Chapter 27
It’s Not Goodbye
We stood in the foyer, the kids between us holding hands.
Karson had wiped their minds, but he had to leave their mother’s death as fact.
He had softened the blow by mind-controlling them to believe she had been a loving mother, and they would be a little sad for a while but not devastated.
They would miss her, but each day would get easier, until one day soon, the memory of her brought them joy, not sadness.
If only grief worked like that.
Georgie had witnessed him mind-controlling them. Afterwards, she had choked back tears as she said her goodbyes and run to her bedroom crying. Not because she was upset by what he had done, but because she saw the anxiety, the fear, and grief lift from their innocent faces.
“Cookies for the trip,” Josh announced, carrying a container filled with cookies. “I’ve done some Superman ones for you, Billy, and teddy bears for you, Lottie, so if you need a snack, you have them.”
“Thank you,” Billy said, cramming them in the stuffed backpack Karson had bought him.
He zipped it quickly closed. Mary had caught him standing on a chair earlier, taking food from the back of the pantry as if he thought he might not get fed where he was going.
It broke all our hearts. She let him take as much as he wanted, and she gave them twenty dollars each.
Josh squatted down in front of him. “I know your father is looking forward to meeting you,” he said gently, straightening Billy’s Superman t-shirt. “But we are going to miss you both, and I think we should try to get you to stay for holidays sometimes, if you want to?”
Billy nodded. “That would be good.” Josh pulled him into a long hug. We had all grown close to them in the few short days we’d had with them. Then he hugged Lottie. “I’m going to miss you, squirt. Take care of teddy.”
“I will,” she said. “Bye, Josh.”
He pulled away and forced a smile. “It’s never goodbye in our world, it’s see you later.” Josh stepped back and mumbled something about checking on Georgie, taking the steps three at a time.
Billy’s eyes followed Josh for a long moment, as if he wanted to run after him. I squeezed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile.
Car doors closed, thudding against my heart.
Karson opened both front doors to greet the arrivals.
Billy, I noticed immediately, looked a lot like his father. He was dark-haired, medium height, with the same hazel eyes as Billy. And almost as if the universe had perfectly curated to allow for an easier acceptance, Lottie looked similar to the woman.
The woman smiled, two dimples appearing in her cheeks. Wispy blonde hair broke out of the ponytail she wore. Her warm brown eyes took in the children from under thin-rimmed spectacles. She wore a knee-length tunic-style pink dress.
“Hello.” The man spoke gently as he bent down. “I’m Paul and this is Sandy. I’m so sorry, I didn’t even know I had a child, and I came for you both as soon as I found out.”
Lottie shuffled behind my legs, the teddy clutched tight to her chest.
“Wow, that’s such a pretty dress you’re wearing, Lottie,” Sandy said.
“Karson gave it to me,” she answered shyly.
“Well, he has good taste.” She glanced up at Karson, taking him in for the first time. Her mouth agape, she stared for a few seconds, startled by his beauty.
Karson smiled, one of his knockout smiles that had women quivering at the knees, making me want to kick his. “I’m Karson and this is Amelia. It’s nice to meet you both.”
Sandy smoothed down her hair and her cheeks pinched red.
Paul stood and shook Karson’s hand, then reached for mine.
I didn’t always get impressions off people—actually, I rarely received them.
But I didn’t hesitate to take his hand; I wanted to know if he was safe, secure, a good human?
Images rocked through my head at lightning speed—police sirens, a man being arrested, a black labrador playing with a ball.
And I got a feeling inside, one that I could never prove, but I just felt he was a good guy.
Not that my impressions mattered. I knew Karson would have already read their minds as soon as he saw them, and he would put a halt to the children going with them if he’d seen anything he didn’t like.
We made small talk for a few minutes, before Paul said, “We really should get going. I want to be at the hotel before dark so it’s not such a big trip for the kids.”
A lump lodged in my throat. I knew they had to leave. It was safer for them, and they needed security and normality, not a house riddled with vampires. Still.
Karson nodded.
Muscles threaded Paul’s arms as he picked up the suitcases.
We gave the children a hug and said our goodbyes.
I fought not to cry as they walked away, side by side.
They were just about to get in the car when Billy turned back and ran to me, leaping into my arms and almost bringing me undone.
He wrapped his arms around my neck and clung on like a barnacle to a rock.
“It’ll all be okay, Billy,” I whispered, my voice wobbly. “You have both our numbers. You only have to call if ever you need us, and I promise you no matter what time it is, we’ll come.”
He pulled away and wrapped his tiny arms around Karson’s waist. Karson ruffled his hair, his voice coming out rough. “Take care of you sister.”
Billy glanced at his sister strapped in a car seat waiting for him. “I will.”
“Thank you.” Sandy watched as Billy climbed in the car. “We’d given up hope of ever having children, so it was a miracle when we got the call. God works in mysterious ways, don’t you think. If something is meant to be, He always finds a way to make it happen, even against all odds.”
She could have been talking about the story of the king of vampires and the novice witch.
There was no other way to logically explain how I ended up in Church Heights, a remote wilderness town you’d struggle to find on a map and met him.
Our connection; we felt fated. At least that’s how I felt about him.
I swallowed down a swell of emotion as the words drifted softly to my heart.
Paul slipped his arm around her back. “We’ll love them like our own, because from this day forward, they are.” He shook Karson’s hand again.
Sandy handed me a business card. She baked and sold cakes. Lottie would love that. “Here is our number, please call anytime you’d like to speak to them, and come and visit.”
How I managed to speak without my voice cracking, I couldn’t be sure. “I know you’ll take great care of them.”
Paul opened the car door for his wife and closed it behind her. We waved goodbye.
Both children turned, their eyes fixed on us, Billy’s hand pressed against the window.
“Those children are already cherished. Sandy and Paul will provide a stable, loving home for them,” Karson said as we watched the car until it disappeared down the road.
He looked down at me when I couldn’t respond over the lump in my throat. “Are you crying, Amelia?” He looked awkward and mildly confused, as if he wasn’t sure what to do with a crying woman. “We couldn’t keep them.”
I wiped at my tears. “I know.”
“We can’t have children right now, it’s not safe …”
Right now. Did that mean he was open to having children despite what he’d said earlier? “I’m crying because I’m happy for them.”
He kissed my temple and slipped his arm around my back. I nestled against his chest.
“Your heart is good,” he said, his voice still husky. “And I will do whatever it takes to keep it that way.”
I peered up. “What do you mean?”
“If the grimoire falls into the wrong hands, I will fight in your place.”
I placed a palm on his chest. I had never felt I had a purpose before this. I had merely existed. “It’s my duty, what I’m born to do.”
“You could be killed. You could be up against not only other witches but vampires. For most witches, battling with vampires is a death sentence. Even if you had trained your entire life and had the skills.”
My jaw gripped so tight my teeth clanked. “I have the skills, I held Sarah off.”
He snorted. “You are fast, but not as fast as a vampire. With your powers you have strength, but you are not as strong as a vampire. You have your wits, but intelligence can only go so far in battle.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but the truth was, he was right. He wasn’t trying to put me down, he was being brutally honest and everything he said was to protect me.
His voice dropped back to something low. “Besides, when you are forced to kill, with each death, a part of your heart darkens until all that’s left is darkness.” He drew in a deep breath and let it out again. “I will spare you that while I walk this earth.”
Over the centuries, he’d been forced to kill hundreds, maybe thousands. My chest twisted at the toll that must have taken on him. “Is that how you feel?”
“You know the effects, I’ve shown you.”
He’d showed me inside his head, the rage, the anger, the terror he felt. But I knew there was much more to him than what I saw. “Do you still feel like your world is nothing but darkness?” I asked softly.
He looked down at me. “No, you are the light I didn’t realize I was missing, and I will not let it go out.”
I pressed a kiss to his cheek and smoothed his thick hair. “You are your own light. Your heart is good too, even if you can’t see it.”
His brows pinched and he looked away, his voice coming out ravaged—almost pained. “I’m not good, Amelia. If you think I am, you are going to be bitterly disappointed.”