis was left alone with the lifeless doll that was Nia.

The vampire stayed silent on the floor beside the bed for the rest of the remaining day and through the entire night, like a good and patient little doggy.

He dozed. He fiddled his fingers. He rolled around on the floor in insane boredom.

And when he finally heard a sigh escape her mouth he whirled around, half pouncing on the bed to stare down intently into her face.

"Tater tot," He sang, giving her a hard shake. She groaned quietly, one green eye cracking open to stare up at him before drifting shut again.