Dominion 4 - Ascendance (12 page)
Read Dominion 4 - Ascendance Online
Authors: Lissa Kasey
Usurper! Thief!
“Seriously?” I asked, then cast a bind spell. The small creature thunked to the bed, rolling around, struggling against the invisible bonds. It cursed and shouted at me with a voice that only I could hear. Unusual, since I’d put my personal walls back up.
I picked it up and moved it a few inches away so I could study it. What sort of bug could talk to people and make growling noises? I smiled. It probably could turn on lights too. “What an interesting little bug.”
“Well, what are you, then?” My dad’s journals thus far hadn’t spoken of any unusual creatures in the house. And nothing I learned about at school resembled this little thing. Looking closer at him, he looked sort of like a small man. His hair was blue, long, styled almost to look like the head of a thistle. He appeared wrapped in green, but whether that was clothing or just the color of his skin, I couldn’t tell. He weighed nothing more than a fly would and had almost invisible iridescent wings. Overall he was smaller than my thumb, but had a fierce-looking face, with a large mouth and extreme expressions. His little eyes glistened a dark black, angry and flashing.
Holy mother earth! This had to be a fairy!
Release me, Usurper!
“Why do you keep calling me that? I haven’t taken anything from anyone.”
This dwelling, man thing! It belongs to the earth!
“I have no intention of taking it from the earth. My father left me this house. I don’t know what I’m going to do with it yet, but I’d like to keep the earth intact. The peace here is comforting, but this is not my home.”
“Could you stop shouting? You’re giving me a headache. The gardener cut the trees, and I yelled at him for it.” I wondered if my father knew about fairies. Maybe Gabe could help me find a way to better store the information of his journals so I could search them later. The over one hundred volumes seemed intimidating since I’d only gotten through so few. “Did my dad know about you? Did you know him? Dorien Merth?”
The angry racing of the creature’s wings paused. He seemed to wilt, the fight going out of him. He went so still I reached to pick him up to be sure I hadn’t accidentally hurt him with the spell.
He smacked his lips, eyes filling with a sapphire fire. He bowed.
Child of Dorien, scion of the earth, forgive my insolence.
I felt the binding spell snap. He fluttered upward, hovering in front of my face. My mind still reeled. Fairies were real! Hadn’t Gabe said he’d met some before? This tiny thing completely bent all laws of science. Was he created completely from magic? Would the Dominion have to change their curriculum? I supposed this proved that not everything could be learned from books.
He bowed again, midair.
As thy father before thee, I vow to serve thee.
At least his voice no longer rang through my head like a gong. Now it was quiet and subtle, a breeze moving through the trees.
“I don’t need you to serve me, but I’d be nice if you’d stop turning on lights all the time. I imagine the power bill here is enormous as it is.”
But I have to serve thee.
I served your sire with honor as commanded by his sire.
“Right. Did my father command you to serve me?” He seemed to ponder that for a few moments.
No.
“Great. ’Cause I don’t need a servant. You’re free to do
He seemed to pause, wings stopping completely. I caught him before he could plummet to the bed and really hurt himself. He just lay in my grasp, gasping for breath, looking like a flower cut from the stalk too soon. Was it wrong to release him? I figured my uncle must have done something to him, but maybe fairies needed a bond to survive?
“Are you okay?”
You truly release me?
“Yep. Any buddies you have too. I don’t need servants of any kind.” I could have asked him about the ring, but he looked so shocked I didn’t want to chance him having some sort of breakdown. “Do you need me to take you out to the garden or something?”
Still he blinked at me, wide eyes blue, glowing balls of confusion. His overly expressive face said he still hadn’t grasped what I was telling him.
I’m free?
I just nodded. He suddenly flew upward, racing around the room like an overactive fly who couldn’t find his way out. He smashed into the door and vanished. Maybe he’d gone right through it? I shrugged to myself, pulled up the blankets and another journal. I bet my dad had something written somewhere about fairies.
Browsing the next journal, I came up with much the same. Half spells, recounts of normal, everyday life, but nothing on fairies or the Ascendance. I put the book aside in frustration and slumped back on the bed. Where was Gabe? What was taking him so long? The night had half passed already.
I glared at the wooden ceiling, letting it go out of focus for a bit while sorting through my thoughts. It was then I saw the scratches on the beam above the bed. On the side facing the window, away from the room, small letters had been scored into the wood. My head replayed the words a few times. It really just sounded like a haiku.
“Imagine in your head, let it play once and again, imprint to recall.” When I repeated the words out loud, a rush of power poured through me, racing through the house. I shivered, and then the door opened, yet it didn’t. The man who strode inside could only be my father. His dark chocolate-colored hair fell into his eyes, sapphire blue, like mine. He was tall and lanky, but moved with the grace of a man who had control. He crossed the room with purpose, opened the bottom drawer of the dresser, pulled everything out of it, and then opened a false bottom.
Again the door opened. Only this time it was my mother who walked through it. Her hair was long, somewhat hippiestyled, straight and free of any binding. She wore jeans and a T-shirt that fit tightly over her small chest. I’d never seen her look so ordinary, so common.
“Tanaka, please.” Dorien stood up and wrapped his arms around her. He pressed his face to her hair. “The baby is more important.”
Dorien closed his eyes and swallowed deeply. “We already talked about this. I have to do this.”
“Die to save your brother? Just because he’s done wrong? These are his crimes.”
“He wants to atone. I need to give him that time.” Dorien went back to the drawer and pulled out a journal and some other items. “I’m leaving my power to Jamie. He’ll need it.”
“What about our baby?”
“Our baby has plenty of power without needing mine. I can already feel him in my head. So strong and smart. Already in tune with the earth.” He set the items aside and hugged her again.
“You know my parents will demand I abort when they find out it’s a boy.”
“I do. I also know that you’ll protect him and give him life.”
“I hate you.”
He sighed. “If you need to.”
Her eyes shone with tears. “Please don’t do this.”
A ghostly sound of the doorbell rang from below. They both turned. My mother gripped his shirt like she was trying to keep from falling to the floor. He gently pried her hands loose and kissed her on the forehead. He brushed the tiny bump of her belly and smiled sadly. “It’s hard for me too. I want to see him grow up. Help him control his power. Teach him how to be strong and soft all at once.”
“This isn’t just for Charles, Tanaka. Please don’t watch. Go to Lily; she’ll protect you.” He left then as the ringing from the door became more persistent.
My mother collapsed to her knees, sobbing into the floor and holding her stomach. The image faded and I shook myself, feeling a little overwhelmed with emotion. My mother had really loved my father. I wondered why over the years she began to treat me worse and worse. It made sense that she would grow to hate Dorien for leaving her with child, with a male child even, in the Dominion-ruled world.
I went to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror, glaring at myself. With my hair long again, I looked more like my father, despite the almond edge to my eyes and the pitchblack color. Did she see the man who left her each time she looked at me? Why did it make me feel so awful that my existence tortured her? Would I feel the same if I lost Gabe and was left with a child who looked like him?
No. I didn’t think I would, but love was a powerful thing. It hurt like nothing else could and made the world seem both brighter and darker all at once. Would Gabe hate my children if something happened to me? I hoped, instead, that he would show them how much I would have loved them.
I sat down on the bed, and before I even knew it, I’d punched a number into my phone, not realizing how late it was. My mother picked up on the fourth ring. She sounded tired, but not as though she’d just woken up.
“Hi, Mom,” I whispered.
“Seiran, how are you?” She didn’t even ask about the time or why I’d call her just after 3:00 a.m. her time.
“I’m good. You?”
“I’m well.” The tone of her voice changed to something lighter than I’d heard most of my life. “I have framed pictures of the babies. Just the ultrasound, but I can make copies. Would you like me to send you some for Solstice?”
She was offering to send me a gift? “That would be great. I’d love pictures of them.”
“I found a lovely double frame to display them side-byside. Do you need one for your apartment and for Gabe’s?”
I was more than a little surprised. She’d never approved of Gabe. I think it was mostly because he couldn’t bear my children. “Both would be good.” Maybe it was time for Gabe and me to find someplace where we could stay together. The house here in California was nice, but I really loved Minnesota, harsh winters and all. Out of the blue, I said, “I’m going to apply for the Magic Investigations job.” I really hadn’t made the decision before that moment.
“You’ll do very well. The head of the department is Lily Castage. She’s very forward-thinking and will train you to do field work.”
Lily? The same Lily who was my father’s sister, my aunt? Why had I never heard of her before? “She won’t treat me like the other witches treat me, will she?”
“She’ll expect you to work hard, but she won’t look down on you for being male.”
I wanted to ask the question but couldn’t get the words to come out. I suppose if I got the job I could ask Lily myself if she was my aunt. Obviously my mother never did go to her for help after I was born, since I didn’t remember anyone named Lily. “I’ll send her my resume in the morning. Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome, Seiran. Get some sleep.” She hung up the phone before I could ask why she hadn’t been sleeping herself. I’d always been a night owl; dating a vampire sort of did that to a person. She had often disappeared after 8:00 p.m. not to be heard from until the next morning.
I sighed and put the phone away, the spell/haiku on my mind. What else could it show me? In school I’d read briefly about imprint magic, memories that could be replayed from the energy left in objects. However, the topic was something all my professors glossed over. Most of what they taught was law and Dominion Code. Perhaps they didn’t see the value of learning from the past. Looking around now, I could almost see the glimmer of the lingering memories waiting to be replayed. This house was so full of imprint magic, I didn’t know where to begin.
My father had given up his life to save Charles, but it appeared as though my uncle continued his evil works. Would there be some sort of imprint that would tell me how to stop the pulse of death magic the fairy ring produced? All I could do was begin searching for the answers.
my way slowly through the house, watching small replays of my dad. I skipped the study simply because I could feel multiple imprints and didn’t know where to begin. My father’s normal room held little of him. He used the room only when people visited and expected to see him.
The kitchen was home to several memories of him and my mother together. He had made her breakfast while she studied, occasionally glancing up to watch her. She had smiled secretly, probably feeling his eyes on her, and returned his gaze when she thought he wasn’t watching.
The tree in the foyer pulsed with a faded bit of imprinting. I sat down on the last step, chanted my dad’s spell, and touched the trunk. A young man threw open the main door, slammed it shut, and stomped toward the tree. His long hair hung in his face, but he appeared to be in his early teens, lanky, and not quite developed completely. He grabbed a limb and swung himself up into the tree. Through semi-transparent leaves, I could see him huddling against a large Y of the inside branches.
“Leave me alone.” He scrambled up higher. I expected to see someone following him, maybe open the door again, but everything remained still. Then the sound of twigs snapping broke the silence. Leaves fluttered to the floor.
I had to climb the stairs to keep up with the imprint. The boy had to be my father, much younger. He swatted at something a few times, and then a blur of color raced around him. I grinned. The same annoying fairy flew at him, just as it had at me. So he had seen them, knew about them. Which meant he’d probably written about them in his journals too. I just had to find the information.