Eternal Rest

“So how exactly did you know that Adele was in trouble?” Brian asked Nia as she sat on the front porch steps after being handed a few bags of blood to drink down after the fight. She leaned against the railing and looked out at the large Weeping Willow in the yard. In her vision Adele had been dead beneath it and had been killed by one of the vamps that she herself had ashed moments before he got to Adele. She turned her head to face her boyfriend. The others were waiting and Adele looked at her friend.

“It’s okay Nia, I don’t think they’re going to turn their backs on you.”

“Why the hell would we. She’s part of the damn family now.” Matt said.

“I have visions.” Nia said and all of the others turned to look at her. “I’m assuming that the confused look on your face earlier when we got here Zack was the babies informing you of that.”

“Yeah it was a little out there, but it makes sense. I mean as to why they want you…”

“Who?” Brian asked and then noticed that Zack’s arm was wrapped. “And what the hell did you do to your arm?”

“I jumped out of a window, well crashed through one, and at least it was for a good cause. Dillon wants her. Now we know why.”

“Because of her visions?” Adele asked.

“It makes sense, if she has visions then they would be able to have the upper hand in battles or so they believe.”

“That’s not how it works, and normally they only happen when I’m asleep or like in instances like this when someone really close to me is in danger.”

“How long have you been able to do this? Have visions?” Jimmy asked.

“Since I was a little girl, just my parents always told me that they were bad dreams.”

“Nia is this what you were afraid to tell me? Honey I don’t hate you, I don’t think I can. I love you.”

“Okay get over the mushy stuff, we have problems to deal with, and we have two people to keep safe. Nia obviously and Adele. And you’re the thing about when you have your visions may just change now that you‘re a vampire.”

“Zack’s right, if this was all about Adele, then they want her too. And great more stupid shit I have to deal with.” Nia said moving to sit beside her friend.

“No actually they want her dead, to get to you. And I think Johnny is really grateful for that vision right about now, you not only saved your friend, you saved his woman.” Zack said quietly. Nia began to cry. Adele wrapped an arm around her. Johnny looked at the others and then to the two women sitting there holding one another.

“No one is killing any of us. Adele is safe, they messed with the wrong people and now they’re going to pay.” Matt said harshly. Nia glanced up at him and raised an eyebrow.

“By the way your knife…”

“Noticed it did you?” Jimmy said laughing and he pulled an identical one from a sheath on his waist. Matt pulled his out and Nia and Adele stared.

“The two of you…”

“Ex-council members. We preferred hunting them to anything else. That and we’re of the oldest blood out there. So is Brian but he is still hell bent on finding everyone that killed his family that he refuses to even accept his fathers place on the council which went to him because his dad was murdered.” Matt said. Nia carefully took the knife from Matt when he handed it to her. She examined it and turned it over in her hands. The others watched horror struck as she touched a finger to the blade. She traced the intricate design on the blade and immediately the day that Matt had received it flashed into her mind.

“Your dad was really proud of you Matt.” She said as she handed him the knife handle first the blade in her hand. Once it was back in the back of Matt’s jeans Brian took Nia’s hand and turned it over. There were no welts, no burn marks. He looked at the other’s and grinned.

“Look’s like there’s more than three reasons…well four reasons to protect you now Nia.” Jimmy said.

“What’d ya mean?”

“The twins, the fact that you have visions, the fact that You and Brian fit together perfectly. There’s a fifth reason, Very rarely is there a vampire with such a gift like yours. You can touch silver. It’s deadly to us.”

“So basically what Jimmy’s saying is it’s gonna be just a little bit harder to kill you than the rest of us, and I’m beginning to think that Dillon’s blade wasn’t cursed. Your something else Nia.” Matt said.

“I’m also hungry…” she said causing the others to laugh and they headed inside.

“I have my dad’s blade I just keep it locked up…” Brian muttered as they walked inside. Nia wrapped an arm around him.

Nevaeh and Chryslyn looked at one another and shook their heads. They sat at the kitchen table and looked at the book that Matt had dropped in front of Laila and Adele. The two women looked at it and sighed. Adele opened it and stared at the first page. The font was itty bitty and the book was huge. She looked up at Matt.

“You’re kidding me right?”

“I’m afraid he’s not babe.” Johnny said. Laila pulled the book over to her and began to read the first paragraph on the page that Adele had opened it to.

…There are several councils, the Continental, International, Each of the seven Continents, and each regional or country council. there are fourteen high councilmen/women all together. Seven of which make up the Continental Council, or the highest council. On the day that they are elected into the council they are given a blade fashioned of silver with a unique design on the blade, and a hand carved wood or Ivory handle. The only way to become a high council person is to be elected to any of the under councils and serve for more than fifty years, the only other possible way is rare and that is if you are born to ancient bloodlines.

The only way to leave a council is to resign and it is excepted by all members not just the majority of the council. Or to be killed for wrong doings against others of our kind. Almost all wrong doings are subject to death, minor infringements are subject to a probationary period where they are watched to see if they are no longer deemed as a threat for or against our race and the human races. Once you are on a council you are a member for life unless a resignation is accepted…

“So wait are you two…?” Nia asked when Laila finished.

“No, we had the grace of the Council to be released, we were more use as hunters than anything else to them. But we obviously work closely to them and they know our every move.”

“I’ve heard about you, well Matt anyway, you guys get away with a lot of shit.” Nevaeh said looking at him.

“It’s my bloodline that makes them look the other way most of the time. And only because we’ve never done anything to endanger our race, or any other living being on the planet. That and …”

“You’re damned good at what you do.” Chryslyn said looking at Jimmy. He nodded and for the first time since the twins had joined them he noticed how pretty she was. He blinked a few times and couldn’t believe that he had just though that. He also couldn’t believe the rest of what went through his head either.

“Dude keep the images to yourself…” Zack said and instead of responding Jimmy turned and walked from the room. He was praying to god that she hadn’t seen the image that flashed through his head. He smiled, although she was blonde and not a thing like Leana he had to grin. Oh god was he finally over her?

“Did I say something wrong?” Chryslyn asked.

“No definitely not.” Laila said. She could’ve done without the images as well. Apparently neither of the twins had seen what Jimmy had accidentally projected at them. Laila was trying not to laugh and suddenly jumped when Zack said her name.

“Laila, can we take this off now it’s starting to itch, and I can bend my arm again.”

“I suppose, c’mon, but your gonna need a good nights rest. And a few more bags of blood.”

“I guess.”

“Uhm so yeah can I crash at your place since that’s where all my shit is?” Matt turned and looked at the two as they walked out. Zack and Laila were walking really close together and Zack was shouting back in his mind to the guys.

‘don’t fucking call me tonight…’ Matt rolled his eyes and watched as Nia sat with her head in her hands. Brian was standing in front of his fridge looking for something to feed Nia. Chryslyn was debating following Jimmy to talk to him and Adele was sitting on Johnny’s lap with her head resting on his shoulder.

“Okay, you two need to go home, be careful and drop Jimmy off at his place, Brian can’t you get her fast food or something on your way home? And where the hell are you staying?” He said saying something to everyone that was currently in his kitchen.

“Uhm yeah we can, Adele baby you got everything?” Johnny asked and she nodded grabbing her purse and hugging Nia tight.

“Uhm, no clue where I’m staying because I have no fucking clue where I am.”

“Yes, Brian can and we’ll see you all tomorrow right?”

“You will and I guess since you have no where to go I’ll show you to a guest room…” Matt trailed off as Johnny walked back in the room.

“Uhm I think Jimmy isn’t the only one we’re dropping at his place.” The others followed him out to the entry hall and saw that Jimmy and Chrys were making out. Matt raised an eyebrow and shook his head. He was betting that Jimmy’s eyes were going to be back to normal by tomorrow morning. And that he was going to be grinning like an idiot when they went before the council.

“Apparently not…Gah, Sullivan don’t you have your own place to do that at?” Matt said as Jimmy’s hand ran down Chryslyn’s side to her hip. They pulled away from one another and their heads turned and both had a guilty look on their faces. Jimmy didn’t let go of her though.

“Will you stay with me tonight?” Jimmy asked Chryslyn. She nodded.

“Get your shit then, we leave in ten minutes.” Zack said and the others watched as Zack and Laila led the way out of the house. Brian and Nia followed with Johnny and Adele right behind them.

“We’re following you to your place Johnny.” Brian said his friend nodded. With the others gone Matt walked upstairs grabbing the only remaining bags and walked to the first guest room in the house. He dumped her things by the door and told her he would be down the hall if she needed him. She nodded and watched him walk away. He felt her eyes on him but said nothing as he walked into his room and stripped out of his clothes. He walked directly to the bathroom and started the shower. Twenty minutes later after washing the battle off of his body he turned the shower off and found himself collapsing in his bed under the covers only moments later. He lay there thinking about the raven haired woman down the hall from him. If he closed his eyes he could see the tattoo that he had noticed on her lower back during the fight. It was a black bat. He knew it was a joke obviously seeing as she was a vampire. He smiled to himself as he found himself wondering what she would look like naked and in his bed.

Zack was sitting on the side of his bed while Laila unwrapped the ace bandage and then the gauze from his arm. He had already drained a bag of blood, and she had told him he needed at least two more. She rolled the ace bandage back up and threw the gauze out and watched as he trashed the bags that he had just downed of blood away as well. She noticed that he had gotten blood on his lip and before he could lick his lips she was in front of him and her lips were on his. He was startled but murmured her name as she licked the blood from his lip and then kissed him again. He pulled her body against his and slid one of his hands under her shirt so he could feel her skin under his hands. She smiled against his lips as he lifted her and sat her on the bed on her knees. She was about his height now thanks to that move. She pressed against him and let him remove her shirt. Her eyes gleamed when he looked down into them.

Adele waved good-bye to Nia and Brian and walked into the house behind Johnny who was already kicking off his shoes as he entered. She slipped out of her sneakers and dropped her bag on his floor. He grinned and taking her hand made his way up to his room. When they walked in he flipped on the light and turned to her.

“I love you Adele.”

“I love you back Johnny.” she said and stood on tip toe to kiss him. He returned it and grinned when they pulled apart and she was the one that made the first move to begin removing clothes from his body before he could even think about removing hers.

Nia and Brian lay side by side in their bed and just held one another. She was still glad that he hadn’t thought she was a freak and wanted nothing to do with her. But that wasn’t the case and she was glad for it. He pulled her tighter against him and smiled into her hair as it was now in his face. He brushed it to one side and placed a kiss on her neck. He noticed that the bite marks he had left the other night were now entirely gone from her neck. She rolled to face him and he brushed his thumb across her cheek lovingly.

“So you really don’t think I’m a freak?”

“Nia, we’re vampires, and you think I’m going to consider you a freak because of your visions? I don’t. I love you and everything that makes you who you are. Don’t ever doubt that. Believe me when I say it, because it’s hard for me to care about, let alone love anyone.”

“I know, it’s a part of being in love with you that I can tell that even though you do love me, it hurts you to because you’re afraid you’ll loose me.”

“Yeah”

“There’s eight other people out there that won’t let that happen Brian. I won’t let it happen. I’ve never loved anyone my entire life, not with the way my parents treated me. But I somehow managed to fall in love with you.”

“I’ve been in love with you since the day I first kissed you.” Brian whispered.

“Hah, I wanted you to kiss me that day when I yelled at you for the bathroom door being locked…”

“I would’ve done more than that the mood I was in.”

“Really now?” Nia said as she leaned forward and kissed him. He raised an eyebrow at her as she ran a hand over his chest. He rolled so he was above her and leaned down to kiss her.

Jimmy was laying beside her in his bed with his arm around her and her head was on his chest. He was thinking, and he knew that with four out of five of them now distracted because of a woman, they were going to be a little more vulnerable than normal but he didn’t care. Because he would do anything to protect the family that he had made for himself and the friends that he had. He brushed his hand over her blonde hair as he lay there thinking that this was the happiest that he had been in a while and he was glad that she was beside him now. He glanced sideways at the clock and sighed. They had to be in front of the council at noon the next day and that was only thirteen hours away. He closed his eyes and for the first time in a long time the nightmares didn’t come. He slept peacefully and didn’t see her as she killed his family. As he killed her to save his own life. She had never even fought beside him always against him. He had fought beside Chryslyn twice now and something told him that it wasn’t the last time that it would happen either. And he told himself it wasn’t the last time she shared his bed either.