Double Trouble

If she had to guess, Savannah would have said that a week had passed between the time that Eli discovered his true part in what was to come and now. And, each day that passed, Savannah grew more and more despondent that Jason and Justin might get what they wanted. And, unfortunately, she had no way of knowing when her brother-in-law might come; when the dream came, it showed no indication of when it would occur, only that Eli was fourteen. With Eli’s fifteenth birthday on November 1st, she knew that only thirty-five days remained. The only question was when. When would Jason and Justin Evermore see fit to strike?

Savannah hated that she had to wait for them to strike; she knew that her kids might get kidnapped and wanted to stop it. Jason and Justin were in the area—how they got there she and no clue, but she could deal with it when the time came—and Savannah wanted nothing more than to once again destroy them. This time, however, she would have some help in the form of her precocious five year-old daughter, Dawn Rose Meadowbrook.

Despite the name, there were still reservations about allowing a five year-old girl to place herself in that much danger for the sake of destroying her uncles. It was too much to ask of a little girl; far too much resided on this. But then, Savannah could only do so much to destroy Toby’s brothers. And, Toby? Now that he was mortal, he could not fight to the same degree that he had in the past. There was little he could do to truly help; his brothers need never though that though, since they would surely kill him if they knew that Savannah and his love for her turned him mortal. Neither brother would hesitate to kill Toby if it were ever discovered that he opted for a mortal life over the chance to live forever. Whereas his brothers lived for death and destruction—as normal vampires—Toby was a much more peculiar case; he loved and, therefore, felt no need to kill anyone. Savannah doubted that Jason and Justin would accept this as an answer; those two were ageless and wished for their older brother to be this way as well. Too bad it would never be that way again.

It was September 28th, thirty-two days until there was no chance of her children getting kidnapped. Unfortunately, she was no closer to finding a way to keep Toby’s brothers from kidnapping her children. There was always something that prevented her from doing so. For that, Savannah was thankful that Eli could always watch over his cousins, and always willing to do so. Considering that her nephew was entering his teenage years, Savannah never expected that he would be so willing to drop everything and protect his cousins. But, that was exactly what he was doing; he seemed to care nothing of himself and all about those he was sworn to protect. In fact, Savannah saw a lot of herself in Eli. “Thomas, was I really so intent about keep you safe that I had forgone my childhood in favor of doing what I could to preserve what was left of my family?” she asked.

“Of course,” her brother replied. “And, the worst part was that there was nothing Brie or I could do to stop it. You were quite intent about that, you know. Why do you ask?”

Considering that she had avoided telling her brother of what his son now knew, Savannah hesitated explaining the situation to him. She still wasn’t sure that telling her brother was the right idea, especially since he didn’t take too kindly to the fact that his younger sister befriended and ultimately fell in love with a vampire. Sure, he accepted it, but it took some convincing, quite a lot of it, in fact. “Thomas, what would you say if you found out that Eli knew about my vision from so long ago, the one with Eli facing off against Jason and Justin Evermore?”

“I’d say it was impossible,” Thomas replied. “Why?”

Savannah bit her lip, knowing that a dreadful reaction was surely on its way. He would not take too kindly to the fact that his son knew what was going on, a fact that was purposefully concealed from him. “Thomas, I really don’t know how to tell you this, so I’ll just come out and say it; Eli knows.”

“Eli knows?” her brother asked.

Savannah nodded. “He does.”

“For how long?” he asked.

“A little over a week,” she replied.

“A week!” Thomas exclaimed. “He’s known for a week of the possibility he might face and you’re only just telling me now. Savannah, we both know how I feel about the possibility of my son being forced to deal with this; I don’t want him to. I don’t want my son risking his life the way you did merely to rid the world of two very violent vampires.”

Savannah raised an eyebrow. “Then, do you want me to lose my children? Because that is exactly what’s going to happen if Eli doesn’t help us in protecting my children. And, I can only do so much to keep this from happening,” Savannah reminded her older brother. “I spent the better part of the week ensuring that Dawn could the power she has to destroy her uncles. I am taking no chances in letting my dumbass brothers-in-law get a hold of their niece and nephews. Those two will not get what they want; I’ll make sure of it.”

“But, my son?” Thomas asked.

Savannah nodded. “Yeah, sorry about that, Thomas. I really will need his help. I’m sure you would prefer that I tell Iyana, but that certainly isn’t going to happen. There is nothing in this world that would ever compel me to tell your wife of my husband’s former life as a vampire. I pledged that I would never do such a thing and I will see to it that this promise is kept.”

“Oh, yes; that’s real nice, Savannah. My wife isn’t allowed to know your husband’s biggest secret, but my son is. I hope you know that makes a lot of sense,” Thomas muttered sarcastically.

“Reuben, Keith, and Dawn don’t know,” Savannah argued. “Toby and I agreed that our children should never be subjected to the plague that is their uncles. Even the knowledge that they once existed would be torture enough for them. Just knowing that bothers me everyday; we lost our parents because Toby couldn’t stop his brothers from killing them. And, if my children ever found out that their uncles killed their grandparents; well, I don’t even want to think about what might happen then. Thomas, my children must never uncover the sordid details of the past, for it would only end badly.”

“And, that means involving my son?” Thomas questioned.

Savannah nodded. “Of course it does,” she confirmed. “Your son has the most important part to play; he must protect his cousins, thus ensuring that Jason and Justin do not get what they want so badly.” Savannah pounded a fist to the counter, causing several patrons to look up. After assuring them that nothing was wrong, Savannah turned back to her brother. “I don’t exactly know how Toby’s brothers were brought back to life—since it was Calarasi that did so in my vision and we destroyed him—but I am not about to let them get the revenge they crave so much. Under no circumstances will I ever allow them to once again ruin my life.”

“I doubt that’s possible,” Thomas replied.

“Why not?” she wondered.

Her brother pointed and Savannah spun around to see her nephew come rushing into the coffee shop, his bag carelessly flung down to the floor. For whatever reason, Eli really didn’t care that everything was strewn all over his father’s shop. “Dad! Aunt Savannah! We have a major problem. The boys and Dawn have now officially gone missing,” Eli said.