Southern Spirits Page 36

  “Chandler, dear, are you awake?’ Mrs. Elaine whispered.

  “Yes, I’m still up. Come in, please,” I answered, grabbing my robe from the foot of the bed.

  She slipped in and crossed the room to hug me.

  “Banton explained to us what happened with Ellyson tonight. I didn’t want to bother you. I know you are tired. I just wanted to kiss you and the babies goodnight,” she said hopefully.

  “Of course. I hope everyone’s not upset with me. I just needed some alone time with them, to get them down.”

  “No need for explanations. You have been through so much, sweetheart. I’ll just go take a quick peek,” she said. I nodded and motioned for her to go into the nursery. She tiptoed in and looked down lovingly at Elly.

  “Go ahead, they won’t wake. They’re such good sleepers,” I said as she nodded. She bent over the side of the crib, placing a kiss on Elly’s forehead and then moving to Matty. After she tucked his little blanket around his shoulders, she made her way back over to me.

  “Get some sleep. We’ll see you at the shower tomorrow afternoon and catch up then,” she said as she kissed my cheek. After she left, I crawled into the bed and snuggled down in the covers. My mind whirled with all that had transpired. I couldn’t get a handle on what complications this new development with the twins would bring. It made my head hurt just trying to sort it all out.

  * * *

  The twins woke up around three a.m. and I managed to feed them and get them back down without waking Banton. I knew he needed to be rested for his meetings. He was up and dressed for the day before I even stirred. Before he left, he leaned over and woke me with a kiss.

  “Mmm. My favorite wake-up call,” I murmured as I turned over fully to look at him.

  “You were sleeping so soundly I hated to wake you, but we’re on our way to the base. We’ll be there until around four or so, so we’ll meet you girls back here this afternoon.”

  I smiled at him as I played with his collar, pulling him back down for another kiss. After thoroughly satisfying me, he pulled back with a grin.

  “Are you still taking your medicine? Will you be all right, with me gone today?”

  I nodded at him. “I’ll be fine, Banton. You go ahead,” I urged him.

  “You can call me if you need me…if anything else happens with the twins,” he added as I nodded. “I’m only thirty minutes away. And Ev promised he’ll be with you all day,” he finished as I pushed at his chest.

  “You’d better go, before I pull you back in,” I teased, batting my eyelashes at him.

  Okay, okay…see you later, beautiful,” he said as he left out the door.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Everett rang the doorbell to his Grandmother’s grand entrance, proudly holding a twin in each arm. Claudia winked at me behind him as Mr. George opened the door and greeted us.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Everett. And who are these beautiful children you have here?”

  “Mr. George, these little ones are the absolute loves of my life, Ellyson and Matthew Gastaneau.”

  “Well, they’re surely the most beautiful children I’ve ever had the privilege to meet. Hello Mrs. Gastaneau, it is wonderful to see you again,” he greeted me in his deep, elegant voice. He closed the door behind us.

  “Mr. George, this is Banton’s sister Claudia. She didn’t get to come last time we were here,” he introduced Claudia as Mr. George continued, “Your mother and grandmother are in the living room, and the rest of your guests have arrived,” he ushered us in.

  “And there they are…my precious babies! Come, come and let Grandmother Wellington see those darlings,” she gushed as she held her hands out to Everett. He obediently handed Matty to Mrs. Wilhelmina, and then Elly to Mrs. Henrietta. Constance and Brie were seated on a sofa across from the older ladies, and Mrs. Elaine and Aunt Sue were seated on a loveseat by the massive fireplace. A low coffee table was placed in the center of the room, covered with gifts.

  I walked over and kissed both ladies on the cheek. “Thank you so much for throwing this shower for the babies! It was so sweet of you.” Everett ushered me over to a chair by the table.

  “It is our pleasure, dear. We couldn’t pass up an opportunity to visit with all of you. You are such a delight to have in our home. And these babies! I’m so in love!” Mrs. Henrietta hugged Elly to her as Elly smiled at her.

  After the rest of the introductions were made and old acquaintances were renewed, Everett’s grandmother got everyone’s attention.

  “Well, why don’t we dispense with the formalities, let’s just enjoy the afternoon. Mr. George, if you will just have them bring cake and refreshments to everyone in here, we’ll let Chandler open her presents while we visit,” she suggested as Mr. George left us. The twins were particularly active, so Constance and Julia placed them on a pallet on the floor so they could crawl around and play. After a few moments, Everett’s grandmother could stand it no longer. She rose, hiked her skirt up, and crawled onto the pallet with the twins, much to the shock of Aunt Sue and Mrs. Elaine.

  “I’ve just got to play with these babies. They just light up the house,” she exclaimed. Everett rolled his eyes.

  “And this one …he looks just like his tall, dark and dimpled daddy! Where is Mr. Gorgeous, by the way?” She winked at me as Mrs. Elaine choked on her wine.

  I giggled at her, remembering the way she’d flirted with all the SEALs during our last visit.

  “They are all at the base today at a meeting.”

  “Oh, that’s a shame. I was hoping for another glimpse of all that muscle,” she flipped her hand in the air and turned back to the twins. She made a face at Elly, and Elly giggled at her.

  Mr. George came back into the room with a cart laden with assorted meats, cheeses and desserts. After everyone settled down with a plate, Mrs. Henrietta suggested that I open presents.

  Julia sat down in the floor at my feet, and helped me list the baby gifts in a book that Everett presented. As the last of the gifts were opened, everyone relaxed with glasses of wine as the babies fell asleep on the pallet in the floor.

  Everett sat next to me, studying his mother intently.

  “Mother, what is that necklace you are wearing?” he asked as I turned to her.

  “Oh…This is a family heirloom, something your father gave me. I’d forgotten I had it until recently. I found it when I was cleaning some things out, and I started wearing it again. I wore it often when you were a little boy, remember?”

  “Yes, yes I do,” he said as he rose and picked it up from where it rested on her neck. “Finally, the piece to the puzzle. Bebe, do you remember this?”

  “What?” I swallowed the drink of wine I’d just taken, and looked around him to see the necklace in question. It was silver and gold mixed delicately with a Victorian flair…the symbol was hard to make out. On closer inspection, I gasped.

  “Yes, I was wondering how long it was going to take you to notice,” he commented wryly.

  “Ev, that’s the symbol from Mamma and Daddy’s headstone,” I exclaimed as Aunt Sue looked up.

  “Everett, what are you talking about?” Everett’s mother demanded.

  “Mother, what is this symbol? What do you know about it?”

  Mrs. Henrietta had an uncomfortable look on her face as she glanced at Everett’s grandmother.

  “Henri, I thought you’d put that thing away,” Everett’s grandmother admonished her.

  “Mother, I’ve just been a bit nostalgic, that’s all. It once symbolized a great sense of pride for our family,” she began.

  “That was soon tarnished by one we shall not speak of,” Grandmother Wellington finished adamantly. As Constance engaged Ev’s grandmother in a discussion about the artwork in the room, Ev turned back to his mother.

  “Why don’t we take Chandler out to shoot some pictures of the trees in the courtyard? She brought her camera for that purpose,” Ev lied and gave me a sideways glance.

  Catching on a little
belatedly, I chimed in. “Oh, yes…please, if you don’t mind.”

  I grabbed my camera out of the diaper bag, and then the three of us made our way through the grand house and out to the courtyard. Everett’s mother took a place on a bench, and then pulled a throw that had been placed there around her shoulders, seeming chilled.

  “Mother, I need to know about that symbol. What can you tell me about it? What does it have to do with my father?” he demanded as he sat down beside her and placed his hand in hers.

  “It’s been so long, Everett. I want to begin by saying I loved your father with all my heart and soul. He was a good man, even after he turned. It was one unfortunate circumstance which banished him from our lives forever.”

  “Mother, Chandler knows the story. I hope that you don’t mind,” he said as he stroked her cheek. She nodded at me and I smiled at her.

  “It was a very long time ago, and time will heal wounds. But not a broken heart,” she murmured as she placed her hand on Everett’s cheek.

  “Mother, what is the symbol?”

  “It is the symbol of The Protectors.”

  “The Aldon?” Ev asked curiously.

  “No, older than that. The first ones to fight the Orcos were humans…Sange-Mele. They banded together to fight the plagues of Orcos that came to the new world. As the Revolutionary War raged on, Aldon soon had to band with them. There were as many deaths around the battlefields from Orco attacks as there were casualties from battle. The Aldon were moved to action to help the Sange- Mele at the time. The movement continued after the war, and Aldon began to take a greater role in protecting humans. This symbol that I wear is from before the Revolutionary War…to identify one Sange-Mele to another.

  “But my father was an Orco who fought to become an Aldon,” Everett interrupted her.

  “That’s not entirely true. Your father was a Sange-Mele, and the first time he was bitten, he was bitten by an entire coven of Orcos. He almost died, and the venom was such that it almost completely transformed him. He began a crusade or sorts, after we were married, going out at night and fighting the Orcos that roamed the streets of N’awlins. In those days, there were many. The plagues that ravaged the countryside made humans easy targets. Your father, along with ten or so other Sange-Mele fighters and Aldon, cleaned up this city for a time. Your father was bitten so many times during his crusades that he eventually fully transformed. At first it was just the eyes…then came his fangs, and then finally, the venom.”

  I listened, fascinated. “So Dr. Renault and Dr. Lane were right. I have transformed more each time I’ve been bitten,” I remarked as Ev studied me warily.

  “Yes, I’m afraid that it is possible, my dear. Dr. Renault should know this, he knew your father at the time, although he might not have known at the time that he was a Sange-Mele in the beginning,” she offered.

  “Mother, why would Chandler’s parents have this mark on their headstone?” Everett asked as his mother shook her head.

  “I don’t know, but it isn’t used lightly. And there are few beings left that would even know what it meant. If your parents left instructions to put it there, they must have wanted someone to ask questions about it.”

  “Chandler, your mother was Sange-Mele as is your Aunt Sue. Do you think she might have some family history?”

  I shook my head. “She knew nothing about all of this until the night we told her. You revealed yourself to them, remember?”

  “What about your father?”

  I stared at him. It had never occurred to me that he might be Sange-Mele too.

  “Do you have any relatives on that side of the family that might be able to shed some light on this?” Everett asked as Mrs. Henrietta patted my leg.

  “No one I can think of. My father was an only child, and my grandparents passed years ago.”

  “Well, it sounds like we might have some genealogy research to do, Bebe, to satisfy your curiosity.”

  Everett’s mother rose, and then embraced me. “My dear, please be careful. Everett has told me of your heightened abilities, and the fact that the babies seem to be fully transformed as well as faders. Everett’s father spoke of faders, but I’ve never seen one. There seems to be a lot of buried history coming to light, and there might be complications to finding out too much,” she cautioned.

  “Oh, Mother…don’t be so melodramatic,” Everett scolded, embracing her.

  “Everett, you’ve never taken any of this seriously. We’ve buried our heads in the sand far too long, and we might have to pay a price if too much comes to light,” she said as she took my arm in hers.

  “I’m so sorry, my dear, that you’ve become entangled in our world. But you are now a part of it, and you need to be careful. Find out what you can about your own family history, but be discrete about it,” she warned.

  We walked back into the house in silence. I was dying to know what was in all of the boxes in my dining room that I had yet to unpack. I knew that there were albums full of black and white photographs from my father’s side of the family that I’d never even opened.

  “Andie, where have you been?” Constance called out as giggles erupted from the living room. We walked back in to find Everett’s Grandmother with a diaper on her head and pacifiers hanging from her ears. The babies crawled around the large round table in front of the sofas, seeming to chase her, first one way and then the other.

  Julia grabbed Elly up in a hug as she teetered at the table, trying to stand up.

  “Phew, somebody needs changing,” she complained, holding her nose. Brie laughed and took her as I picked Matty up. After changing the babies in the powder room, we returned to find everyone loading the presents for us.

  “My dears, I have enjoyed this afternoon immensely! Please, when you visit N’awlins again, bring these dear little ones to see me! They are such a joy,” Mrs. Wilhelmina gushed as Mrs. Henrietta nodded.

  “I will, I promise. Thank you so much for the party and for your lovely gifts! I can’t wait to show Banton,” I assured them as we walked out onto the lawn.

  “And bring those dear, handsome SEALs next time. I missed seeing them.”

  “Okay, Grandmother, we will,” Everett rolled his eyes as he kissed her on her cheek.

  * * *

  “Well, I have to say that was the most interesting baby shower I’ve ever been too! And I absolutely love Everett’s mother and grandmother!” Claudia exclaimed as she checked her mirrors. I‘d opted to take the twins and ride back with Claudia and Julia to Claudia’s house.

  “I’d forgotten that you didn’t go with us when we came for Mardi Gras,” I replied, turning to check the babies. Julia and Ava Grace sat between them in the back seat, singing to them and laughing at their reactions.

  “Chandler, I don’t know how you get anything done with them around all day. I’d never be able to tear myself away from playing with them!” Julia exclaimed as Elly laughed at her – a long cackle followed by a squealing intake of air.

  “An Andler, Ewwy waughs when she screams!” Ava Grace cackled, clapping her hands.

  “She has the funniest little laugh. It amazes me how much they’ve changed in just a few weeks and how their little personalities are so developed!” Claudia added.

  Upon entering the long driveway, we found none of the SEALs SUV’s had returned.

  “Mmmm…I’d hoped they would be back by now. I can’t wait to show Banton all the things that everyone gave the twins,” I observed. The familiar pangs of panic began to rear their ugly head. I took a deep breath. The anxiety medicine that Dr. Lane had prescribed for me was definitely wearing off after seven hours.

  “It shouldn’t be too long. Will texted me before we left Mrs. Wilhelmina’s to let me know he was stopping for crawfish etouffee at our favorite restaurant, and that he would be right behind us. I’ve got some homemade bread rising. I love cooking in my new kitchen!”

  “You should with the gourmet stove and sub-zero refrigerator,” Julia teased as Claudia shot her a lo
ok.

  “I’m having some fun. This is the first time that we’ve lived in the same city with our family, and Will is home most nights. I’ve found that I really do like the little wifey, Betty Crocker thing!” she retorted, putting the vehicle in park.

  After we unloaded the twins, Julia and I carried them in their carriers into Claudia’s sunny kitchen and breakfast nook off the large covered patio. We sat them down in the floor beside the window, and Ava Grace immediately settled down between them, continuing to sing the songs that she and Aunt Julia were singing in the car.

  “Julia, would you watch the twins and Ava for a few minutes? I’d like to unload the gifts out of Claudia’s car,” I asked as she grinned and nodded.

  “Of course…I’d love to.”

  As I stepped out the doorway onto the patio, the breeze shifted, and the rotting smell of Orco alerted me to danger. I froze. It had been months since I’d smelled the odor so strongly. The hair stood up on the back of my neck as I frantically searched the yard and drive for the creatures. As Claudia rounded the back of her SUV, a man appeared directly behind her. Before I could caution her, he had her firmly grasped around her chest, his teeth gleaming in the late afternoon sun.

  I quickly came to my senses, my adrenalin beginning to pump. “Julia, grab the kids and lock your selves in an interior bathroom. Now! Call Banton on your cell,” I commanded as I streaked across the yard. I could hear Ava’s protests and the twins cry out when she did as she was told. The Orco holding Claudia smirked at me as I reached him, and as I pulled up to stop in front of them, he shifted his eyes over my shoulder.

  I wasn’t alone.

  My skin prickled with apprehension when I felt hot breath blow on my shoulder. Claudia’s eyes held a look of sheer terror, and as I searched frantically in my brain for some recourse, I swallowed the sick feeling that rose up inside. Every hair on my body was standing on end. Not only did the Orcos pose the immediate danger to Claudia and me, I knew that their ultimate goal might be the twins.