Dawn's Never Ending Glow

"We came to see how you were," Alex answered. Eyeing her friend cautiously, she looked for any signs of an impending emotional breakdown. There were dusky shadows under Janine's eyes and sheet wrinkles on her cheeks. Signs that Janine hadn't slept well and that when she had managed to fall asleep, she'd slept hard.

"I'm great." Janine sighed and stretched to cover her lie. In truth, last night had been one of the most difficult nights of her life. "I haven't woke up to the sound of birds for a long time." She took a sip from the mug Alex thrust in her hand. Definitely she had made the pot. The brew was strong. The way Alex used to drink it. "It's so relaxing, waking up to the sunshine." She couldn't read the expression in Alex and Anna's eyes from behind the dark lenses. But, she could see from the curve of their mouths, they didn't believe her.

"Janine, I.. well..." Anna scooped the eggs out of the skillet and onto a plate. She knew that Janine was really going through a hard time with Patrick right now and might not be feeling up to being festive. But, she had to. Maybe, the diversion would help. "I'm getting married Saturday." Buttering and slicing the toast, she sandwiched the eggs and handed the plate to Janine. "I was hoping if the offer to be my wedding planner was still open?"

"Why of course!" Janine hid her reluctance deep in her voice, keeping her eyes pinned on the eggs in front of her. She wasn't really in the mood to party or to plan a wedding. She wanted to be alone. But, her friends needed her and Janine never turned away a friend, despite how terrible she felt on the inside. She had the rest of her life to be alone. Sharing happy times with friends was sacred. As for the wedding, she was the only one would could plan and pull it off. "What did you have in mind?"

Anna sighed and took a seat at the table. "Something simple." The daylight steaming through the windows made her uncomfortable. She shifted in her seat and scooted the chair as far out of the light as she could.

"Simple! You only get married once. We don't do simple." In her mind Janine was concocting a grand event, something elegant and elaborate, definitely not simple. Anna's tastes were refined and so beyond simple.

Alex laughed, casting a sympathizing look at Anna. "Janine doesn't do simple. What makes you think she's gong to let you off the hook? " Janine was vibrant and flamboyant, simple wasn't in her vocabulary. "How do you plan to torture Anna for the bachelorette party?"

"I don't know. She seems ok around humans," Janine answered, lost in thought and rubbed the spot on her wrist where Anna had taken her first bite. "She hasn't tried to eat me yet."

Anna scoffed, "Janine, you are so not my type." And she wasn't. Anna could not stand the thought of snacking on her friend again. The first time had been an act of desperation and instinct. Since then, she'd gotten much better control. A breeze shifted the curtains and blew Janine's scent across the room. Her fangs lengthened in response. Well, ok maybe she wasn't as in control as she thought. Anna gripped the edge of the table and scooted out of the path of the smell.

"Well, that's reassuring." Janine sipped her coffee wincing at the bitterness as it rolled off her tongue. "I'll come up with something." She shot Alex a cautious look and tried not to notice Anna's fangs peeking from beneath her upper lip. "Will she be ok around people?" Janine asked Alex.

Anna glared at Janine and crossed her arms. "I'll be fine." She could handle being around people without seeing them as dinner. She really could. The better question would be could she control her energy around them, not her appetite.

"Leave all the planning to me." Janine smiled wickedly. "You'll have the best bachelorette party in history. Trust me." Already scheming, she leaned back in her chair. "And don't you worry about the wedding. It will be beautiful." She chugged down the rest of her coffee and carried her half eaten plate of food to the sink. "Guys I've gotta get ready for work. Robbie's a harsh task master and I don't want to be late."

An echoing "HA!" floated through the living room as the front door slid shut. "I heard that!"

"Robbie what are you doing here?" Janine asked, turning to see her new boss standing in the entryway to the kitchen. Robbie was already dressed and ready for work in a pair of shorts and her 'What's the Scoop' t-shirt.

"I just stopped by to check on you. How'd it go last night?"

"Fine, just fine." Janine lied, again. She'd spent most of the night tossing and turning, bawling and lonely missing Patrick. But she had to put on a brave front. Otherwise word would get back to Patrick. And his ego certainly didn't need massaging. In time, maybe she'd start believing the lie and she really would be ok.

"That's good. But, you need to remember to lock the doors at night." Robbie was worried that something might happen to Janine. The house was warded against preternatural predators. No one that meant her harm could cross the threshold unless invited by the lawful owner. And Robbie had no intention of inviting anyone in. But, any human idiot with menace on his mind could simply walk on in.

"I thought I did." She knew for a fact that she'd checked the locks at least a dozen times, before she went to bed last night. But, the house was new to her and maybe she just thought the doors were locked when they weren't. Besides, she wasn't afraid of anything that had to break a lock to get to her anyway.

Robbie shrugged and moved to the counter. Unthinkingly, she stared out the kitchen window. She maintained the house. But, she hadn't been inside it since she'd moved into the compound. It was strange. Even with the year that had passed, she could still smell the scent of her parents. Ss if the familiar smell of sugar, vanilla, and summertime sweat was engrained into the very wood of the floors and the plaster on the walls.

The place was like Grand Central Station this morning. Janine hurried through her coffee and played with the eggs on her plate. She should be thankful that she had so many people who cared for her. But, at the moment, the attention they lavished on her was smothering. "I need to take a shower and get my butt ready for work before I get in trouble with the boss for being late. She scraped the remains of her breakfast into the trash and rinsed her dishes in the sink. Retreating to the bathroom, she cranked on the shower, grateful that none of her friends had followed her.

"What do you think Janine will come up with?" Anna asked with genuine worry.

Janine lived to top her latest event. Strippers. Booze. Vibrators as party favors. She could only guess what the woman would come up with for her.

Alex and Robbie patted Anna's shoulder, consolingly. "God help you," they teased.

Toby popped his head out of the stairway. "Is the coast clear?" he asked. He was finally finished installing security cameras, alarms, and uplinks Patrick demanded. If anyone came knocking, the brothers would know. Janine was more carefully guarded than the Pentagon.

Anna nodded and hitched her thumb toward the bathroom. "Are you finished?" Wedding planning had been a ruse to keep Janine busy while Toby completed his tasks. If Janine knew how worried Patrick was and what he was going through to ensure her safety, one of two things would happen. Either she'd throw herself into his arms or slap him across the face. Anna hoped for the prior, but was afraid the latter would be the end result. Janine wasn't ready to give in yet. "Come on, let's go home and give Janine some space," she said wrapping an arm around Toby's waist. People were moving about starting their morning routines. And damn if they didn't smell good. Her temptation was starting to build and she was hungry.

Robbie sighed, trapping the smell of the house in her nostrils and pushed off the kitchen countertop. "I should go down and open the shop." Summertime was bad. The shop was worse. But, being here in this house, surrounded by the lingering scent of her parents and the memory of so many happy times, was the worst of all. "You'll make sure Janine locks up when she leaves?"

Alex nodded and said, "Sure." She could see the pain and sadness in Robbie's eyes. The backdoor slammed lightly as Robbie left. Alone in the kitchen, the sound of Janine's off key singing and the gentle hum of the refrigerator as the only noise, Alex ran her fingers over the marks carved into the wooden molding around the back door.

The marks started out at the two-foot mark and increased up the molding higher and higher, one mark for every year that Robbie had grown. The last mark was eye level with Alex's eye. She turned and held her hand to the top of her head. Robbie was an inch shorter than her at the last mark cut into the wood. Robbie had grown up in this house. And the marks were a reminder of all the happy days that filled her childhood.

It was hell to lose the ones you loved. How well Alex knew that. And the marks, made by Robbie's loving parents, served as a bitter reminder. Despite her power and all the things she could do. Someday, Alex would say goodbye to her parents for the last time. Everyone was a prisoner to time. And sooner or later, time ran out.

Chapter 42

Anna sat on the edge of the bed, watching the view as Toby dressed. His body was graceful, with long lines and sharp, hard angles. He could make easing a pair of jeans over his lean hips an art form. He grinned over his shoulder at her as he zipped his jeans. "See something you like?"

Anna nodded. Oh yeah, she did and she liked. "All of it." His tattoo held her mesmerized. The indigo lines artfully swirled and twisted, arcing and intertwining to form a series of intricate geometric patterns and designs. The symbols seemed to have a life of their own against the dark tan of his skin. They were part of him. A sum of his whole and yet, they were separate, a living breathing entity. Something she'd never noticed before. But, then again, she'd only seen the tattoo with her human eyes. She saw everything so differently now.

Anna rose from the bed and ran her hands along the curves. Smiling as Toby took in a sharp breath at the sensation of her fingers tracing the lines on his back. "It is truly amazing." She followed the trail down across his lower right rib cage to where it ended in a serpent's fanged head. "But, why does it stop there? And why in the shape of a serpent's head?"

Toby smiled, he had been meaning to talk to her about a tattoo. It was high time for her to receive her own. Bear her mark as a member of the Sons. "It's an old legend. There was a warrior, he was captured by the Cherokee and forced to fight the horned serpent. In reality, it was a vampire our brother fought. But at the time, the tribes were young, innocent, and didn't have words for what a vampire was. The warrior bested the serpent, stabbing an arrow through his seventh rib and killing it dead." Toby pointed to the serpent's head tattooed over his rib cage. "Right here is the only place we're vulnerable."

"Oh," Anna said, poking at his ribs with her finger. "It serves to remind you not to get too cocky. You're still very much mortal."

"Yes Anna, we are." Toby encircled her with his arms and gave her a gentle squeeze, pulling her against his chest. "I wish we could live forever. Us. Together."

"You have me for forever and then some," Anna whispered, bending low to kiss the area of unprotected flesh. The skin prickled into goose flesh beneath her lips.

"You need to get tattooed." Toby guided Anna's chin up, turning her face to his eyes. "You're one of us now. You need to go through the ceremony and receive your mark."

"Do I get to pick the tattoo?" Anna bit her bottom lip. She almost passed out when she got her ears pierced. Now she was considering a tattoo? They'd have to give her general anesthesia to get it done. Embarrassingly, she was a weenie. "Does it hurt?"

"Um, yeah." He wasn't going to lie. But, the pain of the tattoo was nothing compared to what she'd already been through. The pain of transformation was the worst. "You can handle it. The Shaman waits for Kokumthena's message and then tattoos what she shows him onto your back." He kissed the frown lines on her forehead. "Your tattoo will be awesome. I just know it."

"Ok, when do we do this?" She wasn't looking forward to the pain. But, the tattoo was obviously an important rite of passage and it meant a lot to Toby and the brothers. She was one of brotherhood now and would be for the rest of her days. And therefore, meant just as much to her.

"Tonight out at the bluffs."

"Tonight it is." Anna smiled up at Toby, keeping her face free from the dread she felt inside. She was still afraid. Terrified of the power in her hands. And scared to death of the hunger that never seemed to be sated. Her life was something now she never could have imagined. And Toby more than she'd ever dreamed of. It was time to embrace it. Time to live. And to be.

*******

Janine stared out the wide plate glass shop windows, feeling a bit like a fish in an aquarium. Trapped behind a wall of glass looking out at the world. The workweek began at such a terribly slow pace and the place was dead, a shadow of the busy weekend past. The festival was packed up and the streets immaculate. The drudgery of work dragged her down. She had too much time on her hands, too much time to think, too much time to miss Patrick. She wiped the already spotless countertop once more with a heavy, burdened sigh.

Robbie finished checking Janine's work on the books and sat back in the office chair that had once been her father's with a sigh. She missed him. Opening day had been very good, the best one yet, and he would have been proud. She blinked away a tear and returned to the computer screen determined to finish up and spend some free time with John Mark this afternoon, assuming she could get him out of the gym.

Lori bounded in through the back door and grabbed her apron. She was late, as usual. But, at least she was consistent. "Hi Robbie. Hi Janine," she called out, tying the strings tightly behind her back as she walked to the front of the store.

"Oh," Janine responded, torn out of her revere. "Is it that time already?" She glanced at her watch, frowning. Her shift was over and she had nothing to do for the rest of the day. Well, she had plenty to do with a bachelorette party and a wedding to plan, but nothing she wanted to do at the moment. "I can stay longer if you have homework or something."

"Nope, Spring Break this week. Now, go." Lori ushered Janine to the backroom and out the door. "Get out there and enjoy some sun." Janine's moping frown would scare off the customers.

Janine sighed in surrender and pulled off her apron, hanging it on the hook beside the back door. "I'm going. I'll see you tomorrow Robbie." She glared at Lori like the poor girl was an enemy. "Later." It wasn't Lori's fault. She probably thought she was being a good friend by shoving her out the door. Lori didn't know that she had no plans and nothing to do for the rest of the day. Nothing but pout and wallow in a heap of self-pity over Patrick.

"Ok Janine. Please, remember to lock the doors tonight." It was odd, thinking that Janine wouldn't be back at the compound tonight and she wouldn't see her until the shop opened in the morning. Janine had been such a constant. The thought of not having her around was something Robbie thought she'd never have to consider.

"Will do," Janine replied, leaving the shop. She hopped on the bike she'd borrowed from Robbie and pedaled off toward home. The sun dappled the sidewalk under the tires, filtering through the newly formed leaves. It was a glorious day and the warm air felt good as it breezed along her cheeks. She concentrated on peddling and keeping her balance. That old saying that once you learned how to ride a bicycle you never forgot. Wasn't entirely true. The handlebars wobbled in her grip and she teetered precariously as she coasted down the street.

She parked the bike in the garage and unlocked the door, letting herself into the quiet house. The silence was unnatural and unnerving. Janine flipped on the TV for some noise and locked the front door. She hoped she'd get used to it, the quiet and being alone. This was only her second day on her own. And she couldn't give up. She was better than that. She showered and grabbed a notebook, sitting on the floor in front of the couch and leaning her elbow on the coffee table, determined to get the wedding plans in her head on paper.

Janine couldn't concentrate on the task at hand and the paper in front of her was filled with doodles and meaningless scribbles. Her attention kept drifting to the TV. Her shift at the shop ended at one and there had been nothing on but soap operas on the limited selection of channels to chose from. Funny, how, even though she hadn't watched what had been one of her favorites in years, she'd managed to catch up with the plot line so easily.

After her soaps, she watched a couple of cartoons. And after they ended, she yawned at the evening news and frowned at the notebook. Her head was full of ideas. But, they didn't seem to be finding their way onto the page. She glanced at the remote. If she was going to get anything done she was going to have to turn off the TV. But, she couldn't stand the quiet without it.

Her eyes lit up as a commercial drew her attention back to the screen. It was perfect. The stripper theme was well over done as far as bachelorette parties went. But this was almost as good, maybe better. The men were built. Not in that lithe, muscular grace of a dancer, almost too pretty to be men way, like the strippers. But BUILT. As in Incredible Hulk built, bulging and sweaty, bristling with male aggression and fury, growling at her through the TV screen, built. And to top it all off they were just as scantily clad as the strippers. In fact, some of the men on the commercial wore far less. Whew, and the bulges beneath that spandex! Couldn't be real. But, DAMN!

Janine fanned her face with the notebook and fumbled for her cell phone. Wrestle Mania! Sweaty man flesh in spandex! Raw, growling, glistening, bulging man flesh. What could be better for a bachelorette party? She dug in her purse for her wallet and pulled out the only credit card she had. Ok, so the card was Patrick's. But, what the hell, it was for Anna. Besides, she'd have the money to pay him back in a week or two. Eagerly, she dialed the number scrolling across the screen and reserved a dozen front row seats. Anna was going to have the best send off in to the Land of the Married ever!

******

Anna grabbed Toby's hand tightly and followed him into the ring of bodies. The bonfire glowed orange, filling the starry sky high above with its warm light. She was dressed in a loose fitting tank top and jeans. Biting her bottom lip, she approached the Great Father and his brother, the Prophet. She bowed to the pair and waited for them to take the lead.

"Anna," The Great Father said, returning her bow. "You come to us as a sister. Born of our blood and kin with our spirits. You already have a place with us. And you are worthy of it. You have suffered your trial and proven your worth through all you have endured. Tonight, you will receive our mark upon your back and be one with us, in soul, heart, and in body."

Anna nodded and stared at the ground, reluctant to meet the eyes of the two men. They could see right through her. Deep into her soul, deeper to the innermost parts of her, that not even she was brave enough to confront. She stood there under their gazes completely exposed, waiting for one of the brothers to say something. Panting and uncomfortable, she did her best to maintain her composure. Terrified of her power, that the brothers would see it as she did, something to fear.