Knightime

By Stephanie Laws

Book III of the Knightingale Series

Corruption plagues the Knight and Gale Families. The more Samantha and her little family learn about both families, they begin to realize just how far into their own lives that corruption reaches. Everywhere they turn, they discover treachery and manipulations that force them to question everything they thought they knew. Before the evil devours them, they must discover if the path they are on is the true path, or nothing more than a series of manipulations created to destroy everything.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephanie Laws
• Release date: Sep 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301763511

Stephanie Laws

Author of the Paranormal Romance Series, "Knightingale", and the upcoming Contemporary Romance Novel, "Regrets of the Heart".

Book preview

Also by Stephanie Laws

THE KNIGHTINGALE SERIES

Knightingale

Gale Swept

Knightime

Source Key (Coming Soon)

~~~~~~

STAND ALONE NOVELS

Regrets of the Heart (Coming Soon)

Knightime

By Stephanie Laws

Copyright © 2013 by Stephanie Laws

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, storied in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Smashwords Edition

Table of Contents

Also by Stephanie Laws

Copyright

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Coming Soon

About the Author

Chapter 1

I am the Knightingale. I possess a combination of supernatural powers that were endowed upon two ancient family lines thousands of years ago. The powers where given to these families with the purpose of protecting a secret that not even they are trusted to know. From what we have assimilated so far; the Knights protect the physical evidence, and the Gales protect the knowledge of this secret from being discovered. I cannot claim to be a member of either family. I am a mixed breed - some even say an abomination. Both families have kept their powers and their true purpose a secret. To the outside eye, they are no different than any other human walking the face of this earth. In order to continue protecting this secret, they must maintain their anonymity, or everything they have worked for will be lost.

And here I am; a person that cannot be fully accepted as a member of either family, but possesses the ability to expose them all. My life was prophesied long before I was born. It was this obscure prophecy that gained my acceptance into the Gale family, but not all Gales are willing to accept me. It is the same with the Knight family. When David made his intentions to marry me known to his clan, they turned against us and forced us to go on the run. As my Knight Protector, our relationship is forbidden according to laws that have protected the family for thousands of years. Knights have been executed for lesser crimes. We are now considered fugitives to some in the Knight family, while a few have chosen to look deeper into my reason for existence and see that I have a much greater purpose to fulfill.

Unbeknownst to the Knight family, something evil infiltrated deep into the heart of its family. It started over a hundred years ago. The ancient guardians of the Knight family turned their backs to the family, allowing it to weaken and crumble. It has now infiltrated the Gale family as well. As a result, both guardians of the Gale family are now dead. Everything has fallen to chaos and I am the one that is supposed to clean up this horrifying mess.

I only just learned that I possessed these powers. I don’t even know how to use them adequately. Everyone keeps telling me that I shouldn’t worry. I was meant to be different and there are plenty of others around me that possess more than enough skills to compensate for my inadequacies. But the last battle we fought proved all of us wrong. I forgot my most basic skills and almost died when I should have easily evaded my enemies and took control of the situation.

I wasn’t the only one rendered powerless by my ignorance. For all the amazing Knight abilities David, Nick, Sean, and Aidan (all member of the Knight family) possess, they were never trained to battle alongside fellow comrades. Any skill they used to overpower and render their enemies powerless would in effect do the same to their allies. But in truth, the battle was almost lost before the fighting even began. We underestimated our enemies. They almost defeated us because they were wiser and understood our limitations more than we did. It was my blunder that distracted David enough to give him that split second to see what was needed in order to end the battle. I still don’t know exactly what he did, but he was able to pull all of our friends to safety and incapacitate every human left remaining on the courtyard of Gale Manor. It was a lesson for all of us that nearly cost us our lives.

Things have been insane ever since. The crack that threatened to divide the Gale family before, has now ruptured, and is turning family members against each other. There is danger everywhere I turn. The more involved I become with both families, the more potential for exposure of their secrets I create. Yet I must look to these families for support in my purpose. I haven’t even begun to understand exactly what my purpose is. But there is one goal that is vitally important to my survival that I desperately need to focus on. I need to learn how to use my powers more effectively and efficiently. But even that is something that holds an underlying dilemma.

Aidan was assigned to train me before the Knight family turned on us. That is how he inadvertently became a member of our little family. But he is not a welcomed member by all. Aidan has proven to be a huge asset, yet at the same time, David still does not trust him. When David discovered that Aidan’s assignment to train me gave him the ability to bypass David’s trigger and attack me without David knowing, it sent David into a fury that still burns.

To most, it would appear that David is simply jealous. But after everything that David and I have gone through, I know there is much more fueling his mistrust. I only wish I knew how to snuff it out. I need to be trained how to use my powers. That is the reason why Aidan was brought to us in the first place. To me, he has proven to not only be trustworthy, but he has become like a brother to me. He has to all the other members of our little family as well. David remains the one lone skeptic.

I want nothing more than for David and Aidan to hatch things out and return to the friendship they had before I entered the picture. But there are so many other reasons why this needs to be resolved. Just one tiny rift between members of our group can give our enemies ammo to use against us. A Gale can take a tiny insignificant doubt and make it grow to such a magnitude that you are absolutely certain your best friend is your worst enemy. We have too many other problems to allow this to continue.

So I found myself standing in the middle of our little cellar, our lone sanctuary from both families, trying to build my determination to confront David about this problem once and for all. David was busy on his computer, as he was most days now. Of course this was my fault. I was the one that suggested creating a Spider Program to track down information about the Knight family on the internet.

I had no idea how to initiate the conversation. Everything inside me was screaming to stop and not even start. But I knew I had to. I didn’t want to hurt or upset him, but there was no other choice we could live with.

What’s wrong? He suddenly asked as he turned around to look at me.

I should have known he would be able to sense I was nervous. I need to talk to you.

What about?

Aidan.

He took in a long deep breath and let it out slowly.

I know you don’t want to talk about it, but this needs to stop. David, you know what kind of people are out there just waiting for some kind of kink in our defenses. We can’t allow this to continue.

I understand, but there is something about Aidan I don’t trust. I know he hasn’t necessarily given us a reason not to, but I can’t stop the feeling from being there. It has nothing to do with trusting you. I trust you wholeheartedly.

But what is it?

When we receive our assignments, they’re meant to be our life long assignment. You’ve seen what happens to Knights when they lose theirs. They have to live the rest of their life doing slave work for the family because they know too much to live in the normal world. It doesn’t make sense why he was assigned to you in, what was for all intents and purposes, a temporary one. At first we assumed it was the Guardians that assigned him, but he said himself that they didn’t know about us at the time. It doesn’t make sense. The only time I’ve heard of two people being assigned to the same assignment, aside from Eric, has been when the previous Knight failed or refused to protect their assignment. The Knight that failed died for his failure.

So you think Aidan was meant to replace you?

It’s the only logical explanation. He was only told to train you until it was time to take over my place.

Why didn’t you tell me this before?

Well I guess, like everything we’re dealing with, it could be construed in different ways. Either I was going to fail you and he was going to take my place after he killed me - which I’ve already failed you so he could easily have done so at any time - or I was going to die and someone was just giving you a chance to get accustomed to my replacement.

I couldn’t speak. Everything inside me went cold.

I didn’t want to tell you this. At first I thought they sent him here to kill you. I thought they were trying to do it in a way that would make it look like some accidental mishap during a botched training session. But then I had to remind myself that you would be able to see that in him, that’s when I really started thinking about how you missed signs of people lying to you before. But then you were so adamant about the training, I knew if I interfered I would just end up pushing you away.

Is that why you were so anxious to train with me?

I thought if I was there then maybe he wouldn’t have the opportunity to hurt you. I know I was powerless, but at least if he killed you he would have to kill me too. I would hunt him down until he had no other choice. But as we started to get to know more about his job and the guardians, things began to click in my head. There have been so many strange things that have happened to us, but they’ve always held a very important purpose and given us exactly what we needed. Who knows, maybe I do have a death sentence coming and he’s going to replace me.

It was as if my body went into shock. I didn’t want to believe anything he was telling me. I wanted to find something to reject his thinking, but my mind just stopped. He came over and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me over to the couch.

I know you don’t want to hear this, and God knows I’d rather cut my tongue out than say it, but I’m going to anyway. If Aidan is meant to replace me, than I can’t think of anyone better to do the job. He’s a better fighter than I am, and he’s intelligent. Most of all, I know that he cares about you. I can see him looking at you the same way I used to. I don’t mistrust his intentions towards you anymore. I know he would die to protect you. If it did come to that, I don’t want you to do anything stupid. You have a destiny this world depends on. I’m only here to assist you. It’s easy for me to say I would die for you because I know that I would be replaced. You can’t be replaced. You have to promise me that you will continue fighting, if for nothing more than for me.

The more I sat there and listened the more furious I grew. David was all I had to live for. I loved the others, but they only depended on me because of who I was. They had a life separate from me. They were just a small part of my life. David was my everything. I had already given up and lost everything else in my life, and now this? Just when I was accepting my life, now I have to face the possibility of some cosmic plan taking David away from me?

I pulled away from David and stood up. All I could do was stand there, shaking with fury. As always happens, my power began to react to my emotions. I felt it building up, boiling deep down inside. The more it grew, the more the power attempted to take control, desperate for an enemy to lash out at.

Then I felt the calming start to take over, battling with my driving emotions. No matter how angry I was, I didn’t fight it. I needed to calm down and David, like always, was giving me everything I needed. He was the only one that could. This just couldn’t be true!

He pulled me down onto his lap. I crumpled his arms and sobbed my heart out until I couldn’t shed another tear. I knew there were dangers in our life that could take him away from me, but this was different. This was something I couldn’t fight. David said himself, we cannot fight fate. I married David because I didn’t want to let fear of the unknown rule and ruin my life - but what do I do with this? How do I live knowing this now? What was the sense in fighting anything if I’m just going to lose in the end, regardless of the outcome of the battle?

Samantha, I could be entirely wrong. Aidan could have been given the assignment just as a way to bring his resources to us. It could be nothing more than what Eric, Nick, and Sean have been to us.

But Nick and Sean are both protectors of Eric so we know it can be possible to have two protectors.

I know, I’ve thought a lot about this. When we are trained to protect our assignments we are trained for every potential attack we may face. That battle taught me something I never imagined. We aren’t trained to work with other protectors. I could have annihilated every person on that field and stopped the battle just as quickly as a blink of an eye. But I couldn’t harm our friends. I don’t know how to fight using my powers with another protector fighting alongside me. It goes against my own training. Nick and Sean were trained to fight together. It’s almost as if they share the same brain the way they have the ability to work side by side. Their training verifies they are meant to work together. My training verifies that I am meant to be your sole protector. I have failed in that. You have had to protect yourself far too many times.

David, maybe I have moved beyond the abilities of the Knight family as a whole to protect me. Maybe you aren’t meant to be my protector anymore and that is why we were meant to be married. Maybe we are now both on equal ground.

Then that still doesn’t explain why Aidan would be assigned to you. That’s why I thought of something else. Aidan may have been assigned to you so he and I would end up in a battle together and annihilate each other. You would be left with no one. In the process, I could have killed Nick and Sean. That could have been part of their plan for that battle as well. They just didn’t expect our relationships to trump the need to protect our assignment. They thought we would do what most Knights do when there is danger and focus only on the need to protect our assignment and nothing else.

But that just means that Aidan is a victim as much as we are.

I know. But it still means they have had done to us exactly what those ancient twins are trying to do to both families. They are using us against each other so that we cancel each other out. All of my training has been rendered useless, at least all that would stop a large group from attacking you. Now that we are all combined, the attacks won’t just be against you, we are all being used against each other now. If one of us dies, I honestly believe it will be just as detrimental as it would be for you to die. You are the main focus and the key, but you need every one of us to be able to do whatever it is you are meant to do. Well, you need the rest of them. Even Aidan is panning out to have an important role in this group, but I just can’t see what mine is anymore.

David, please, it’s obvious we are meant to be together. You’re my husband. You have gone far and beyond as my protector. That has to mean something because everything means something with us.

I know, but I still worry that Aidan may still somehow be used a weapon of theirs. They may have infiltrated our group in a way that we cannot combat. I can’t even blame Aidan personally, but that doesn’t change the danger he could possibly pose, and right now I’m the target. He has the key to access you and it’s only me standing in the way.

Everything we have done has been based on the core belief that we are doing what God created us to do and that God alone brought us altogether. If it isn’t God that is assigning the family then that core belief is wrong and everything we have done has been wrong. If it is someone else giving out these assignments according to their own intent, then we are doing nothing more than playing along with what they have already written and choreographed. I can’t believe that. I can’t believe we are all just a bunch of marionettes being pulled along on strings. I have no other choice than to stand strong in my belief that we are all doing exactly what God wants us to do. If there is danger in this group, then it’s me that has done something wrong. Eric said that sometimes we create webs that God has to work through, and sometimes, to work through those webs, he has to remove some of the good in our life. If I’ve created a web that is bad enough that God has to take you from me, then I have to clean it up before He has to clean it up for me.

What are you saying?

I’m not going to allow you to be taken from me.

Babe, we don’t have the power to interfere with fate. We don’t know where our assignments come from. If they are from God, then there’s nothing we can do. We’re not being attacked. It is just the way it’s meant to be.

No, but didn’t Abraham change God’s mind before he destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah that ultimately saved Lot’s life?

Yes, I suppose so.

Then we have that to go on.

How do you expect to accomplish this?

I don’t know but I’m not going to stop fighting until the day either of us breathes our last breath.

I don’t want you to become so obsessed over this that you lose sight of everything else. That’s why I didn’t want to say anything to you.

You don’t understand. You are my reason for doing all of this. I tried to do this on my own. I couldn’t. It wasn’t just a physical thing. David, without you constantly reminding me of how important love is, I have none. My heart is cold when I don’t feel you. I become numb. It’s as if you are a physical part of me. You always have been. I can’t do this without you. That’s what God has been telling us all along. I know that. It’s the only thing I do know right now. I don’t have faith in myself, my powers, my strength, my abilities, or anything, because I know all too well how weak I really am. Everything I am right now is because of you. I hated God because of what he made me, but when I look at you, I couldn’t be more thankful for it because I can see the good I can be. That alone is nothing short of a miracle. There is no other place I fit into. You are the home, the place I belong. Without you, I have nothing.

David pulled me closer to him and started to kiss me more passionately than he ever had before. I fought for a lot of things, and many things I didn’t fully understand, but David was one thing I knew what I had to lose and I knew I couldn’t live without. Even my destiny demanded it.

There was no relaxing daily routine to fall into after that. Every day was a battle for me. I woke up with my thoughts immediately pleading for God to guide me in what it was I needed to do to clean up the mess I had created. I didn’t know what it was, or even where to begin, but I knew there was something I needed to do.

One day, while I was running on the treadmill, I thought about what it was like when my children would trash their rooms so badly they were simply too overwhelmed to know where to begin to clean it up. So I would grab a trash bag and start throwing away the trash, the broken things, and stuff they didn’t play with. By the time I was finished they were able to see what they needed to do in order to finish cleaning. But it never failed; I would always end up throwing away that one favorite toy they would cry over.

Was that it? Was David broken and I just didn’t see it? If he was, it was because of me. What if he was so broken he could no longer be useful for God’s purpose? What if I was now breaking him down and making him no longer able to fulfill his purpose?

No matter how hard I looked at David, I couldn’t see anything but strength, love, and devotion. But we spend so much time together that we don’t notice the changes others can see. The others saw what we construed as David’s jealousy when I didn’t. But then again, David was good at hiding things that he feels will hurt me. I climbed off the treadmill and walked over to the desk where he was busy working on something.

Did you tell the others about what you think Aidan is here for?

No, I didn’t want to make them worry unnecessarily. I was kind of afraid of what Nick would do to him.

Do you feel like there is something missing in your life?

"What do you mean?’

You always tell me that as long as you have me then there’s nothing more you can ask for. Do you think that maybe you’re like me and don’t feel like you deserve anymore?

"I don’t understand what you’re saying?’

I had a dream after we first argued over this mess and it gave me a view of how everyone acted differently around me. It was literally as if I brought a dark cloud with me anytime I entered the room. I also saw you before you revealed yourself to me and I was able to compare what you looked like then to what you look like now, and there is such a huge difference. It’s not something I would have ever seen if I hadn’t had that dream. I know there’s been so much that has happened that there is no way a person can’t change, but I wonder if maybe I’ve taken something away from you that you need. You’re always so concerned about my needs that I don’t feel like your needs are being taken care of.

I have more in my life now than I have ever had, and it’s because of you.

Everyone keeps telling me that, but all I keep seeing is everyone giving, but I don’t feel like I’m giving anything in return. I know you and the boys feel like you have a new family now. But if you think about it, I’m the same way. I had nothing before I met all of you. But you are the ones giving and helping me. I came into this with nothing to give but pain and suffering.

Samantha, you have given so many people so many different things, a whole volume of encyclopedias couldn’t hold it. You’re not even done yet. We still have a long way to go, and you’re going to keep on giving to more and more people. We’ve all told you what you’ve done for us, and frankly there’s nothing we could ever do to repay you.

I’m not talking about what my job does for people. That is something I really have no control over. I’m talking about just us. When the job isn’t there, and it’s just us being us, what’s missing?

I don’t know what to tell you to convince you that I’m happy and content just being with you. I’m happier in this hole than I am anywhere else and in any other time in my life.

I nodded my head as he walked over to sit down on the couch pulling me on his lap. Please stop this. This worrying is consuming your whole life. It’s this very reason why we don’t know when we’re going to die. You’re trying to fix something that isn’t broken. The only thing in me that is broken, or is breaking, is my heart because I wish I never had to tell you any of that. There are so many other things you need to be concerned about instead of worrying about something that may not even happen.

Alright, so let’s say that there’s an alternative reason for Aidan to be in our group. How do we prove it?

I don’t know if there is a way. It’s the same as proving someone has power.

I can prove if someone has power. I can detect it in my wave.

That’s true. I guess there may be a way to find out where the assignments come from. I just don’t know how. This seems to be your area of expertise.

I started laughing. You call falling into these things on accident expertise?

You’re the only one that’s been smart enough to try what’s never been tried before, so yes, I do.

Maybe we should ask Aidan about how he received his assignment. Maybe there was something different about it that he could tell us.

I’ve tried, but I guess I’ve not really asked in a way that would make him feel it’s necessary to tell me.

I know this is going to be hard, but if we’re going to prove this to be what we hope it is, then we have to try.

I probably owe him a lot of apologies. He may not even want to talk about it.

We’ll never know if we don’t try.

Sometimes it really sucks having to be the good guy all the time. I can’t tell you how tempting it has been to just end his life so that he couldn’t replace me. But that would just leave you that much more vulnerable, so I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Let’s stop this mess now. I don’t want this to plague you anymore.

Alright, I guess there’s nothing I can really lose. I can’t hide from it if it is fate and the best thing we can do is face it.

I love you more than anything, you know that right? I said as I forced him to look me in the eyes.

Yes, I do, and you know that I love you even more.

We stood up and held each other for a few moments, then realized we had no way of contacting Aidan without going through the chain of communication. We didn’t want to discuss this with everyone. We could transfer to him, but we had no idea what he was doing.

Do you know his cell phone number? I asked.

No, I had it in my cell phone but that’s destroyed. If either one of us asks for his number, we’re going to make the others suspicious. I guess I’ve really botched this up. He said as he dropped his arms and put his hands in his pockets.

I was tempted to see if I could connect to him through my mind like I did with the others, but things were so strained, I didn’t want to make it worse. We both sat back down on the couch and tried to think of what we could do.

We could always transfer to the holding facility and see if he’s there. I said.

"What excuse do we give if Nick and Sean are there?’

We can say we came to see them. Maybe we can sneak in a quick word with Aidan to let him know we want to speak to him alone.

What if he doesn’t want to meet with us alone?

Maybe Eric can help us figure this out.

I really don’t want to burden him with anything else though.

I’m going tell you what you told me. We all care about you and we all want what’s best for you. Maybe it’s time to stop keeping everyone out. I said with a grin.

When am I going to learn to shut my big fat mouth?

I kind of like this role reversal. Maybe now I get to sound like the intelligent one, even if all I’m doing is repeating what you’ve told me.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, let’s go see Eric. He said, then grabbed my hand and transferred us to Gale Manor.

Chapter 2

As always, I immediately sent out my wave to cover the house as a safety measure. I was so used to using my wave there that I no longer had to stretch it out to shape. It automatically covered the whole house the second I cast it out. Eric was in his suite with April and Matthew. Everything seemed peaceful. That is until we walked into Eric’s wing. It sounded like Matthew was screaming at the top of his lungs. I looked at David and started laughing. We knocked on the door and a few moments later Eric opened it looking like he was ready to strangle someone.

Let me guess, it’s the terrible, ‘mine, mine’ two’s’?

That kid is relentless. I’m seriously considering having you just transfer him to Sean and Nick and let them deal with him.

No, let me see what Aunty Sammi can do. I said as I walked to the back of their suite. The door was open so I knocked quietly and peeked in. Matthew was sitting in a little chair facing a corner. He had his arms crossed and looked furious, but it was even worse considering he looked like a miniature Eric.

I found April in the bathroom scrubbing the floor, where apparently someone decided to paint the floor with lipstick.

April, I thought your mother taught you better than that. I said as I stood in the doorway.

She looked up at me and gritted her teeth, I don’t know who I’m more pissed at; Matthew for doing it or Eric for not watching him for just a few short minutes.

Are you sure it was Matthew that did it?

She started laughing and shaking her head. Now that I know you’re here, maybe I should verify this before I punish the wrong kid.

Hey, I just got here.

Go look at Jr. and you’ll see enough incriminating evidence.

I walked over and leaned down next to Matthew. He had lipstick all over him. It was so hard not to laugh. The only thing that kept it in was the little tears that started to flow out of his tiny little blue eyes.

Would you like to change clothes? I asked him

He nodded his head and gave me that little pouty lip. I had to turn away before I started crying with him. He was too darned cute. I went to his bedroom, grabbed a change of clothes, and then transferred him into my bathroom. He used bright red lipstick that only April could pull off. I had to scrub and scrub to get it off his face and arms. The poor thing, he sat there the whole time whimpering. When I finally got him cleaned and dressed we walked back to their suite.

Now, Matthew, what are you going to tell Mommy and Daddy when we get in there? I asked as we strolled along.

Sowwy He said in the most remorseful tone I’ve ever heard come out of him.

That’s a good boy. I think they would like a hug too, don’t you?

He nodded his head, and the second I opened the door to their suite, he ran straight to Eric, jumped onto his lap, and wrapped his arms around his neck while whimpering and saying I’m sowwy.

It was so sweet. I wanted to grab the rugrat and take him home with me. He climbed out of Eric’s lap and hung his little head as he walked to the bathroom and did the same to April. I sat down on the couch next to David as he came running back and jumped onto my lap. He laid his head down on my chest and hiccupped a few times. The poor baby tuckered himself out.

Sure, Samantha gets here and you act like a perfect angel. Maybe you should go home with them. Eric said.

Oh hush, he can’t help it he acts like his dad. I said.

I don’t have screaming fits when I don’t get my way.

No you just cheat and make everyone laugh to get your way. He’s still learning, just give him time. David said.

Matthew fell asleep almost instantly. Eric told me to go lay him down in his bed, but I wasn’t about to let him go.

Eric, I know you’re extremely busy, and I hate to do this to you, but if you get a chance today, we’d like to talk to you about something privately. David said quietly.

Eric gave him a measured glance and then nodded his head. It’s been pretty quiet today. I’m not sure, but I think things are starting to settle down a little. Have you guys had lunch yet?

No, I don’t even know what time it is. I said.

He chuckled and said, Let’s have some lunch. Then we can talk afterward.

David reached over to brush Matthew’s hair out of his face. He was starting to sweat so I started to scoot up to take him to his bed, but David jumped up and carefully took him out of my arms and carried him away.

"Is everything alright?" Eric asked through our mind connection.

"I don’t know. I confronted David again about his issues with Aidan. He told me what was really going on. To tell you the truth, I’m scared to death. I don’t know what to do, or if there is anything I can do."

"Aidan hasn’t done anything, has he?"

"No, honestly, I think Aidan is completely innocent and he’s found himself in a situation he has no control over."

"Is David alright?"

"I don’t know."

"Alright, we’ll talk after lunch. I’ll let them know you two are here."

He stood up and walked away. All I could do was sit there and try to keep the vision of David holding Matthew out of my mind. I loved Matthew to death, but being with him around David always seemed to bring up the old painful wishes that were cut off from David’s future. David didn’t talk about having a family anymore, but at the same time, I guess I avoided it too. It was something we had no control over.

April walked in and plopped down sideways in the chair with her legs hanging over the edge.

Did you manage to get it cleaned? I asked

I don’t know. With my luck it’s going to be stained. Matthew probably put his permanent mark on this house.

I’m sure it won’t be the last, and more than likely, it wasn’t the first.

The way the house staff talks, this house used to be full of families with children running all over the place. Cara loved children. April said with a smile as she looked at her fingernails.

She told us that she never even considered having her own because the family was like her children. I can’t imagine how lonely and quiet this house was for her the last few years of her life. I said quietly.

I didn’t even notice, but Sean transferred us to Mom and Dad’s the other day and Mom said Matthew’s talking with an accent now. I guess I’m getting so accustomed to it I don’t realize it.

I haven’t noticed it either.

Mom thinks it’s the cutest thing in the world.

How are your parent’s doing?

Mom is going to retire after this year. She’s getting tired of traveling so much. Dad is busier than ever going back and forth to the clans from the states and here. You can tell he’s exhausted but he’s so excited about learning more about the family that he just keeps pushing along.

Do you think it’s getting to be too much for him?

No, he’s going to have to settle down after this year, so I think he’s trying to get as much done now as he can.

Has he run into any problems?

Not that I know of, I don’t get to talk to him very often, but he’s never said anything to me.

That’s good. Hopefully his enthusiasm will be contagious and get more people interested in learning more about their family.

David walked in the room. I could feel David change his demeanor. I had been watching him in my wave the whole time. I don’t think he ever realized that I could sense his mood. I was almost afraid to tell him since he was so bad about trying to hide his emotions from me as it was, but he seemed so sad the whole time he was in Matthew’s room.

They’ll bring the food up in a minute. Eric said as he walked through the door.

Have you guys talked to Nick and Sean lately? I asked.

We haven’t seen or heard from them in over a week. The last we talked to them, they were just getting started with the tribunals. They were so frustrated that they couldn’t get the Knight family involved in them.

I can’t believe the family would prefer those Knights die than get their hands dirty with them. I said.

Sean thinks they’re overwhelmed more than anything. He’s afraid to push the issue too much.

It’s been that way for a long time. Everyone wants to be the solution to other people’s problems, but they don’t want to face their own. David said quietly.

Dad’s been taking Blacky over to your house and letting him run. He’s been checking it out a few times a week to make sure no one’s been messing around. April said.

Just hearing Blacky’s name brought up a sadness that I had been ignoring for far too long. He was like a baby to me. It didn’t matter if he was a dog. I missed him so much. We were forced to leave him behind when we went on the run and it’s been too dangerous to visit him since. He’s been staying with April’s parents ever since.

We heard a knock on the door and one of the staff ladies brought in a cart with our food. I still couldn’t get used to being catered to like that. It seemed so unnecessary, but Eric had to in order to get some peace and quiet so he could spend some time with his family. If they tried to eat down in the dining room he was continually being pulled away to deal with one issue or another. Of course that didn’t stop the determined ones. They would resort to sending up messages, hoping to gain Eric’s attention the quickest. I jokingly told him one time that I was going to buy him one of those ticket dispensers and put it by the front door. I was actually beginning to consider it as it grew progressively worse. But maybe now things are starting to settle down.

We walked over to the table and sat down to eat. I didn’t know what to say. I was on the verge of tears again and I had to hold it together. David would look over at me every once in a while with a smile or wink, but instead of reassuring me, it only broke my heart more because he shouldn’t be the one trying to reassure me. It should be the other way around. But he had always been the strength in our relationship. He was my foundation and his arms were my walls of protection. His eyes were the windows into both our souls and his ever clear, decisive, intelligent mind was my roof that kept me grounded. It was his heart that opened the door to all he has given me. The thought of losing that was unfathomable. I had to remind myself once again that he was feeling my worries and pains, so I pushed them to the back of my mind and focused on trying to be strong and finding a solution that both of us could live with.

After we finished eating, we gave April a hug and then transferred Eric to my old property. This was a conversation we didn’t want interrupted, so it was really our only option. I’m not sure if it was the best option though. The property, for all the transitions it had gone through, was still a reminder of the intense pain of loss and knowing it was only David that made it possible for me to pull through it enough to be standing there at that moment. But that was just it; everything in my life was because of David. Instead of allowing it to drag me down in sorrow, I needed to start using it as reason to fight even harder.

We sat under my old walnut tree. I laid my head against its rough bark and closed my eyes for a few moments to pull myself together. I felt David take my hand. When I opened my eyes, he was giving me that worried smile he always gave me when he knew I was on the verge of crumbling apart. I sat up and smiled back, then looked at Eric.

So what’s going on? he asked.

I owe you an apology. I owe everyone an apology, but you’re the one that was put in the position of telling Samantha what I shouldn’t have asked you all to keep from her. David said quietly.

Does this mean that you’ve hatched things out with Aidan?

Not yet, but that’s our next stop.

Eric looked at me and then back at David, Something else is wrong, what is it?

I know everyone has thought that my reactions towards Aidan have been out of pure jealousy, but the truth is, it’s not Aidan personally; it’s the reason behind his joining our group.

"Do you still think he’s