{Previously}
"Quite the opposite, grá mo chroí" he reassured her with a tender smile settling on his face. "I do not believe that I have ever been happier" he added with a joyful smile that was so warm and contagious Rina found herself smiling back.
{End}

⚜️Dig Down Deep⚜️

Godric had to repeatedly calm Eric and Nora down by reassuring them that everything was fine and no harm had befallen Marina. 

"Yes, my son. I assure you that all is well and Marina is in good shape" he said to his son. "Very well" he said before handing the phone over to her, making her sigh at this. "They will not stop until they hear it from you" he says to her.

"Hi Eric. Hi Nora" she says, taking the phone from Godric and placing it on speaker phone.

"Marina Sinclair, you had better have a damn good reason for scaring my father like this!" Eric growled and Godric moved to take the phone from her and chastise his progeny but Rina stops him by holding a hand up.

"I'm sorry" she says sincerely, "could you apologize to Nora and Pam for me too?" she said simply and this seemed to deflate whatever anger he had, like a balloon whose air/helium has been let out.

"You can apologize to me yourself!" Nora spoke up from her spot beside Eric, "what the hell is going on, Rina?" she asks in confusion, having sensed her maker's concern turned fear turned shock turned joy through their bond in that sequence in a matter of a few seconds from one another.

"I think that is a conversation that you're going to need to have with your father" Rina says to them, offering Godric a smile at this. "Here you go, mo grá" she says to Godric, handing his phone back to him.

"Faðir" Eric says expectantly, much like a petulant child that was demanding an answer.

"Eruð þið bæði ein? (Are you both alone?)" Godric asks them in Norse as the vampire siblings shared a look at this.

"Já faðir (Yes father)" Nora confirmed with a nod, knowing that whatever he was about to share with them was serious since he had asked them this question in Old Norse, a tongue that he used when he didn't want people eavesdropping on their conversation since it was a language that wasn't commonly spoken anymore.

"Marina er með barn (Marina is with child)" Godric revealed to them as Nora's eyes widened in shock at this on the other side of the line while Eric looked plain confused.

"Hvað meinarðu 'með barni' Goðrík? (What do you mean 'with child' Godric?)" he asks.

Surely that was impossible, especially with their kind!

Godric started to launch into an explanation as the shocked vampire siblings listened to all that he had to share.

"Þetta er ótrúlegt! (This is amazing!)" Nora exclaimed in awe after he'd finished with his explanation. "Að halda að systkini okkar vaxi í móðurkviði hennar þegar við tölum er ótrúlegt! (To think that our sibling grows in her womb as we speak is astounding!)" she added.

Part of her wishes that she still had access to the Authority's libraries as they had ancient texts there that predated a lot of texts that were in the Vatican Archives.

The Authority's libraries had a lot of texts that had been saved when Alexander the Great destroyed the libraries of Alexandria.

There was bound to be a tome there that spoke of dhampirs.

"Ég þarf ekki að stressa mig nógu mikið við annað hvort ykkar... (I do not have to stress enough to either of you...)" Godric trailed off.

"Við skulum ekkert tala um það, húsbóndi. Þú hefur okkar orð (We shall speak nothing of it, maker. You have our word)" Eric vowed to him.

"Ég er heillaður að sjá hvernig meðganga Rina myndi þróast í samanburði við kvenkyns konur (I am fascinated to see how Rina's pregnancy would progress in comparison to that of human women)" Nora comments eagerly.

"Eins ánægð og við værum að fá þig hér, dóttir, þá óttast ég að nærvera þín hér gæti vakið meiri athygli á ástandi Marina. (As pleased as we would be to have you here, daughter, I fear your presence here might bring more attention to Marina's state)" Godric commented.

"Hvernig verður þessu máli haldið huldu, faðir? (How will this matter be kept hidden, father?)" Eric asks in concern for the health and safety of his family.

If word got out that Marina was carrying his maker's child then there would be a legion of enemies targeting them.

Extremist human groups like the Fellowship of the Sun would have a field day about this and would probably try to kill Marina so that she could not birth the child.

Extremist vampires like Remus would probably try to kill both Rina and Godric for creating said child while others would try to covet the child for being half-vampire and half-human(?), something that had been considered nothing short of a legend until now.

The matter of the unborn child's supernatural status is a rather confusing one as they will have a vampire father and a phoenix/human mother.

"Við erum óviss um þessar mundir (We are unsure at the present)" Godric says, "En Rina er núna að ræða valkostina við Kingsley systurnar (But Rina is currently discussing the options with the Kingsley sisters)" he revealed to them.

"Við getum ekki lagt framtíð línu okkar í hendur þeirra! (We cannot place the future of our line in their hands!)" Nora protested immediately, "þarf ég að minna þig á síðast þegar öryggi Rinu var komið í hendur þeirra? (need I remind you of the last time Rina's safety was placed in their hands?)" she asks.

"Ég væri meira en tilbúin til að taka hvaða möguleika sem þú hefur í huga, dóttir mín, en þú verður að koma með betri tillögu (I would be more than ready to take any option that you have into consideration, my daughter, but you must offer me a better suggestion)" Godric says to her.

"Kannski verður Marina að koma hingað á meðgönguna (Perhaps Marina must come here for the duration of her pregnancy" Nora suggests, "með þessum hætti verður hún úr augsýn almennings og gæti haft barnið fjarri hnýsnum augum (in this way she will be out of the public eye and would be able to have the baby away from prying eyes)" she added.

"Og hún var alltaf undir umsjón Dr. Ludwig (And she would always be overseen by Dr. Ludwig)" Eric added in agreement with Nora's suggestion. "Hún er lúin dvergur en er gulls virði (She is a surly dwarf but is worth her weight in gold)" he added

"Ég mun ræða tillögur þínar við Marina (I will discuss your suggestions with Marina)" Godric reassured them. "Þangað til verð ég að kveðja ykkur bæði þar sem Joseph er nýkominn og Marina bað okkur að deila fréttunum með honum (Until then I must bid both of you farewell as Joseph has just arrived and Marina requested for us to share the news with him)."

"Þangað til, faðir (Until then, father)" Nora replied before she and Eric ended the call as Godric did the same.

He flashed downstairs less than a second later where he finds the siblings speaking.

"You said I needed to come immediately so I have" Joe says to his sister, "is everything okay?" he asks in concern as he scanned her over.

"Yeah" Rina says before smiling at Godric when he joined them on the couch beside her where she proceeded to take his hand into her own, "Godric and I just had news that we wished to share with you since you are my brother" Rina says.

"O-kay" Joe says hesitantly as he looked between his sister and the sheriff at this.

"You're going to be an uncle" Rina says to him.

"Oh, you guys are adopting? That's great!" Joe says happily for the both of them.

"No" Rina says, fondly shaking her head at this, though she's happy to see his positive reaction. "What I mean..."

"Is that your sister is with child" Godric said before resting a hand on her stomach with a smile as Joe's jaw hung wide open at this.

"I-I'm sorry...what?" he says, thinking that maybe he heard wrong.

"I'm pregnant" Rina says to him. "Godric and I are having a baby" she says.

"H-How?" Joe says in a state of complete shock.

"Apparently this pregnancy is a gift from Phoenix Queen Kuama as thanks for us defeating Sumelion and restoring the phoenix to its full strength" she explains.

"Holy shit!" Joe exclaims, "you're having a baby?!" he asks his sister as she nodded at this. "This is awesome!" he said, flashing over to his sister and kissing her forehead as Rina snickered at his reaction. "Sheriff, congratulations!" he says to the other vampire as Godric offered the younger vampire a grateful look at this, amused by his overjoyed reaction. "My mind is blown. Wow!" Joe exclaimed in shock.

"As joyous as the news is we have faith that you will keep it to yourself, Joseph" Godric sternly says to him as he nodded emphatically at this.

"Of course!" he replied, "I just...I can't believe that I'm going to be an uncle" he says in awe. "Will you be okay...y'know with the birth and stuff?" he asks almost immediately as he sobered up pretty quickly at the thought of his sister birthing a half-vampire baby.

"Sam and Jade are researching the legends so far and I will too but I'm optimistic" Rina replies.

"Wow" Joe says, still in disbelief about what he's just heard. "Will you guys share this news with Bel? I know she'll be just as happy about it as me" he remarks.

"We will" Rina nods, "so far only you, Eric, Nora, Sam and Jade know this and we want to keep it amongst people we can trust" she added as Joe nodded at this, seeing the logic behind their decision.

If word got out that there was going to be a half-vampire baby born from a human woman (technically a phoenix) then shit would hit the fan and that's the last thing Joe wants.

⚜️Dig Down Deep⚜️

(On the following day)

Sam made her way into hers and Jade's home and started searching the house for something that could explain why her sister was acting so strange.

None of her initial searching proved worthwhile until she headed into the spell-casting room.

When she opened the door leading into the room she felt a hint of nausea overtake her as she staggered at the wave of magic that came at her.

Sam ran to nearest dustbin and retched inside it.

"Ah fuck" she commented, wiping her mouth clean after hurling her guts out into the dustbin.

She shakily rose to her feet.

She burns some sage before mixing a concoction and crushes a few ingredients like basil into it.

She places it on the floor of the attic before lighting 4 candles and placing them around the bowl.

"Incendus" she commented with her eyes closed as the smell of sage and the strong smelling concoction that she'd mixed filled the air.

She scowled despite keeping her eyes closed as she inhaled and exhaled deeply, feeling as though something was watching her.

"Come out, whatever you are" she growled out in warning when she opened her eyes, which were now glowing silver. "Come out now" she added as a shadow appeared from the corner of the room before the shadow took on a form that shocked her to her core.

"K-Kim?" she whispered in shock.

"Hello Sam" Kim greeted with an awkward half-smile as Sam took in the dead vampire's ghostly form.

"T-This is impossible" Sam muttered in shock, "you...you shouldn't...oh god" she realizes in horror.

So this is why this room stank heavily of dark magic.

Jade was using dark magic so that she could see Kim's ghost.

"I've tried telling her that it's dangerous but she won't listen to me" Kim muttered solemnly, "you have to help her, Sam. She needs to stop" she added as Sam looked at her in shock.

Her sister was going down a darker road than Sam could have ever dreamed.

If the council found out about this they could kill her.

They had already showed them mercy before but using magic like this would heavily upset the balance of nature and the consequences could be unlike anything that they've ever seen.

"What exactly is my sister trying to do, Kim?"

"I think you already know the answer to that question" Kim comments sadly as a breeze blew slightly in the attic as Sam's magic reacted strongly to her response. "You have to stop her" she added.

"Oh no" Sam commented.

⚜️Dig Down Deep⚜️

Jade made her way into the hospital and approached the front desk with a charming smile.

"Excuse me" she started, causing the woman seated there to lift her head to face her.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if there are any patients here who've been in a coma for longer than 6 months" she said as the woman initially frowned at the question before her eyes glazed over as she looked into Jade's eyes.

"I'll look for you" the woman commented in a blank tone of voice, devoid of any emotion before typing away on the computer as Jade drummed her nails on the table as she waited for the response. "There is a patient" the woman spoke up in a monotone manner, "her name is Jaime Adams. She is 22 years old and she's been on life support for 7 months now but her parents refuse to allow her machines to be turned off" she added.

"Room?"

"Room 313."

"Great. Thank you" Jade commented before walking off as the woman shook her head before the dazed look disappeared from her face when Jade walked off.

She frowns in confusion, wondering what had happened, unable to recall anything since a few minutes ago when she'd given paperwork to the parents of a 6 year old patient to sign.

Jade made her way down the halls of the hospital, taking in the sight of the patients being attended and the hospital staff that made their way up and down the halls of the hospital.

She came to a stop outside of room 313 and after seeing that there was no one in the patient's room aside from her she entered and gently closed the door behind her as the sound of the heart monitor filled the room.

Inside the hospital room were flowers and Jade read the notes in them and realized that most came from this woman's parents.

They clearly had hope that their daughter would wake up some day.

Jade approached the younger woman after reading the notes and stared down at the woman who had tubes helping her to breath.

There was a blank look on her face before her eyes turned black as she whispered a spell, pressing a finger to the woman's forehead, marking her with a black star that glowed slightly before disappearing from sight.

Jaime's heart monitor started beeping loudly as soon as Jade touched her  before eventually stabilizing once again when Jade drew her hand back.

She straightened up at this as her eyes returned to their normal colour as she headed for the door only to bump into a nurse who had been checking in on Jaime.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that Ms. Adams had a visitor" the Asian nurse commented.

"Oh I was just leaving" Jade commented, "you never saw me" she added as this woman's eyes also glazed over just like the woman at the front desk's had done.

Jade walked off with a smirk on her face, whistling softly as she headed to the elevators.

⚜️Dig Down Deep⚜️

"What?" Rina commented in shock when she heard what Sam tells her. "How?"

"She's using a very dark form of magic" Sam shared. "She's trying to do what Sumelion did" she added, "raising the dead and according to Kim she's trying to place her spirit in a new body" she added as Rina shuddered at the memory of Sumelion's undead minions.

Surely Jade wouldn't possibly play with magic like that, right?

The mere thought of it made her shiver in fear.

"We have to stop her. Before she succeeds and completely ruins her life in addition to upsetting the balance of nature" Sam said, biting on her lower lip in concern.

"How do we do that?"

"The only thing I can think of right now is that placing a seal on her" Sam uttered as she paced before Rina.

"You mean like the seal the both of you once placed on me?" Rina asks her as Sam nodded at this. "Okay" Rina nodded, "how do we go about doing that in a way that make her suspicious?" she questioned Jade.

"I...I think I might have an idea."

⚜️Dig Down Deep⚜️

(Later that evening)

"You two having a party without me?" Jade asked Rina and Sam when she made her way into the nest and found them reading over some of the books before them.

"Just trying to see how much more information we can find on lycans" Sam replied coolly. "You wanna join us?"

"No. I think I'll take a rain check today. I'm kind of tired" she replied with a light yawn.

"We missed you today" Rina spoke up, though she kept her eyes trained on the book that she held in her hand. "Where did you wander off to?"

"Oh just here and there" Jade replied casually as Sam observed her under scrutinizing eyes.

"Right" Rina said before turning her head to face her. "Have a good rest" she said with a fake smile that she sincerely hopes Jade doesn't see through.

Jade nodded at this before heading upstairs as Rina and Sam shared a look at this.

They waited for a few minutes after they heard the door close before Sam nodded for them to go ahead with their plan as their rose from their seats.

They made her way up the stairs and came to a stop just outside of Jade's room. Rina's eyes glowed orange as she placed both hands on the door as light emanated from her hands.

"Oh please...don't let me stop you" a familiar voice drawled out from the shadows behind them as they whirled around to face Jade in shock.

"Jade" Sam muttered in shock.

A/N: To those that are still reading this story and liking or commenting I want to express my sincerest thanks. Sorry that this chapter took so long and I hope that you enjoyed it.