‹ Prequel: Blue Rose
Double Trouble
Chapter 23
Floating through space was the most exhilarating experience Eli could possibly think of. As he soared through the galaxies with tremendous ease, Eli’s fingertips grazed the stars as he passed and he was able to forget his troubles. So much happened during the past twenty-four hours to Eli and his family and he needed to forget it for awhile. Eli came to a halt just around Saturn and landed on the rings. He began skating around on its rings for awhile, forgetting his troubles; forgetting his cares. He was about circle around for the fifth time when he heard someone yell out. “Eli!” a voice called meekly. “Eli! Wake up! I have something I need to tell you, something about Mommy and Daddy. It’s urgent!”
“What?” Eli asked groggily.
“Eli, those men that took me, Reuben, and Keith are coming back after Mommy and Daddy,” Dawn said, shaking Eli’s arm. “They’re going to the hospital to confront them.”
When he heard that, Eli’s eyes shot wide open. He turned to look at his youngest cousin. It was still dark out, so he could only faintly make out Dawn’s silhouette. “Dawn, how can you be so sure? Jason and Justin were unconscious when we left them; and Calarasi fled when we got your father and rushed him off to the hospital.” There was no way that Jason, Justin, and Calarasi could come after them; the entire Meadowbrook family was being extremely careful, taking great care to ensure the family’s survival through this ordeal. Unfortunately, it seemed as if they overlooked something. “Mom!” he growled.
“What happened?” Dawn asked.
“My mother told them where Uncle Toby was,” Eli grumbled. “She has complete disregard for protecting one’s family if she would continually choose her father and your uncles over us. She may be related to all three of them, but they’re pure evil and want us dead.” Still sleepy, Eli pushed himself up from the table. “Come on, Dawn. If you have the same ability as your mother, I’d have to say that your dream was actually a vision, a vision occurring right now.”
“What about Reuben, Keith, and Uncle Thomas?” Dawn asked.
“Don’t worry about them,” Eli assured his cousin, waving it off. “It’s far more important for the two of us to leave get down to the hospital and save your parents.” Ugh! Uncle Toby is going to kill me for this. He didn’t want his kids to know that he’s been cursed with being a vampire until his recovery is over. Now I have to bring his daughter over to the hospital in order to prevent her vision from occurring. He groaned. When is life ever going to be simple? I don’t think I’ve ever had a normal life since Mom never cared about as much as any other mother would. I hope that changes after tonight when we deal with this.
“Okay,” Dawn agreed.
Eli quickly scribbled a note for his father if he got up—it was four in the morning—and they hurried off. “Dawn, I know this is asking a lot, but can you fly us over there?” Eli asked his cousin when they got outside the coffee shop. “I doubt we can catch a cab in time to ensure that Aunt Savannah and Uncle Toby are okay; something else could happen to them.” His thoughts drifted to the blue rose and what Aunt Savannah did by reverting the girl’s father back into his vampire form. Dawn was technically not to know of the abnormality; however, she might because of the dream. “Can you?”
Dawn nodded. “I think so.”
“Good,” Eli smiled, grabbing hold of Dawn. His cousin began her ascension, a tight grip on Eli. Considering the weight though, Dawn struggled in getting there. She eventually did, dropping Eli on the ground with a resounding thud. Rubbing his backside, Eli quickly laughed it off and rushed into the hospital. “Okay, Dawn. Let’s deal with this. We can’t let anything happen to Aunt Savannah and Uncle Toby. After all that they’ve been through, we can’t let anything happen to either of them because of something as stupid as this.”
“Too bad,” a voice said. “You have to.”
Eli’s teeth clenched. There was no mistaking that voice. He knew it far too well to ever forget it. In fact, there was no need for Eli to even look up to ascertain the identity of the voice; not in this instance. Eli gripped Dawn’s hand tightly; with what happened last time, Eli was not about to let it happen again. He refused to let anything happen to anyone else in this family, at least nothing perpetrated by Jason, Justin, or Calarasi. The entire Meadowbrook family had suffered far too much at their hands and Eli would stand for it no longer. He was not willing to just sit around and watch as the people that claimed were his family attempted to destroy those that did act like his family, merely for the sake of immortality; immortality that Uncle Toby now possessed for the duration of his recovery. Making sure that Dawn was tightly secured, Eli turned to face the man that spoke. “Hello, Grandfather,” he said snidely to Calarasi. “What is it that brings you here?”
“What?” Eli asked groggily.
“Eli, those men that took me, Reuben, and Keith are coming back after Mommy and Daddy,” Dawn said, shaking Eli’s arm. “They’re going to the hospital to confront them.”
When he heard that, Eli’s eyes shot wide open. He turned to look at his youngest cousin. It was still dark out, so he could only faintly make out Dawn’s silhouette. “Dawn, how can you be so sure? Jason and Justin were unconscious when we left them; and Calarasi fled when we got your father and rushed him off to the hospital.” There was no way that Jason, Justin, and Calarasi could come after them; the entire Meadowbrook family was being extremely careful, taking great care to ensure the family’s survival through this ordeal. Unfortunately, it seemed as if they overlooked something. “Mom!” he growled.
“What happened?” Dawn asked.
“My mother told them where Uncle Toby was,” Eli grumbled. “She has complete disregard for protecting one’s family if she would continually choose her father and your uncles over us. She may be related to all three of them, but they’re pure evil and want us dead.” Still sleepy, Eli pushed himself up from the table. “Come on, Dawn. If you have the same ability as your mother, I’d have to say that your dream was actually a vision, a vision occurring right now.”
“What about Reuben, Keith, and Uncle Thomas?” Dawn asked.
“Don’t worry about them,” Eli assured his cousin, waving it off. “It’s far more important for the two of us to leave get down to the hospital and save your parents.” Ugh! Uncle Toby is going to kill me for this. He didn’t want his kids to know that he’s been cursed with being a vampire until his recovery is over. Now I have to bring his daughter over to the hospital in order to prevent her vision from occurring. He groaned. When is life ever going to be simple? I don’t think I’ve ever had a normal life since Mom never cared about as much as any other mother would. I hope that changes after tonight when we deal with this.
“Okay,” Dawn agreed.
Eli quickly scribbled a note for his father if he got up—it was four in the morning—and they hurried off. “Dawn, I know this is asking a lot, but can you fly us over there?” Eli asked his cousin when they got outside the coffee shop. “I doubt we can catch a cab in time to ensure that Aunt Savannah and Uncle Toby are okay; something else could happen to them.” His thoughts drifted to the blue rose and what Aunt Savannah did by reverting the girl’s father back into his vampire form. Dawn was technically not to know of the abnormality; however, she might because of the dream. “Can you?”
Dawn nodded. “I think so.”
“Good,” Eli smiled, grabbing hold of Dawn. His cousin began her ascension, a tight grip on Eli. Considering the weight though, Dawn struggled in getting there. She eventually did, dropping Eli on the ground with a resounding thud. Rubbing his backside, Eli quickly laughed it off and rushed into the hospital. “Okay, Dawn. Let’s deal with this. We can’t let anything happen to Aunt Savannah and Uncle Toby. After all that they’ve been through, we can’t let anything happen to either of them because of something as stupid as this.”
“Too bad,” a voice said. “You have to.”
Eli’s teeth clenched. There was no mistaking that voice. He knew it far too well to ever forget it. In fact, there was no need for Eli to even look up to ascertain the identity of the voice; not in this instance. Eli gripped Dawn’s hand tightly; with what happened last time, Eli was not about to let it happen again. He refused to let anything happen to anyone else in this family, at least nothing perpetrated by Jason, Justin, or Calarasi. The entire Meadowbrook family had suffered far too much at their hands and Eli would stand for it no longer. He was not willing to just sit around and watch as the people that claimed were his family attempted to destroy those that did act like his family, merely for the sake of immortality; immortality that Uncle Toby now possessed for the duration of his recovery. Making sure that Dawn was tightly secured, Eli turned to face the man that spoke. “Hello, Grandfather,” he said snidely to Calarasi. “What is it that brings you here?”
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