Just before they could hit the ground, James changed his motion and pulled Kathy to himself while Edward grabbed the falling drinks. So, James landed on his feet while carrying Kathy, princess style which caused the ground to cave in a bit. Edward then landed next to him while holding all the drinks.
"You alright?" James asked and Kathy nodded "Boy, Hailey is one scary woman" he slowly dropped Kathy on her feet
"You knew" Kathy said
"What?" James said
"How could you know something like this and keep it from everyone else?" Edward asked as he dropped the drinks on the ground
"Well, it wasn't something I could share" James said
"You should stop them" Kathy said
"Reese is my best friend" James said "Honestly speaking, all I want is his happiness. You have no idea how he must have felt having to kill his father and several others"
"The thing in him isn't even a demon" Kathy said
"You know about it?" Edward said
"I could feel it after just meeting him yesterday" Kathy said "How is he even alive? If they had a kid, that power will kill the child and Hailey will suffer. I only want Hailey's happiness but that would just hurt her"
"The spirit seed's never killed any of the Michelle family" James said "It's been passed from generation to generation of the first born child of the family. Yet, none of them have suffered any harm"
"Hailey is a hybrid with a devil's bloodline in her and not just any normal devil's bloodline but a devil princess's descendant. One closely related to the Demon King" Kathy said
"Everything will be fine" Edward said "That's why James is here"
"What are you talking about?" Kathy asked "The spirit seed came from the freaking Spirit King. He won't help you...he probably did this to get rid of your race's King"
"He isn't a devil. We already explained how Reese feels, to him" James said "I can tell you value Hailey. Marcus has the counterpart of the spirit seed...he...will have to mate and have a kid first...boy or girl will determine the gender of Reese's kid"
"If they're of the same gender, the two will balance each other out" Edward said "If they're not, James and a couple of spirits will have to balance the powers in Reese's child just like bloodline succession. Only our mother knew this method...we'll inform the Spirit King if such a time comes"
"Can you do it?" Kathy asked and James had a worried look on his face "Something like that requires a gentle and steady hand like a doctor performing a surgery" she then grabbed James' ear and pulled him down to her level "Are you seriously trying to tell me you were taught this method but don't know how to do it?"
"Well-"
"Teach it to me" Kathy said while looking him in the eyes "Until that child is born, you'll teach me that method" she let go of his ear "I've done medical stuff before"
"Sure" James said with a smile
Fifty Three Years Later
James and Edward were standing out of a room when Kathy opened the door and walked out with a strange look on her face
"What's wrong?" Edward asked "What gender was Marcus' kid?"
"It was a boy" Kathy said "He has the prettiest eyes in the whole kingdom"
"Don't tell me you're falling in love with a baby" James said
"You don't understand" Kathy said "When that boy grows up, there'll be no girl who'll be able to avoid those eyes of his. A lot of women are currently fawning over him in there, right now. But for some reason, he frowns whenever any woman other than me and his mother carry him"
"What did Marcus name him?" Edward asked
"Nathan" Kathy said "Nathan Kendell. His name just rolls right off the tongue"
"Is Kendell the name?" Edward asked and James along with Kathy just looked at him strangely
"Ignore him" James said
"I was already planning to" Kathy said "However, this means that Reese and Hailey's child is gonna be a boy"
"How mean" Edward said
One Hundred and Eighty Years later
"You're pregnant?" James asked while staring blankly at a woman with long black hair and hazel eyes. She was very beautiful with a nice figure and her pink lips slightly moist. She was James' wife, Laura Connor
"Congratulations" Reese said as he gave James a pat on the back
"To think the news would have arrived when Edward's wife was in labour" Hailey said
"I'm already two months off" Laura said "When are you two going to have your own baby?"
"The one you should be asking...is Kathy" Reese said "And I don't think you should be calling the woman in the labour room, Edward's wife. After all, she'll be dying today"
"What do you mean?" Hailey asked
"I probably didn't tell you but, Edward's marriage....is just him showing pity to a dying woman" James said "She's been in love with Edward for a while now but her body was too weak. She can't have children and she...didn't have much time to live so, she wanted to leave a legacy behind and asked Edward" he said "That child...is just a dying wish that Edward wanted to fulfill. The one Edward truly loves is-"
At that moment, Kathy entered the room with blood on her hands and a child to her chest. Her eyes were dead and hollow as she spoke in a monotonic voice
"Where's Edward?"
"Kathy" James mumbled
"Forget it" Kathy said "I'll find him myself" she left the room and shut the door
"I don't think she's gonna be fine" Laura said
"Kathy is a very soft woman" Hailey said "She's kind hearted so a lot of things affect her"
Meanwhile, Kathy was running around the whole northern tribe kingdom looking for Edward while holding the child to her chest
'Elias...I won't allow your father to abandon you' Kathy thought as she kept running until she caught a nice smell and stopped right where she was while looking around.
'Edward's scent. It's still as sweet as I remember' she thought as she started following her nose
Edward's scent led her out of the northern tribe kingdom and into Greenwood Springs. It was still day time so a lot of people were on the street. She walked into the town with shaking feet while people stared at her with suggestive gazes.
It continued like that even as she went deep into town until she stopped in front of a house. She wasted no time to walk up to the door and knocked a couple of times when the door opened on it's own and she let herself in.
"Edward" Kathy called out as she navigated the house but he didn't answer. And as though to call out to his father, Elias started crying. "Elias...stop crying" Kathy said in a cracked voice "Edward" she shouted as a lone tear stream down one of her eyes
Elias was suddenly taken from her arms as the blur in her eyes cleared, she could see Edward in front of her, rocking Elias in his arms. Elias slowly began to calm and Edward took a glance at Kathy
"Go wash your hands. I'll talk to you when you're calmer" Edward said and Kathy nodded as she unsteadily headed upstairs. He left the living room and went to the backyard where he sat on the patio and stared at the garden. "Why were you such a noisy baby? Were you trying to give her a heart attack?" he asked as he stared at Elias who was staring back at him "Demon babies are really different from human babies. They open their eyes at birth and heal all of the ugliness their mother gave them when they were born"
"They also know what everyone around them is saying and become daring after they grow up" Kathy said as she leaned against the door frame and cried "So you have...to be careful of what you say to them...and lead them....on the right track"
Edward took in a deep breath and sighed "What did she say to you?" he asked "His mother...I mean"
"She told me about you...and her" Kathy said as she cleaned her tears "She said...she was happy with the time you spent with her. The time you gave to her even though she wasn't your most special person...the happiness you sacrificed so she could be happy. She said you were a good man and she wished...if she had lived afterwards...she could have made you love her back-"
"That...would have never happened" Edward said sternly as he stood up and turned towards her "I would have never loved her back as far as I can see you everyday...." he walked towards her as he spoke "...as far as I can inhale your toxic scent...as far as your voice always lingers in my ears...." he was now directly in front of her while holding Elias in one arm and Kathy's thin waist in the other "...Kathy, to me, no other person matters" as he lowered his head, Kathy gently pushed him away and ran upstairs
Edward stared at Elias in his arms and could feel a warm liquid trickling down the back of his shirt
"You're seriously drooling on me when I'm trying to get you a mummy and a sibling...if possible" Edward said but Elias was still drooling on his shoulder "You're probably hungry" he mumbled as he chased after Kathy and saw her sitting on the bed in the second bedroom while hugging a pillow
"I should have locked the door" Kathy said as she turned to look away from him "And maybe added a barrier too"
"I'm a demon general. Plus, I'm stronger than you" Edward said as he entered inside "Do you really think a locked door with a barrier could stop me?"
"Leave"
"This is my house and I need you to feed the baby" he said and Kathy sat up before he handed Elias to her and stood to the side
"Are you going to watch me breastfeed him?" Kathy asked
"You actually have milk in those water-" she tossed a pillow at him which made him shut up
"I got pregnant when I was younger....I lost the child" Kathy said as she turned her back to him before setting Elias in the right position to feed "Be gentle" she murmured as she gave Elias one of her bosoms. Elias stared at it for a while before he opened his mouth and several teeth appeared as he bite down on it hard and she grunted
Edward could tell from the smell that she was bleeding
"Who's child was it?" Edward asked
"Hailey's father's" she said and he didn't ask anymore questions. Elias fell asleep in Kathy's arms and after she put away her injured boob, it started to heal and she finally turned to face Edward. "I'm done and he's asleep" she said as she stood up and dropped Elias on the sofa in the room "With that, I'll be on my way"
The world spun and Kathy found herself on the bed with Edward above her
"We really shouldn't be doing this" Kathy said "Your wife-"
"My wife told me that...if she were to die, I should make you happy" Edward said "Right now, that kid needs a mother and I need you"
"You're crazy"
"Always have been...I don't think I can change" Edward said as he lowered his head and kissed her while they both got lost in the kiss. Things immediately escalated after Kathy wrapped her arms and legs around him before deepening the kiss while Edward moved his hands to her skirt.
A year later
Hailey was wondering how things got to this point. There was a hill where her belly was meant to be, as she looked down. And her eyes were blurry but there were several women who had a skill or two in healing magic and were clad in armour
"It's just one baby" Hailey shouted "Why won't it come out?"
"I..don't know" Kathy said "Prince Nathan came out smoothly"
"What if it...is a they?" one of the women asked
"Don't even joke about that. I only want one baby" Hailey said
"Hailey... I'm gonna need you to push" Kathy said and Hailey screamed
Outside, Reese was walking around while Leon just sat there watching him. Edward was holding one year old Elias while James was carrying months old Scott. Soon, the ground began to shake and the lightbulb in the hallway blinked
"It's a good thing she didn't give birth at Greenwood General Hospital" Leon said while trying to lighten the mood "More than ten doctors would be dead by now"
"If anyone asks, you went on dinner to the next town and on your way back, she suddenly entered labour" Edward said as the ground shook again 'Nathan didn't give us this much trouble' he thought
"Reese, walking around is only going to make the rest of us nervous" James said as his eyes followed Reese "Why don't you sit down and wait"
"What if the child ends up as a girl?" Reese asked
"If so, you are royally fucked" Edward said and the lightbulb blinked again
"Stop making him more nervous that he already is" Laura said as she walked towards them "And Reese, you might just jinx yourself if you keep thinking like that"
"We always have Josey" Leon said
"You mean your daughter who you've been experimenting on like a weapon?" Edward asked
"She is a weapon" Leon said "If she uses her bloodline ability more than once, she'll die. So, if that child ends up being a girl, we can solve the problem once"
"That or we can use Kathy which is safer" James said
"Use? She's my wife. Quit saying it like she's Josey" Edward complained
"First of all, nobody is using anybody. Josey is my niece and she's family, while Kathy is a comrade who can help. Nobody is being used" Reese said "Secondly, can you guys shut it for once? You're only making things worse"
Just after he finished his sentence, Kathy walked into the lobby and sighed when she saw Reese
"Kathy?" Edward called out but she silently walked towards Reese and put her hands on his shoulders
"You might want to sit for this" Kathy said
"No. No matter the result, I'll be-"
"It's a girl" Kathy interrupted "A very very beautiful baby girl with a whole lot of power radiating from her body. It seems...you jinxed it" she said and everyone went silent
"I'm getting Josey" Leon said after recovering from the shock
"You are doing no such thing, Leon" Reese said "She's only a baby. I don't want to make any mistakes so, we'll keep an eye on her while she grows. If anything odd happens....I don't even want to think about it"
"Then-"
"Leon, I'll handle it if things get out of control" Kathy said "The Spirit King will surely allow it"
"He never allowed it before" Leon said
"Because you never tried and the past spirit seed holders so far, were cruel. Things will be fine" Kathy said as she took her hands off Reese's shoulders while Leon glanced at Reese "It's because we're all here for her" she said before making a promise to herself 'I will save the Princess without fail'
******
After her tears dried, Kathy continued walking down the street 'I have a promise to keep and a role to play. Don't I. Everyone?'. She had a far more determined look on her face as she followed the scent of one of her old comrades.