Divine Blood (Vampire Love Story #6) (17 page)

I had to honestly admit that the
proudest moment was watching my son Jason deliver his valedictorian
speech. It was inspiring and deep and touched many people in the
audience. He was an amazing boy who was well on his way to becoming
a fine man.

Chapter
Twenty-three

It was now the holiday season, which
meant two things: Christmas and the boys’ birthday. My sons hated
having their birthday on Christmas because everyone always gave
them just one present for both their birthday and for Christmas. It
was like they had been cheated out of a birthday, as far as they
were concerned.

They had been six months out of high
school and they were turning eighteen. I let them throw a party. A
big one.

We decided to throw it at the old
house in Victorville, so the boys could invite some friends from
school, and so Uncle Tommy’s new house wouldn’t get destroyed by a
big blowout. Not too many of my sons’ friends could fly out to our
island, so, having the party in Southern California made perfect
sense.

I got word out that I wanted all Mani
to take a hike for the night, so the kids could enjoy a party,
vampire-free.

I still had a lot of strong pull among
most Mani. And Carni, for that matter. Both vampires and werewolves
knew what I had done years earlier to try to help. Most gave me the
respect I’d earned. But, there were still some
naysayers.

But on this night, it was a good
old-fashioned, alcohol-free birthday party. I wasn’t stupid. I knew
most of the party guys would arrive drunk. But there was no way I
would enable underage drinking.

I wanted my sons to have a wild, fun
time and they brought their entire senior class back to the house
to celebrate their birthday. There are about a hundred kids. After
all, they did go to a small private school now. Although my sons
were as prestigious as they were, as far as I could tell, it was an
immortal-free party from the start. Except for Tommy, the werewolf,
who was their godfather and, next to me, loved them the
most.

The boys, surprisingly, had made lots
of friends over the last two years. Being handsome, blonde twins
helped. Joshua definitely took advantage of his looks. He liked the
ladies, and just like his dad, the ladies liked him.

The person who concerned me in the
female department was Jason. Jason had earned straight A’s for two
years. He had won All State in football and baseball. And not one
time had he ever mentioned an interest in a girl.

Because he was so asexual, it was easy
for others to think he might be gay. I thought Jason was just
different than the rest of us and if anyone ever even hinted about
his disinterest in girls, I would counter with the reply that Jason
was reserved and respectful, and that he was serious about his
studies. All of that was true. He was nearly eighteen years old and
he’d never been disobedient. Even when he fell out of the tree, he
was just doing what Tommy and I wanted him to do when he was five,
climbing up that tree, trying to beat his brother to the
top.

When that is the worst thing that you
ever did in your life, go wild climbing a tree and falling out of
it, that was pretty remarkable in my view. I considered my own
youth, some of it quite misspent on selfish pursuits, some that I
would have been ashamed for anyone to know.

It was scary, though, how calm, clear
and honest that boy was. This party was my way of telling Jason and
his brother how much I loved them. I wanted them to invite friends
and have a great time with some great food and make memories with
their friends that would last a lifetime.

Where Jason was uninterested in
pursuing girls, Joshua made up for both of them. Going to a co-ed
private school definitely had its benefits if you were a
good-looking, young lad wanting some attention.

So, this party was mine and Lena’s
gift to our boys. I had to admit that Brock’s son being so ill and
Jason’s refusal to heal him did concern me. Brock had already tried
to take me out a few months back, sending ten ravens to intimidate
me and that night, I gave as good as I got—they were taught a
lesson by the Great White Eagle.

His purpose was that he wanted me to
strong-arm my son into healing his. Jason refused, and I stood by
his decision. Jason’s healing had been put on hold since we
enrolled him in school. As far as I knew, he did not do it at all
in the two years that he and Joshua went to school in
California.

To be honest, I knew what was
prophesied about my own son. The more I tried to steer him away
from his true destiny, the more I felt I might be disrupting the
laws of fate and the will of the Triat.

But tonight, it was about my two
six-foot two, light-blond haired, blue-eyed boys. Except for Lena,
they were my world.

Both were smarter than the average
eighteen year old. Jason’s test scores were off the charts. But
Joshua was no slouch either. He was never good at math and science.
He was more verbal and literal and he excelled at reading and
writing. His sense of humor was right up there with mine and
Tommy’s. He had that grand and rare gift that I thought of as “bro
banter.”

On the flip side, there was Jason, who
didn’t have much of a sense of humor, but Joshua swore he was very
funny, behind closed doors. I’m not saying the kid didn’t laugh,
but what he laughed at were the genuine pleasures of this world.
His laughter was more of a celebration of life, and in a weird way,
it was one of the things that made me believe he was closer to the
Triat than I was. It was funny to me that something as simple as
laughter could make me think that, but signs came in weird
ways.

At the moment, all the teens were in
the back yard swimming in the heated pool at the old place in
Victorville. Lena and I barbequed for them. It was top-of-the-line
fixings and all of the kids were ravenous from playing nighttime
water polo and swimming, and just from being young and
active.

I was planning on some special guests
showing up. Yari, Wyatt and Hector were supposed to make it to the
party, later. It was going to be like old times and good times,
back at the house where we had all bonded in the beginning.
Otherwise, everyone else at the party was Tandra, except for my
best friend, Tommy the werewolf.

The place was definitely looking a
little different with so many tanned Tandra swimming in the pool.
Sion and Tommy showed up when we did. That’s why they were my very
best friends. Loyal as hell, both of them.

I asked Tommy about Yomaida, but she
was doing her own thing that night. Tommy said he saw her every so
often, but he was not forthcoming with details about their
relationship and I didn’t press him. Nor did he press me about the
details of my relationship with Lena. He could see for himself, I
was sure, the rift between Lena and me that we tried to politely
cover up with conversation and smiles over the boys’
heads.

We started the party right when it got
dark and turned on the pool lights, lighting up the water with arms
and legs and water polo balls and pool toys. My kids now were
comfortable with the reason why it was a nighttime swim party. Both
of them, on some level, had come to terms with the hard facts that
both of their parents were both vampires and mortal.

Joshua was the life of the party,
doing flips off the diving board. Girls liked him and all his guy
friends seemed to idolize him, too. He had a perpetual smile, which
kept many female eyes on him. In my younger days, and before
marriage, I had garnered many such admiring gazes from females who
adored my abs, my pecs, and my dazzling smile.

Jason was a lot shyer. He sat in the
Jacuzzi by himself. He seemed a bit uncomfortable having such a
giant bash thrown in his honor.

I walked over to Jason and sat next to
my son. I slipped off my shoes and joined him. I dropped just my
legs in.

“
Ah, this feels good. I
gotta get one of these for the castle back in Helena.”

“
Hey, Dad. Thanks for the
party.”

“
Why don’t you try to
enjoy it more?”

“
You mean like Joshua?
Joshua is about the spotlight. That’s why he was the star
quarterback.”

“
You were his favorite
receiver.”

“
I’d better be. I had the
best hands on the team.”

“
You had a great year,
son. Both in football and baseball. You did hit better than Joshua
in baseball.”

“
We were one and two in
batting in the whole county. My batting average was only three
points higher than his.”

“
Trust me when I tell you,
son, Joshua wanted that title more than you know and you edged him
out.”

“
Dad, I love you, but what
is the purpose of any of this?”

“
This what?”

“
This constant comparison
of Joshua and me, like we are supposed to achieve the same heights
and do everything equally.”

“
I just want you to go
enjoy your party like...”

“
Like Joshua is. Dad, you
know that’s not me. Please stop trying to make us be alike. We are
twins and it is hard enough to assert our own individuality without
the constant comparison by you and Mom. We are our own unique
selves.”

“
There are some
fascinating cool people here. They are all here for you. Both of
you.”

“
I know.”

“
I’m just saying that
sometimes shy comes across as arrogant. Try to mingle. Speak like
you are having fun.”

“
Hey, Pops,” Tommy yelled.
“Look who just arrived.”

It was Wyatt, Yari and Hector. It had
been a few years since I had seen any of them. I was overjoyed. The
old guard had arrived.

They were inside the house so I went
inside through the back.

“
Why, if it isn’t the
original Children of the Night,” I said to my three dear
friends.

“
Josiah, great to see
you,” Wyatt said.

“
It’s been a while, hasn’t
it?” I walked over and gave Wyatt a big bear hug.

“
Seriously, Wyatt gets the
first hug?” Yari laughed. “What’s a girl gotta do to have this
forty-something man give me some sugar?”

“
Do I look
forty-something?” I asked, concerned.

“
Not at all,” Hector said.
“What you look like is a dad who is throwing a birthday
party.”

Tommy walked over as I gave Yari a big
giant hug. She kissed my cheek.

“
Uh-oh, don’t let Lena see
that.”

“
It’s been many years
since Josiah and I ever had a thing. And trust me,” as she lifted
her little pinky, “it wasn’t much of anything.”

“
Hey,” I said, mock
affronted at the gesture.

“
Kidding, kidding, we all
know you would make Secretariat jealous.”

“
That’s taking it too
far...Sea Biscuit, maybe.” I joked.

“
It’s good to see you,
Josiah.”

“
How long has it been,
Yari?” I asked.

“
A couple of years, at
least. What’s going on?”

“
A lot. You have no
idea.”

“
How’s Brock doing,
running the other island?”

“
I have purposely kept you
guys out of it, but he and I aren’t that friendly. As a matter of
fact, he’d like to see me dead.”

“
What?” Wyatt
asked.

“
Jason refused to heal his
son.”

“
That wasn’t your fault,”
Yari said. “If you can’t heal him, then it’s the Triat’s
will.”

“
It’s not like that, Yari.
Jason can heal anyone at any time. He has his own
rules.”

“
Which are what?” Wyatt
asked.

“
Jason is able to see the
people’s lives that he lays his hands on for healing.”

“
And...?” Yari
asked.

“
Jason laid his hands on
Brock’s child when he was five years old and suffering from a
sickness that was deep inside him. What Jason saw was the future.
That little boy was going to grow up to be worse than Krull. Jason
refused to heal him.”

“
Wow, that’s interesting,”
Wyatt said. “Where are the boys?”

“
They are in the back with
their friends. Go say hi.”

When we got to the back yard, Sion was
now on the grill. “Hey, Josiah, go get Jason. I special-made him a
triple-decker hamburger just the way he liked it when he was a
kid.”

Wyatt, Hector, and Yari all said their
hellos to Sion.

“
Hey, Tommy,” I said. “Go
find Jason and tell him to get his antisocial butt out
here.”

“
He’s not in the back
yard,” Tommy said.

“
Then he’s inside. Never
mind,” I said. “I’ll go get him. I’ll drag him by the ear back to
the party if I have to.”

I went inside the big house in
Victorville. I checked every room, even the bathrooms. There was no
sign of Jason.

I went to the front yard
and still...
no sign of my
son
. I was now feeling a bit nervous. I
headed back into the house. This time, in more of a panic, I
checked every room, even the closets. I went to the back yard and
Jason was nowhere to be found.