Incarnations (5 page)

"Fine, but we are going to make sure he's not going
anywhere while you question him."

Jaxon made sure not to stop touching Marc while
Brigid finished tying him up with everything they had available.
Jaxon stood over Marc, hand on his neck, asking question after
question. And the only answer he had for her was that she was
asking the wrong questions.

"Fine," Jaxon said, getting frustrated with the
entire process. "Let’s try this one for curiousity sake then, how
did you become a vampire?"

"Ahh, now you're asking the right stuff. Maybe we
should go back a little further and discuss what I was before I
became a vampire. I think that story will interest you even more,
Jaxon!"

~*~

Before Marc could begin his story the door to the
condo burst open and Seth flew in at inhuman speed. "Jaxon?" He
yelped before he could take stock of what was going on around
him.

"Ah, Seth, always one to interrupt the party," Marc
spat.

"Shut your..." Seth noticed movement out of the
corner of his eye, a third person he hadn't seen in the room yet.
Caislyn had warned him that Jaxon was traveling with someone, but
she failed to mention who that someone was. "Oh my God!" Was all he
could manage.

"Seth?" Brigid whispered.

"Family reunions are so sweet after so very long, are
they not?" Marc's laughter that accompanied his question was beyond
cruel. And Jaxon just looked on at the three of them puzzled by the
turn of events.

"Family reunion?" She questioned, looking from Seth
to Brigid and back again.

"Brigid?" Seth questioned. "How?"

She pointed to Marc. "He's the reason our whole
family died. I didn't see you with the others when I awoke, Seth. I
just assumed he took your body to spite me and make me wonder."

"How is it possible that we've both been, well, still
of this earth this whole time and never knew?"

"Your lovely sister went rogue. Kitten didn't like to
play, and she hid from me for a long time, but I see she's finally
found that fiery spirit that attracted me to her all those years
ago, along with some new friends," he nodded his head behind him
towards Jaxon.

"Okay, seriously, what's going on here? Seth?
Brigid?" Jaxon looked between the two of them, never removing her
calming hand from Marc’s neck.

Seth was the first to answer. "It's my sister, Jax.
Remember the sketch Caislyn did of Marc with the girl? The one she
said was of the past instead of the future?"

"Oh," realization dawned on Jaxon all of a sudden,
"Oh! Oh, God. And all this time, neither of you knew the other was
still alive?"

"Well, not exactly alive, Jax, but no, we weren't
aware. At least, I wasn't" Brigid added, before going to her
brother and hugging him.

Seth just shook his head, "Brigid, if I had known..."
He released Brigid from the hug, slowly, and then sunk down on the
couch across from where Jax was still standing behind Marc. Jax had
to stop herself from going to him and remember that she still had
information to get.

She looked down at Marc, squeezed harder and said,
"now that you just got off on destroying someone's family all over
again, I do believe you were about to tell me a story..."

***

THE ALTERNATIVE

"Ash, where are you taking me exactly?" Caislyn
called to him as he walked ahead of her into the forest. He just
smiled back over his shoulder at her and kept on walking. She
continued to follow, intrigued by the fact that their training
session was finally going to be held somewhere other than the
stupid RV that had become almost like a jail cell to her.

"I think your abilities were being stifled in that
monstrosity. The Fey have always weaved their greatest magics in
nature. You need to learn to use what comes natural to you, and I
don't think being stuck in an RV is natural." It was then that Ash
pulled back on the browned, dead looking brush before him and
revealed a clearing in the woods. Caislyn could hear the babbling
sounds of the stream up ahead, and as she walked into the clearing
she saw the picnic that was spread out on a blanket, waiting for
them.

"Ash," she started, but he just took her by the hand
and sat her down. "Ash," Caislyn tried again, "I did not come out
here for a date. No matter what's happened between Gregore and I,
we are still married. I won't betray that again."

"We are training, and you are going to get hungry. I
can just be a nice person you know." She eyed him wearily, but the
hurt look in his eyes convinced her not to press any further. She
looked around and took note that there were berries, cheeses,
crackers, and more along with juice sitting there waiting.
Caislyn’s stomach betrayed her and started rumbling frantically,
just as her mouth started watering at the sight of all that food.
“See, someone has to think ahead for you. It’s not just you anymore
Cais.” Ash nodded to her belly, which was starting to show signs of
growth.

"Okay, well, let's get started then," she said as she
picked up an apple slice, waggled it in front of Ash with a roll of
her eyes, and popped it into her mouth.

Ash chuckled before starting the lesson for the day.
"Look around, Caislyn." Ash watched Caislyn as she did just that.
She wasn't sure what reaction he was looking for, but she decided
to ignore him, and focus on the world around them as he had asked.
She saw the picnic he had planned for them. She saw the forest
surrounding them, and then she realized she was seeing something
sparkling out of the corner of her eye.

"What the..." a smirk graced Ash's face as her
awareness took hold. The sparkle started to grow, and before long
Caislyn felt as though she were going to be blinded by the
brilliance of it. Panic started to spread through her until she
felt Ash's hand on her shoulder, grounding her as the brilliance
washed all around them. When Caislyn opened her eyes again the
world was a different place. The forest around them came alive,
vibrating with its own energy. Where the silky grasses ended,
velvety moss began. Greens were suddenly greener, reminding Caislyn
of the amazing brilliance she always saw in Ash's eyes when he
looked at her. The sweetest smells lingered on the air, things that
Caislyn couldn't quite make out. Hints of vanilla and something
spicier. Flowers swayed in the gentle, almost breeze, while a burst
of color was flushed out of a bush nearby. Butterflies were
suddenly exploding from outward toward the azure blue sky that
seemed to have a life all its own. She held her hand out allowing
the butterflies to land on her, and before long there were more
than she could count. They stayed there long enough for her to draw
several breaths and then they fluttered away again. She watched in
awe as they took off, and then she turned her attention back to the
person who was responsible for all of this. "You brought me through
to Faerie."

Ash didn't respond, he just smiled at Caislyn and
held his hand out, gesturing to the landscape around them. "I
thought maybe it was time you explored your own homeland a
bit."

"But, they told me I wasn't allowed here. You brought
the warning, remember."

"Things change, Caislyn."

"Yeah, but I chose to marry Gregore. I didn't think
those changes applied once I did that."

"Caislyn, in our world you are married to the one you
procreate with. There's still hope for me." Ash glanced again at
Caislyn’s belly, and then held his hand out for her again.

A shocked "oh" graced Caislyn's next breath. Just
when she thought the pressure couldn't get any worse concerning
who's baby she carried. Now, her father's homeland hung in the
balance as well.

"Am I allowed to come here then, at least until the
baby is born?"

Ash simply nodded in affirmation as Caislyn took his
hand and stood with him.

"Can I go see my father's resting place?" A sadness
settled over her, but she couldn't forget her father, not when she
was here. She needed the closure.

"I'm not sure where it is, Caislyn." Before her mood
could dissipate further he moved forward and grabbed her up into a
hug. "But I will find out so that next time you can."

"Thank you," she said. Caislyn took a few more
minutes to catch her breath and then she went back to looking over
the world they were now standing in. "How easy is it for me to get
here? Do I have to do it with you?"

"Well, isn't that what got you into this trouble to
begin with?" He laughed, loudly as Caislyn first looked confused
and then caught on.

"Ha! You're hilarious, and I do believe you know what
I meant."

"Oh, I know what you meant, but it's so much more fun
to insinuate things..." he was still laughing when she smacked him
on the shoulder.

"I'm being serious."

"Okay, seriously, I think you can do it yourself, and
I will teach you."

"But? I sense a but coming on."

"But, I would rather you come here with me, at least
for a while. You may be allowed to be here, but Faerie is a
different world, Caislyn. It's one you aren't equipped to deal with
on your own just yet. There are still those here who would take
you, use you to further themselves, or to hurt others."

"Okay, no scare tactics needed. I get it. Safer with
an escort." Caislyn wondered if she was imagining things or if the
tree behind her had actually gotten closer to her when she noticed
the harsh look Ash was sending over her shoulder. The tree suddenly
moved back and Caislyn's eyes bugged out of her head at the thought
of a tree, a freaking tree, moving that close to her. Hell, a tree
moving at all. This was what Ash was talking about there were so
many things she didn't know about Faerie, things she wouldn't know
to look for. The tree had just made his point for him and she could
sense the damn thing laughing at her now.

"Okay, so while we are here I wanted to show you a
few things that may help with you connecting to Jaxon, and getting
her back. Not just to the camp, Caislyn, but really getting her
back. I know she crossed some lines that you don't think she can
pull back from, but I promise you we all have our dark days and
every one of us is capable of finding redemption."

Ash sounded for all the world like he was speaking
from personal experience, but Caislyn didn't pressure him for any
more information. She knew there was only so much she was going to
get from him. He definitely wasn't the open book that Gregore had
always been.

"Okay, I'm ready." Caislyn noticed the shocked look
on Ash's face. He had apparently been waiting on her to question
his last statement, like she always did. Instead she surprised him
by taking it at face value and moving on to the lesson.

"Okay." He said and then flashed his usual grin at
her. It was the grin that melted her heart every time. She tried
not to imagine the night they had spent together, but that grin
always took her back there to that night. A warm flush hit her
cheeks and there was no hiding her blush from him. He returned the
favor and didn't question her. Instead he continued on, "Faerie is
the place you go when you're in the in-between. Dream walking
places you in the essence of Faerie. While you aren't actually here
like you are now, it's almost like a ghost plane. The distinction
isn't really important. What is important is that it can be used
the same way. You can manipulate things easier here than in your
human world. The same goes for the dream walking realm. Remember
when I brought us here that night?" As he said this emerald flower
petals fluttered around them and that blush started creeping up
Caislyn's neck and face again. He smiled at her reaction. "Well,
it's the same principal. The flowers came out of the dream with
you. Other things can too. You can't pull a person out of the dream
per say, unless they are Fey, but you can manipulate almost every
other aspect. You have the power to make Jaxon believe whatever you
want her to believe. You need to use this to your advantage,
Caislyn. It's the only way that she's going to come back from what
she's done. She needs someone to guide her out of the dark and that
someone can be you.

"How do I do it?"

"Clear your mind."

The look she threw at Ash said a million things all
at once and they all boiled down to, "Really? Like that's
possible."

"Okay, well at least try to shut off the majority of
that jumbled mess you have going on up there."

"Fine, what next."

"Make the flower petals come back."

"What?"

"Concentrate on what you want. Make the petals come
back and have them dance for us."

Caislyn blushed again at just the thought of the
petals. Then she closed her eyes and pictured them. Of course,
picturing those petals took her back to those memories of her with
Ash. An ever present blush crawled across her skin and settled in
for the long haul. The petals were there in her mind, a tangible
thing. She drew one more breath and opened her eyes demanding that
the petals be there. They were. Both she and Ash sat in a sea of
emerald petals. "I did it!" She cheered.

"Not quite." He smiled at her, "now make them
dance."

"Sure, easy." She thought about the petals dancing
around them in swirls and flutters and before long they were
responding to her thoughts. It was a beautiful storm of green,
showering down around them and fluttering away again. The petals
repeated their movements and before long Caislyn realized there was
laughter intermingled with the petal dance. It was her own
laughter. Something she hadn't really been capable of in recent
days. She had missed her laugh and there it was, bubbling over,
reminding her that she used to have such a happy life. It seemed
this realm was capable of more healing that she had thought. Jaxon
wasn’t the only one who could benefit from a bit of the Fey’s
influence.