A GUARDIAN'S ETERNITY

Disclaimer

The characters in the story are a product of my own imagination and hopefully have no resemblance to any living persons or vampires for that matter. But if it does it is entirely coincidental. Some of the places mentioned are either fictitious and or adapted to suit the plot of the story.

Sex: This story contains sexual content of a graphic nature between consenting adult women, thus if you are not 18 years old and not allowed to read content of this nature, please move on to other suitable stories.

Violence: Scenes of violence can be expected.

Feedback: Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, so feel free to drop a line or two at steinwillard80@gmail.com .

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PART 10

Chapter 18

Copernicus was still seething hours after the Royals had left. It had taken a cleaning team more than three hours to clean up the mess the Royals had left in their wake. A quick headcount showed that they had lost close to 50 guards in the space of twenty minutes. He raked a still shaky hand through his hair as he looked at the footage from the security cameras. It was disturbing to watch how the four vampires cut a path of devastation through his supposed well-trained guards. They were lightening fast and utterly efficient as they engaged up to five guards at time.

He stiffened when Tahlia lifted her head suddenly looked straight into the camera. Her eyes were a solid black, a look of pure rage in them. A cold shiver ran down his spine and reaching for the remote he quickly switched off the monitor. Staring at the black screen, he took a shuddering breath. There must be something he could do. But what? How was he going to get past this four man army?

He reached for her cellphone and pressed the number on speed dial.

"Valiant, where the hell are you? We have a crisis here and you are nowhere to be found."

He snapped the phone shut and sat there in the dark. When exactly had he become the prey?

**********************************

Jessica slowly lowered the camera from her face, her eyes stormy as they looked at the women in front of her. She stared at the soft healthy glow of their cheeks, their perky breasts …

"Jess? Jessica…?"

Her head snapped around to find Howie standing there. He had a concerned look on his face.

"Are you okay, Jess?"

Clearing her throat, she nodded and raised the camera again. She cursed under her breath when a hand was placed before the lens.

"For heaven's sake, Howie, you know I hate any smudges on the lens." She quickly inspected her lens.

"Something's bothering you, Jess." Howie sounded genuinely worried, prompting Jessica to look back at him. Her eyes roamed over his face, noting the glow of youth clinging to him. She wondered how he would age. Would his eyes droop at the sides as he grew older, she wondered distractedly. Without thinking, she reached out a hand to his face and gently touched his cheek.

"Jessica…"

She quickly pulled her hand away, blushing. She lifted the camera again and this time when she spoke, her voice was gruff.

"Don't you have work to do, Howard? We have a deadline looming here."

Howard slowly shook his head.

"Not until you tell me what's going on. You've been acting really weird these past weeks."

Jessica exhaled noisily and turned to the models. "Let's take five, ladies." Not waiting for their reply, she turned back to Howard.

"What was that? You disobeyed a direct order from me." Her eyes were cold as they looked at her assistant. "You do realize I can have your ass fired for that."

"I know, but I don't really care now."

Jessica glared at him for a while longer before she turned away and walked over to where her camera bag was. Reaching inside she retrieved a soft wipe and began to clean her lens.

"What do you want, Howard?"

Howard stepped around her until he stood right before her. "You are not okay, Jess, and I want to know what's wrong so I can find a solution."

Jessica's hand stilled and she lifted her head to look straight into his blue eyes. They were staring back at her unflinchingly. The open, honest look of concern on his face softened her stance and she swallowed hard.

"I'm … I … uh …" She cast a quick glance around them to assure herself that they would not be overheard. When she looked at him again, her eyes were stormy. "I'm expecting."

Howard raised a questioning brow. "What are you expecting?"

Jessica gently placed the camera down on the table before she turned back to Howie. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm pregnant."

"What?!" Howie shouted; drawing a lot of attention as everyone in the studio turned to look at them. Jessica raised a brow as she folded her arms across her chest. He stepped closer, his blue eyes wide. "I thought you said you were pregnant."

"I did."

"Oh my … Oh … but …" He stammered. His face flushed as he looked down at her stomach. "Who's the father?"

Jessica frowned. She hadn't though this through, she realized suddenly. She wasn't sure if he was ready for the truth though. That left only one way out.

"We used a donor." Her voice was even as she looked him straight in the eye. "Clarissa wanted a baby, but had trouble conceiving. So, I decided to carry the baby."

Howie's face broke out in a wide grin as she threw his arms around her. "Does this mean that I'll be a godfather soon?"

Jessica was completely caught off guard by the question and just stared at him in mute shock. Taking note of Jessica's expression, Howie's face fell and he took a quick step back.

"I'm sorry, Jess. I … I wasn't thinking."

"No … no, Howie." She quickly reached out for him. "Of course you'll be the godfather. I was just a little taken aback, because I was so preoccupied with the pregnancy that I haven't thought that far." She smiled. "I wouldn't want anyone else to be my baby's godfather."

Howie chuckled softly. "Yeah, who else indeed? Have you thought of name yet? Is it a boy or a girl?"

This time it was Jessica's turn to laugh. "I'm only two months along, silly. It's too early to know for sure."

"I'll wait."

Jessica punched him on the shoulder. "You have no other choice, doofus. Now get the girls ready. I have a hot date with my gorgeous girlfriend later."

Howard nodded and left. Jessica reached for her camera, but her hands stilled mid-air. She slowly turned them around and around. Immortal. Her hands won't change … ever. She would remain the way she was forever. Even Howie would change with time, but she would stay the same. A sudden sense of panic overtook her. Her heartbeat accelerated, thumbing loudly in her ears. A fine sheen of sweat broke out over her upper lip and she quickly raised her hand to wipe her mouth. Her eyes widened when she found her hand to be shaking uncontrollably. Looking around she started to pant as she felt the walls closing in on her.

"Jess … Jess, what's wrong. Jessica!" He turned to the circle of models standing around him, his eyes wide in fear. "Someone call an ambulance. NOW! Move it."

**********************************

Tahlia sat up suddenly, startling Jemima. Tahlia quickly looked back at Jemima opening her mind to her wife.

"Oh my … Clarissa? She must be beside herself. Come, honey, we have to do something."

"But how ...?"

Jemima surged upwards, pushing her way through the layer of earth covering them. Tahlia quickly followed.

By the time that they reached the foyer, Clarissa was already there. At the age of 400 she was still relatively young to be awake at this time of the day. Her eyes were sunken and she had trouble staying on her feet, swaying wildly as she held on to the wall. Her hand was shaking as she rubbed her eyes.

"Something happened to Jessica." She sounded so sad and helpless. Tahlia watched as Jemima walked over to the shaking vampire.

"It'll be okay. Tahlia will go and get her, but I'll stay here with me until she returns. You'll not be able to walk in the daylight."

"She is scared. I have to be there with her."

"No, you have to stay here." They all turn to find Paloma, Jonas and Pierre coming down the hallway. "We have to hurry before they draw any blood. It could cause a problem."

Tahlia nodded. "Paloma is right." She looked at Clarissa, who looked even paler now that a minute ago. "We will bring her back."

Within seconds the Royals were gone.

**********************************

Jessica forcefully pushed at the hands reaching for her even as her head was swimming and her ears were ringing.

"Let me go, I said."

"Please, Jess. Don't make this harder for the doctors. You need help."

Jessica opened her eyes and looked straight into Howie's teary eyes. Oh, Howie, what has she done to deserve the friendship of such a pure soul.

"I'm okay, Howie. I just need Clarissa."

Howard reached for his cellphone. "What's her number? I'll get her to come over immediately."

Realizing the time of day, Jessica burst out in tears. She wanted Clarissa with her and even if she wanted to come for her, she couldn't. She felt a soft hand on her cheek and tried to smile through her tears at Howie.

"She's out of town and will only be back later tonight."

Howie closed his eyes. "Why don't you let the doctor look at you while we wait for Clarissa to get here? Please, Jess, I beg of you."

Jessica shook her head and regretted it almost immediately when she almost passed out from the small movement.

"No, Howie. Please, call Gabriella to come and get me. Her number is on my phone."

Howie breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly browsed through the phonebook of Jessica's Blackberry. Just as he pressed the button to connect the call, a loud commotion outside the room drew their attention.

"Uhm … excuse me, ma'am … Ma'am, you're not supposed to be back here. Ma'am …"

Jessica's face lit up when Gabriella, followed by Inger, rushed into the room. The doctor looked at the two women and back at Jessica.

"Excuse me, but who are these ladies. No one's allowed back here."

Inger turned on her heel and made straight for the doctor, her blue eyes flashing in anger.

"These ladies are her sisters. As for us not being allowed to back here … well try kicking us out."

The doctor glared at Inger, trying his best to stare her down. When after a while she was still staring back at him, glaring down at her from her great height, he turned on his heel.

"You have five minutes and then we have to take care of the patient," he threw over his shoulder before leaving the cubicle.

Inger walked over to the bed, where Gabriella was gently stroking Jessica's hair.

"What happened, sweetie? Mom gave us a call and told us to get here as fast as we can."

Surrounded by her family, Jessica felt her anxiety dissipate a little. She reached for Inger's hand.

"Thank you guys for coming. Please take me home now. I don't want to be here." Her eyes shot full of tears again. "I want Clarissa."

Gabriella quickly brushed away the tears which had escaped and were running down her cheeks.

"We'll do so, but first tell us what happened?"

More tears leaked and she took a deep breath. "I'm scared, Gabi. I'm not sure I can cope with all this."

Gabriella and Inger quickly looked at each other. When they looked back at her she could see that they knew exactly what she was referring to. They both nodded and simultaneously helped her to sit up.

"Come on. Let's get you home."

"But … but what about the doctor?" Howie said quickly and took a step back when both Gabriella and Inger turned to glare at him.

Gabriella's eyes narrowed as she glared at Howard. "What are you going to do, Howie? Try and stop us?"

Howie's mouth opened and closed, but no words were forthcoming.

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Chapter 19

From where she stood, Tahlia was patiently waiting for her daughters to appear. They had taken the large SUV and had parked it in the hospitals underground parking. On the way here she had asked Inger and Gabriella to collect Jessica and bring her down to the underground parking area.

"I hope we are not too late, Tahlia," Jonas said. He was leaning against the car, his expression somber.

Tahlia shook her head. "We are not late." She turned back to watch the elevator, anticipating her family to come through there any minute now. She suddenly turned away, her eyes narrowing as she watched a van entering the parking area and driving straight to where they stood. With two long strides, Tahlia was at the car and opened the door to the driver's side.

"I thought I told you to wait for us at the safe house," she asked calmly, but her eyes were flashing as they stared into Jemima's. "It is not safe for you to be out during daylight hours."

Jemima smiled wryly. "I think that coming over here to collect Jessica, you got the easier task. Try babysitting an irate lover who threatened to run over here unless she was driven here. We had no choice."

Tahlia peered into the dark interior of the van and shook her head when she saw Clarissa's appearance. She looked like death warmed up. Her face was deathly pale and her eyes were sunken so deep, they looked black. She hoped that seeing Clarissa this way won't send Jessica back into the Emergency Room.

"Where is she, Tahlia?" Clarissa asked in a husky whisper as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

"Gabriella and Inger went in to get her. They should be out here in a minute." She shook her head again. The stubbornness of youth, she thought as she once again took in Clarissa's haggard appearance. "Why did you not wait at the safe house as I asked you to, Clarissa?"

The dark eyes creaked open slowly. "She is scared and was calling for me. I had to come."

Tahlia looked at Jemima and nodded. Had it been Jemima in there, she surely wouldn't have stayed home either. Jemima must've read her mind, for she reached out and squeezed Tahlia's hand gently. At that moment the elevator doors opened and Jonas quickly walked over to where Gabriella and Inger were holding Jessica up. Jonas swung Jessica into his arms and carried her over to the van.

Jemima jumped out of the car, her eyes wide as she looked at Jessica's pale face.

"Hey, Jess. You gave us a big fright, girl," she said softly. The back door of the van opened and Clarissa staggered out on shaking legs, her arms opened wide. Jonas gently placed Jessica on her feet and watched her stumble into the arms of her mate.

"You came for me, Clarissa," Jessica whispered, her head buried in Clarissa's neck. "You came for me, my love."

With shaking arms, Clarissa held Jessica to her. "I told you I would be there for you always, no matter what." Her voice was tremulous and tears were running down her face. "I was so scared, Jess. I was so terribly scared for you."

Jessica leaned back and looked up into Clarissa's face, her eyes widened at the appearance of her lover. She placed a soft kiss on Clarissa pale lips. "Thank you for coming. I just wanted to see you and touch you." She tenderly stroked Clarissa's sunken cheeks. "Now let's go home. You really need your beauty sleep." She smiled when a soft weak sound, supposedly a chuckle, came from Clarissa. "I love you so much."

"Come on, ladies, it is time to go home now." Jonas said sternly and gently helped both of them into the car.

Jemima slipped behind the steering wheel and looking at the backseat, smiled at the two women wrapped in each other's arms. She started the engine and pulled away.

**********************************

"Are you going back to the office?"

"Yes, I am meeting a client later. Why?" Inger's eyes were warm as she looked up at Paloma.

Paloma shrugged and shook her head. "Are you okay?"

"I'm a little worried about Jess, but otherwise I'm doing fine. You?"

Paloma smiled brightly.

"As long as you are fine, I am fine too."

"It'll be a short debriefing. Shall I wait for you to come and get me?"

Paloma placed a soft kiss on Inger's lips. "I will be there." She moaned softly when Inger pulled her back for another kiss. This time the kiss lasted longer and left them both breathless afterwards.

"Don't be late, okay." Inger said over her shoulder as she walked to her car. Paloma stared at the car until it left the garage.

Turning to the others, she sighed deeply as she saw the same worried looks on their faces.

"Maybe we were presumptuous when we thought they would accept their fate easily," Pierre said in a somber voice.

Paloma nodded. "Something needs to be done before we have another situation like this. I will talk to Inger tonight and try to get her to open up to me. We should encourage Trinity to do the same."

***********************************

Falling back on the soft mattress, Copernicus quickly rolled away from the sweaty body of the woman lying next to him. His needs had been met and now all he wanted was for the bitch to get dressed and leave. Maybe he might have felt differently if he had enjoyed the session, but he still felt unsatisfied even after having taken the woman more than once.

A soft hand touched his shoulder and he shrugged it off. His tone was disdainful when he spoke to the woman.

"Get dressed and leave."

"But …"

He rolled over and looked at her, his eyes cold as they raked over her naked body. "Get dressed and close the door on your way out."

The blonde stared at him for a moment, her face a mask of total disbelief. Copernicus laid back on the pillows, listening to the sounds of the girl getting dressed. He knew exactly when she was done and could feel her burning gaze on him. He turned bored eyes on her.

"I just wanted to say goodbye." The woman's blue eyes were glacial. "I hope someone sneaks up on you one night while you're asleep and rip your balls off and stuff them in your mouth."

Copernicus sat up slowly, surprised by the gutsiness of the woman. If he'd been a mortal, he'd have been scared of having made an enemy out of her. But he wasn't mortal. The woman turned towards the door, her handbag clutched in a white-knuckled grip.

"What's your name?"

She turned to him, her eyes were even colder. "Screw you."

Copernicus smiled at the woman. He never would've thought that she had this side to her personality. He'd met her at a gallery opening earlier in the evening. It was an exclusive event, an event which drew out the most reclusive amongst the rich. That was the chance for them to meet and do a little networking, just like his Fight Club. But these kinds of events also drew the most beautiful women, trailing behind these powerful, faceless men. That was where he'd met this woman. She was so different from all the other ones. It was obvious they were on the hunt, looking for a richer, more powerful paramour.

But this girl was different.

She was actually reluctant to talk to him and had actually dismissed him. That had made him more determined to take her to bed. The challenge she posed was too much to ignore. Looking at her he was slightly disappointed that she wasn't what he'd expected her to be like in bed. She had the dark svelte look of a sex goddess, but she was slightly frigid. She had made the right moves and the right noises, but he couldn't help feeling that she was duping him. Yes, he knew she was. His eyes narrowed as he took in the woman as she stood there looking at him with anger in her blue eyes. Maybe his approach had been a bit hasty and graceless. She had class after all and that was what he'd wanted. She could give him respectability as opposed to the drugged, skinny models he took to his bed regularly. He reached for his dressing gown and getting out of bed shrugged into it.

"Look," he gave her brilliant smile. "I had a terrible day today and a lot on my mind lately. I apologize profusely for the boorish way I've treated you. It was uncalled for and I would very much like to make it up to you." He walked over to where she stood and held out his hand. "Could we start over, please?" She looked at him with suspicion in her eyes and he smiled even broader. "I would like for us to talk a bit. Would you like something to drink? Wine? Coffee?"

He watched as her body started to relax. The grip she had on her handbag loosened a little. He had to keep the satisfaction he felt at her imminent surrender from showing on his face. He had her. Actually, he had won her over twice in one night. What a boost for his confidence?

"Wine will be fine." He was surprised that he hadn't noticed how deep and sexy her voice was.

He nodded. "Let me get them to bring us some wine. My private rooms are through the door over there. I will just get dressed quickly and be right with you."

He turned away from him and allowed a big smile to spill over his face. With his back to the woman, he didn't see the cold, calculating smile forming on the woman's lips. Gotcha, she thought smugly.