Chapter 61
Willow, Enid, and Daisy returned at the stroke of midnight; they appeared just as they had left. The room was dark and quiet. Wherever their mates were waiting for them, it wasn’t in here.
They were both glad that they were not there in the room, ready to ambush them for answers; it would be hard to keep a secret from Noah. Daisy knew that it was of the utmost importance that only three besides the Baba Yaga knew.
The King was the third, but Willow insisted on talking to the King herself. It was time for them to gather to make the payment to the Baba Yaga.
Daisy hoped that it would be the right gift; she didn’t know why she had her father create it, but she knew they would need it sometime down the road.
The rules of the gift, though, were a bit ridiculous. How was anyone supposed to know what contribution the Baba Yaga had never received before? Daisy could only imagine what kind of gifts Willow had been given in the past.
She decided to go with her gut instinct and roll with it, if it were wrong, this would go sideways fast, but there was nothing left to do but trust how she felt and go with her choice.
They parted ways at the top of the stairway, Enid was escorting the Baba Yaga to the receiving room, and Daisy was going off to her father’s chambers, hoping that she would find all of the males in there waiting. She needed to gain the gift as well in her father’s safe.
The Doctor told them yesterday that the babies would be coming soon, so there was no time to waste; just as she was about to knock on the door, she felt a deep pain in her back and then another lighter but still deep pain in her abdomen. She took a deep breath to gain her composure when the door in front of her flew open so fast that she started to fall forward.
Noah was there and caught her before she came close to the floor; he picked her up and brought her to the couch as her father and Garret were close behind.
The pain left quickly, leaving Daisy a bit relieved and worried.
Noah held her while rubbing her lower back as if he knew exactly where to massage her. She looked at him, and he smiled.
“It was Raja; he told me what to do.”
“Noah, how does Raja know what to do?”
Noah thought for a little bit, and then his eyes glassed over; Daisy knew then that he was talking to Raja.
“He says that it isn’t important, only that we must get you to the hospital soon. He can sense that it is almost time.”
It was almost comical watching Noah’s face as he realized what he just said; it went from a matter of fact because he was repeating what Raja was saying to OMG, we got to get to the hospital.
As panic set in on all the faces of the males in the room, the door swung open, and in came Willow and Enid. Both went straight over to Daisy; Willow looked at Daisy for a little while and then turned to Michael.
“The payment, now if you please. We are steadily running out of time.”
Michael just stood there in silence, unsure what to do.
“Your highness, now. Go and get the payment and give it to me; I assure you that whatever your gift is, it will be enough.”
Michael went over to his safe and opened it; he removed a black leather-covered box. Walking over to the Baba Yaga Willow, he handed it to her carefully and then took off the top of the box.
Inside, sitting on a small velvet holder, was a small precious bottle of The Elixir, the true elixir as it should have been, not the distorted one made to infect all those women. With blood that was given willingly.
It was, in truth, the Elixir of Eternal Youth.
Baba Yaga looked at it in awe and smiled.
“Yes, this is something that I have never been given. It is a true wonder. Your payment has been accepted.”
“Now, let’s get this new mom to the hospital, I have birthed a baby or two in my time, but I don’t wish to do that in this room. Not with triplets.”
*************************
Once they were in the hospital, Noah and Daisy were whisked away while everyone else was left to wait in the waiting area. Garret, for some reason, looked out the window, and there was the moon; it was a half-moon. He let out a sigh; not much time left.
Enid came up from behind and hugged him; he sank into her warmth and closed his eyes. He couldn’t imagine what must be going through young Noah’s mind. He wasn’t sure what he would do if he and Enid were in their shoes.
He whispered to Enid…
“I don’t suppose you can tell me what was said with your meeting with the Baba Yaga and Daisy?”
He could feel her stiffen, and her mind started to feel guarded, and then he felt guilt and even some pain because she wanted to tell him, she didn’t want to keep the secret, but she had to.
He turned and enfolded her into his arms…
“Don’t think on it anymore; it was wrong of me to ask, knowing you would have to guard the secret until acting on it.”
She began to cry, and he held her tighter, letting her get it all out.
I hope that Daisy doesn’t have trouble birthing the triplets; why can’t she catch a break? She was getting a good run on things, and then Clara got murdered.
Since then, it has been one dark moment after another; that’s not precisely true. She did manage to find Noah and is now starting a family of her own; I hope that this all goes according to plan, one misstep, and it is to the ruin of all.
*****************************
Willow came up to Michael and informed them that she needed to speak with him privately; they walked around a corner. He had assumed that she was going to the outside doors; instead, he found himself standing next to her in a swamp when they turned around the corner.
“You do not fully trust me, do you, Michael?”
“No, I don’t; I am sorry, but I was always taught that it was unwise to trust a Baba Yaga, they are neither good nor evil, but at the same time, you are good and evil.”
“You were always a wise vampire Michael; I will let you in on a little secret; you can fully trust me this one time. I will do all that I can to save your Granddaughter.”
“So, my granddaughter is the one chosen to die upon the full moon.”
“Yes, she is another pureblood like her mother. That is why the prophecy chose her. My sister waits for her death so she can be reborn into your granddaughter’s body.”
“It was my sister that cursed your bloodline; I will not go into details right now; we don’t have a lot of time. My sister made the curse, and she is the evil spirit that lives in the Dark Hall.”
“She is betting that I am here to breathe life back into your granddaughter’s body once it is taken in sacrifice. That is not why I am here. I will be the one to take a life in this instance, and it is up to you to do the saving.”
“Your granddaughter’s life is not in danger as long as we all act fast; our parts must remain a secret until the very moment that we must play our parts. Otherwise, she will get wind of our plans and change hers, so we would have no hope of getting rid of her or saving your granddaughter.”
Michael looked at her for a very long moment, and then his face changed to one that looked tired and resigned, with a sigh and a brush of his hand through his hair.
“What is my role in your plan? What is it that you will have me do?”
*******************************
Daisy was half asleep in exhaustion; she couldn’t be happier than she was at this moment. All three of her babies were healthy, and they were just perfect. She was holding her baby girl at the moment; they had decided to name her Clara after her mother.
Their firstborn was going to be the vampire in the family. They named him Nicholas after Noah’s father, and their middle child was the tiger shifter in the family. They decided to call him Blane.
At first, Noah wasn’t sure that they should have named him Blane, but Daisy said it had just come to her and felt right to do so. Noah shrugged; when it came to things that just happened, Daisy was the expert.
If she was happy, he was too, his daughter was the last one born, and she was so tiny that Noah at first was afraid to hold her, but Daisy was starting to fall to sleep, so she gently took his little lady from her mother’s arms, and he fell instantly in love.
A rush of protectiveness overcame him, and he realized that Raja was there with him, looking down on their perfect little girl.
He looked out the window at the half-moon and frowned at the reminder; looking down at his daughter; he gently caressed her little face.
“Don’t worry about anything; your dad will do all that he can to make the monsters disappear.”