Amelia & Andrew: The Diamond Legacy Ch. 05

"Any connection can be blocked even the one you have with Amelia if you so desire. If you would like I could teach you how to do it. No matter what if you are destroyed everyone linked with you will instantly know it and approximately where it happened," Gloria answered earnestly.

"If we had known I would like to think that we would've done the same thing maybe with one difference, me sharing the blood instead of you," Amelia responded with the link.

"Do you think it is any easier on me, having to share you with someone else? How do you think I feel about your link with Catherine?" Andrew mentally replied before asking his next question, "Are you linked with anyone else like this?"

Gloria looked down and her eyes got a faraway look as if she was recalling something. She closed her eyes fighting back the tears and forcing the memory back down. "Just once but he had to be put down. You know the person I am linked with is Susan and that is because she is my sire," Gloria replied visibly shaken.

Amelia could sense her great sorrow and now that her guard was down Amelia could sense loneliness and emptiness in Gloria soul. Amelia before she realized what she was doing she started probing to find the source of Gloria's pain. Amelia saw the day that Gloria lost her parents, when she was sixteen, and she never really had a chance to grieve for them. It was just before her nineteenth birthday when she became a vampire.

She was hunting her parent's killers when she meant Lenard. He was an older vampire that was full of compassion, once he saw how badly she was hurting, he offered her comfort for the next century the two of them were constant companions. He was the one that convinced her to let what happened to her parents go. He was like a kindly old grandfather who helped to train her and showed her the world. He made sure she was educated and knew how to defend herself with swords and her bare hands. He gave her a sense of self-worth she had not had since her parents died. In the late fifties, he told her he had to go away for a while to the old country for family business.

When he returned five years later, he was changed. He had lost himself somehow and for some reason went rogue. It was Gloria who had put him down that incident had scarred her soul and was even to this day very painful. Amelia hadn't meant to pry by once she saw the events play out she could not look away it was as if she was a dear in a caught in a set headlights. Gloria barely registered Amelia mind invading hers and thought that Amelia had only brushed her mind before Gloria had closed her mind off.

"Gloria, I am sorry; I did not mean to pry. I felt your pain it was drawn in," Amelia apologized, realizing what she had done.

"It's okay, mistakes happen," Gloria replied. Not knowing how far she had gotten into her mind

Amelia was relieved that Gloria wasn't mad but she felt terrible for her friend. She could not imagine having to kill someone who was like a grandparent to her. She had seen that Gloria had no choice, but Gloria's had closed off her mind before she could get to the memory of what happened. Amelia hadn't realized she had tears leaking from her eyes until she heard Andrew's concerned voice in her mind, "love, are you are right. You seemed awfully upset. "

Amelia wiped her eyes and noticed that Gloria was looking at her with a curious look on her face. "Sweetheart, I want to do the blood exchange with her and I also want to do it with Scott. I want you to do it also with the two of them and Catherine. That way we will be like a real family. After what I saw in Gloria's head, I realized that I want to do it. Can we please do this? " Amelia pleaded telepathically.

"As long as you are sure you can handle it. I do not want you to regret it and I see how you get when she flirts with me. I do not want this to cause any trouble between us. " Andrew responded mentally.

"I know why she flirts now; this is her way of dealing with her pain. I do not want to betray her by telling you what I saw in her mind. Now I understand her and respect her strength. I also know she would never try to come between mates." Amelia explained with her mind.

"Gloria, how do we do this?" Amelia asked.

"I just cut my wrist and you take a mouthful of my blood. You do not even need your fangs," Gloria said with a genuine smile.

Amelia nodded and Gloria's pierced her wrist with her nail. Amelia took about a mouthful of the blood and immediately felt the bond established itself. Amelia did agree it felt like the bond she had with Catherine.

Andrew followed suit and marveled at the bond. Having never sired anyone, he was unprepared for the sensation of feeling Gloria's presence in the back of his head. He could feel her happiness but he also felt underlying sadness from her. He realized that the bond was more empathic than telepathic. He could get impressions of her general mood and health. He could also sense that she was directly ahead and very close.

Gloria gave them time to get used to the new bond. "Now I want you to use your link to try to locate me," Gloria instructed.

Gloria turned invisible and moved quietly to a different part of room. Andrew was having trouble using the link to track her but Amelia was almost immediately in front of her. She had Andrew keep practicing and after about 20 minutes, he could track her easily. She next taught them how to shut down their bond not only with her but also with each other. Both of them felt it disconcerting, when they would block the bond between them. "I know it's disconcerting when you do it but there are times when you want to be able to block out even your mate. Without this skill, you could never plan a surprise for your mate. The two of you should keep practicing once you do a little better at it you will be able to use it as a filter. Amelia dear, it is a skill that you will need when you go shopping with me," Gloria explained. She could not help but chuckle at their reaction.

All three of them laughed at Gloria's comment and then they continue to work on different skills they would need to survive as a vampire. By the end of the evening Gloria had given them a good education in the nuances of using the bond, not only the one between the three of them but also Amelia's bond with Catherine, and finally the mating bond. The evening had been mentally tiring and not one of them had trouble falling asleep that night.

Even though it was after three AM before they got to bed, Charles woke them up a little before seven. He said that they had to get the information from their prisoner in order to protect their families. Andrew and Amelia rose and quickly dressed. When the two of them walked into the room by where the prisoner was housed Susan pointed at a tray with coffee on it.

The guest had a rather uncomfortable night hanging inverted by his ankles with his two arms anchored to the floor. He had spent the night with a bright strobe link flashing in his face and music blared all night in the soundproof room. Throughout the night, Susan would attempt to breach his mental shield. The intention of doing all this was to prevent the vampire from resting at all and it had worked like a charm.

Charles explained that Amelia and Susan would take turns probing his mind. Unfortunately, Gloria, Andrew, or himself would be of little use, since this job was outside the scope of their abilities. Charles cautioned Amelia not to push their guest to hard or she could accidentally damage his mind and then they would lose whatever information he had.

Susan went first and she carefully tried to force her way into the prisoner's mind. The prisoner had managed to hold fast against her probing and even at times to push back. Susan quickly realizes that he was well trained and it would take a while to wear him down. Susan started putting constant pressure against his mental shield. After about a half-hour, she stepped back and allowed Amelia to take over.

Amelia applied just enough force to let him know she was there and then she nicely asked him to relent so she wouldn't have to hurt him. Amelia heard the guy laugh at her calling her weak and said this was going to be easy. Amelia softly requested that he please not fight her. The Assassin thought she was weak and relaxed his barrier just ever so slightly to give himself a break. Amelia told him if he lowered his defenses and allowed her to get the information she needed; she would get Charles to allow him to live. The guy refused one last time.

Amelia mentally sighed and then she locked eyes with the guy and her eyes started to glow and after about ten minutes of mentally dueling him, the assassin eyes went wide. She ordered him to lower his mental barrier and allow her to enter. The assassin tried to resist her but found he couldn't resist and he opened his mind to her. She rifled through his mind. He didn't know the name of the man he was working for; he had only talked to him on the phone. He knew that he was someone who had many resources and was very familiar with Charles organization. Amelia heard the voice of the man in the head of the vampire and thought she recognized it but couldn't place whose it was.

Amelia felt Susan tapping her on the shoulder telling her it was time to switch but she was not ready to back out when he felt Amelia being slightly distracted by Susan he tried again to reestablish his mental barrier and it took just about every ounce of reserve to maintain over control of Uwais she had gotten his name. She also learned that the sniper that had taken the shot earlier was now dead and that the sniper was ordered to kill Amelia in order that Andrew would have to be put down. Gloria was supposed to be left untouched. Amelia could no longer keep him under her control and he managed to push her out of his mind but everyone could see he was in pain and totally exhausted. Charles was concerned the Amelia may have pushed him to hard and decided to let him rest.

Andrew went to Amelia's side concerned about how pale and unsteady she was. He heard her softly whisper that she managed to get in before collapsing. Andrew scooped Amelia up in his arms before she fell to the floor and gently cradled her. Gloria rushed to their side; she was concerned Amelia may have hurt herself. Gloria quickly checked Amelia over. "She is just exhausted. Let her rest for a few minutes while you give her a bottle of blood," Gloria suggested feeling much relieved.

Andrew was relieved that Amelia was going to be all right. He held her in his arms while softly stroking her back waiting for her to wake. "Amelia says she got in just before she passed out," Andrew said.

Susan was surprised to say the least she thought it would take days to break him. She wondered how Amelia managed to do it in minutes. Susan once again wondered just how strong Amelia would become from early signs she imagined she would be quite powerful and a welcome addition to the organization.

Charles was pleasantly surprised by the power and control that Amelia had shown. He had known that Diamond had been very pale for her mental abilities and he imagined that Amelia had inherited them from her. "Andrew, you have yourself one hell of a woman there." Charles exclaimed then quickly added, "Almost as good as mine."

"Almost, a nice recovery," Susan teased as she laughed at Charles.

Andrew laughed quietly as he held Amelia letting her head, rest against his chest while he slowly stroked the side of her face. Charles watch as Andrew held her filing the deep attachment he had to her for possible future use attachment were a duel edged sword in their world the good thing was the helped to ground you and in the case of a mated pair they give you a reason to want to live. In Charles's memory, no mated pair had ever had one of the partners go rogue while the other was still living. The bad thing was that the person you are attached to could be used against you.

"Andrew be careful developing attachments. When you do develop them guard closely who knows about them. A mate is a powerful ally among other things they are also a potent weapon against you. At the very least, connection you make can be held over your head. That is why both Susan and I have always made sure that Emma was always well guarded." Charles warned.

Andrew nodded his understanding as he wondered what Amelia had learned. He was beginning to get concerned with the amount of time Amelia had been unconscious. He watched as Gloria returned with the bottle of blood and wet washrag. He was relieved when he felt Amelia starting to stir.

Gloria set the bottle of blood on the table. She then carefully laid the washcloth across Amelia's for head. "I imagine she could have a monster of a migraine when she awakes. Hopefully that will help her," Gloria said.

Susan tried to probe the assassin's mind one more time even while asleep he was able to keep his mental shield in place. She once again wondered just how powerful Amelia was. Charles was thinking along the same lines but for different reasons. Although he found himself liking the young couple, he knew that in a few years they could become a threat to his organization. He was considering, rather it would be more prudent to eliminate them now and save himself a possible future headache. He sat there trying to decide what the best course of action was. He knew that Susan was of the opinion that they would be a major asset to the organization. Finally, he decided that he would use them until they became a threat and then eliminate them.

Charles also wondered who ordered the hit on the two of them. He doubted that any of the other lead enforcers had had the time to learn about them and even if they had, they hadn't had the time to get enough information on them to gauge what potential risk they pose. He hated to concede this but the threat he was facing now was coming from within his organization and he knew that the list of suspects was short and painful to him they were all people he considered family. Charles thought about the list of suspects with only cold hard logic and came up with two possibilities outside of the people here. He eliminated Gloria and Susan simple because they didn't know of Carlos Martinez's visit. Emma and Mitchel were the only two others besides himself, which knew about Andrew and Amelia going to watch Antonio Munoz.

Emma was the only one besides him who had access to the files that Antonio Munoz had in his possession yes, Mitchell could have conceivably accessed the files, but he had Amelia and Andrew flat sheets that contained all of the information that Antonio would have needed. Charles was sick to his stomach to think that his baby girl was the one who betrayed them. He ran through everyone he could think of that who could have done it the only other person who had that kind of access was Neil and that was no better. Neil would be the last person he suspect once Neil was turned all he wanted was for him and Emma go someplace out of the limelight and live quiet comfortable lives.

As predicted Amelia, had awaken with a massive migraine. She sensed her mate holding her close to him and even though her head was killing her, she smiled. She slowly opened her eyes and looked into a very worried set of eyes belonging to her mate. "You scared the hell out of me," Andrew's whispered softly as he smiled while looking into her eyes.

Amelia grabbed her arms around him and pulled him down for a kiss. "I am sorry love but I think it was worth it. I got into his mind," Amelia said triumphantly.

As anxious, as Charles was to learn which he had found out he knew she needed some time to pull herself together. "Amelia that is great news why don't you drink some blood and go grab a quick shower. I am sure that either Susan or Gloria has something that will fit you. Meanwhile Andrew and I will make some food for all us, and we can go over what you have learned while we eat," Charles suggested.

Amelia was happy for a chance to get over her headache before having to report what she had learned. She opened the bottle of blood and drank it as she headed to the room that she and Andrew had used the night before. Susan was closer to Amelia size and found her a nice housedress to wear. Amelia was a little larger in the chest but had smaller hips then Susan.

While Amelia was getting herself, together Andrew and Charles made a quick brunch, of Scrabble eggs with sausage and home fries. Once everyone was seated and had food in front of them. Amelia began relaying what she had learned. "His name is Uwais and despite his appearance he is a highly trained assassin. He has never seen the man he works for but has talked to him. I heard the voice in his memory. I swear I have heard that voice but I cannot place whom it belongs to. The man who shot Gloria earlier is dead; he was made an example of for his failure. I was supposed to be his target so that Andrew would have to be put down," Amelia reported matter-of-factually.

"Excuse me did you say that you were supposed to be the target, so that Andrew would be put down?" Susan asked interrupting Amelia.

"Yes, why what difference does that make?" Amelia inquired.

"Amelia not all mates have that strong of a bond that the death of one mate instantly causes the need to put the other down. That means the person who ordered the hits would had to have knowledge of what happened at the hotel. Look at Victor he was nowhere near the point where he needed to be put down and may have been able to survive losing his mate," Susan explained not liking where this was leading her. Susan knew that this limited suspect pool down to Emma, Neil, or Mitchell with Emma being the most likely.

Amelia gather her thoughts before she continued, "Their orders to kill us was to prevent Andrew and I from investigating the hotel incident, or at least that is what he was led to believe." Amelia paused trying to concentrate on the voice she heard. "I know that voice but I just can't place it," Amelia said frustrated.

"Amelia you did better than my wildest expectations. I have one question; do you think you will be able to share your memories with one of us in hopes that we can recognize the voice? Like what you did to me at Biomedtronic," Charles asked with a smile trying to relax her.

Amelia thought it over for a few minutes. "I will try to but the last time it took a lot out of me. Can I please try it with Susan? I think I may have an easier time since her abilities are like mine," Amelia requested.

"Whomever you think is best. As long as Susan has no objections," Charles replied looking at Susan.

"What am I being asked to do?" Susan asked bemused as she looked at the two of them.

"I can share my memories with you, so that you can hear the voice and maybe you will recognize it." Amelia explained.

"She did it to you, Charles? What was it like?" Susan asked looking impressed.

"It was a unique experience to say the least. There was some pressure but no pain and as I was unprepared for it; it was a shock. It was not an unpleasant experience I once she gets the power under control, I could see where it would be an invaluable tool for an investigator," Charles explained with a laugh.

"I am game if you are," Susan excitedly said, her eyes alight with curiosity

.

"Just relax and I will do the rest," Amelia explained.

Amelia placed her hands on the sides and Susan's face and locked eyes with her. After a couple moments, Amelia's eyes started to glow and Susan's eyes went wide. Susan felt Amelia starting to come into her mind and relaxed. She heard the voice that Amelia had pulled from Uwais' memories. Susan felt no pressure and while it was a little unnerving at first once she got used to it, she felt at ease with the feeling. Amelia started to pull her mind back and just for moment, Susan felt as if she lost something.