The Dark Gifts Birthright (16 page)

He released her and told Liz,
“Go fetch
her. Quickly. I will meet you at the house.”
Turning to Big Jon
he ordered, “We need additional guards posted around the perimeter.
Have the witches double check their spells and send four guards
with each.”

A puzzled look came over his face, but he
turned and began barking out orders.

They raced to accomplish the tasks while
Michael sent out another order for everyone, except the sentries on
duty, to return to the house. Even the witches’ were called.

Liz scooped up the child, and was back to the
house in a flash. Michael and the rest arrived within seconds of
her return. “What is going on? Is there trouble?” she asked.

Michael looked concerned as he watched the
shivering child. “She's been glamoured. Even amnesia doesn't wipe
the mind blank like that. Get her in the other room and be ready to
fight. She could be a decoy.”

She took little Jenna to the main living room
and stood guard with the toddler in her arms. The danger for the
girl was not reduced much inside. She was in a house full of hungry
vampires. Even with her family and several witches surrounding her,
she was worried. Quiet voices filled the room as they discussed
what was happening.

The men, except for Michael, stayed away from
the living room. A few women had wandered in to see the girl, but
that number was steadily growing. Jenna clung to Liz, her tiny face
buried in her shoulder. No longer crying, but still afraid it
seemed.

Liz bent to kiss the top of her head. A
sweet, inviting scent lured her. For the first time in weeks, she
felt the darkness stir inside her. As her mouth began to water, she
clenched her teeth, and swallowed hard. An image of her fangs
embedded in the youngster's neck, flashed though her mind. So real
she could almost taste blood in her mouth. Revulsion enveloped her.
Turning her face away, she glanced at the others in the room. All
eyes centered on her, some seemed amazed, while others held
fear.

Liz pushed at the darkness, shoving it back
into the lowest recesses of her being. Once again lowering her
head, she breathed in the scent of her, allowing it to tantalize
her senses. This time with little effort, her mind controlled the
preternatural instincts. Certain that she was no longer a threat to
the girl, she whispered, “It's okay, you’re okay now.”

Still clinging to Liz, Jenna shuddered but
would not speak.

As she held the shivering child, she went
into the girl’s mind and began to speak.
“It’s okay, baby.
You're going to be fine now, we are going to take very good care of
you. No one will hurt you. I won't let them. Shhh. It’ll be all
right Jenna, don’t worry.”

Liz’s eyes widened as the girl asked,
“W-Who are you? Where is my mommy? My head hurts…I’m
hungry!”

Shocked, Liz looked around. Everyone in the
room heard it. The child’s mouth did not open one time, but her
words were clear to everyone in the room and even most outside. At
first, they stood in stunned silence. Then they all began talking
at the same time. Utter chaos ensued. Vampires were coming from all
over the property, to see the child that had vampire talents.
Arguing erupted from the next room. Someone yelled out, “She's a
spy!”

“She's not human, get her out of here!”

“She is human, I can smell it.” Another voice
answered.

Liz felt a tug as someone grabbed at the
toddler and went into hunt mode. Clutching Jenna to her chest, she
snarled and crouched, ready to rip the throat out of anyone who
might take the girl away from her.

Minerva yelled, “Protective cover,” and the
witches in the room surrounded Liz and the girl while shouting out
incantations to ward off any that might approach.

A low guttural growl came from the group of
vampire women surrounding her as they reacted in response to Liz’s
hunting stance. Glass broke and went flying as someone was thrown
out of a window, and then another vampire followed right after.
Vampires hissed and snarled while witches continued chanting
immobilization spells. Then quiet. The skirmish had been quickly
subdued.

Those that had wanted to take the child were
outside and those inside were ready to kill anyone who advanced
toward the girl. Liz was still crouched with her fangs bared and
ready when Jenna laughed. Just a quiet little laugh. Her big brown
eyes looked up into Liz’s and she smiled. “My Mommy can do that!”
she said.

“Your Mommy can do what, baby?” Liz asked,
trying to regain some composure.

“My Mommy shows her teeth when she gets mad
too. She tells me the best bedtime stories. You smell like her.
What’s your name?”

Several gasps were heard from the onlookers.
Liz looked at those around her and saw the same shock her face must
be registering, on each of the faces around her.

The child was definitely human. There was no
doubt about that, so how could her mother be one of them? Michael
appeared beside Liz, and gently took the child from her. She made
no fuss as he held her. She simply looked into his eyes and smiled.
He returned her gaze and smile, went into her head, and probed her
mind for answers to the impossible situation.

“
My name is Michael. Do you think you
could answer a few questions for me?”

Jenna nodded.

“
You have a Mommy and a Daddy,
right?”

“
Yes.”

“
Does your Daddy look and smell like
us?”

“
No, he smells like me!”
She
giggled.

“
What’s your Mommy’s name, little
one?”

“
It’s Mommy silly!”

The conversation went around in circles like
that for a while. The whole time they were talking, Michael
searched the child’s memories for pictures of her parents and their
life together. Visions of her mother flashed in his mind. Pale
skin, cold to the touch, the sweet scent of spices, crimson lips
pulled back in a smile showing elongated fangs.
“Your Mommy is a
vampire?”

“
She's special. Not like me though, I'm a
different kind of special.”

“
Yes, you certainly are.”
Still
probing, he found the memories of her father. Standing over a
bathroom sink shaving, another of him laughing and tugging at her
braid, the man was definitely human. Warm to the touch, tan skin,
vivid eyes but no luminescence that was an earmark of a
vampire.

That was unheard of, vampires and humans did
not run in the same circles. Jenna’s telepathic ability was another
aspect of the relationship that made no sense. How does a human
child acquire vampire abilities? It shouldn’t be possible. As he
searched her memories, he kept running into a wall. There were
certain parts of the young girl’s mind he could not access. It was
curious, but no more so than anything else that had to do with the
child.

When Michael realized he had found out all he
could, he released her mind and sat her in Liz’s lap. He sent a few
of the others to find her some human food, and fortified the
compound with as many battle-ready guards as he could find. Monroe
would give anything to have a child like this at his disposal. The
attack on the girl’s family couldn’t have been a coincidence.

Jenna settled down in Liz’s arms and waited.
She heard everything Michael said and knew food was coming. Liz
reminded her of her mother, but the wrinkly lady was kind of scary.
Most of the other people looked like her Mommy, so she wasn’t
afraid of them. In the back of her mind though, she had this little
prickly thing. An uncontrollable shiver ran through her.

Feeling the vibration, Liz asked, “What's
wrong, are you cold?”

“No, it's my prickle.”

“Your what?”

“Sometimes I have a prickle about stuff.
About where we're going, or someone there. Sometimes it's about the
car!”

Confused, but trying hard to keep up, Liz
said, “I don't understand sweetie. What is a prickle?”

Jenna's small hand moved to twirl her hair.
“It's a...a feeling I get. We call it a prickle. I feel like
something’s wrong, and if we do it anyway, something happens.”

“What sort of feeling are you having right
now?”

Jenna nervously looked around the room before
linking with Liz.
“I think someone here don't like me.”

“
Of course they like you. Don't be silly.
You'll be just fine, I promise.”
Liz smiled and patted her
head.

Uncertain, Jenna silently watched those in
the room. She was good at reading people. Well the mommy kind of
people she could read. The daddy kinds of people were harder but
she could read some of them too. So she sat quietly in Liz’s lap
and waited.

The others slowly meandered back to their
tasks. There were only a handful left in the room and they were all
there for protection. Jenna slid off Liz’s lap and walked over to
where Angie sat in the corner. Jenna giggled, peaked around Angie
to look behind her, and said, “Hello.” After the strange
salutation, she moved forward and put her hand on Angie’s knee.

Curious of her friend’s reaction, Liz
watched. Neither of them spoke. Not an auditory word, anyhow. They
looked into each other’s eyes for a short time. Angie smiled,
nodded once, and sat the girl in her lap. William materialized in
the corner behind Angie, winked at Liz, and walked through the
wall. Jenna curled up and went to sleep. Angie’s restlessness faded
away and she began to show signs of her old self again. By the time
the others came back with food for the girl, Angie had returned to
her normal chattering. There was a harder vicious side to her now
though. She wouldn’t let anyone but Liz or Michael anywhere near
Jenna, not even the witches.

Having Jenna around extremely complicated
things, but Liz, and especially Angie, enjoyed it. Her ability made
it hard to discuss the war effort. Those first few days were a
major adjustment period for everyone. Jenna’s third day there, the
dreams began.

Fire! Everywhere, fire roaring. The fortress
was burning. Red and blue flames shot out of the windows above.
Pictures and tapestries burned below. Vampires screamed as they
died in the flames. Smoke, so black that you could not see a foot
in front of you, filled rooms and tunnels. People ran through the
smoke, fighting as they ran. Swords clanged, glass shattered, and
there was blood everywhere. So much blood. It drenched everything.
Running down walls to puddle on the floor.

The walls shuddered before caving in.
Stones fell from the ceilings. Tunnels collapsed. The smell of wet
earth surrounded, suffocating and pressing you down into the
burning hot stone of the tunnel floor. Then the cold. Icy, frigid,
water pouring down fast and hard. Then the pressure of being under
the soaked heavy dirt. Crushing, heaviness. Then floating. More
screaming. Then the quiet of death. Real death, the end of
everything. A total nothingness. Just the darkness and quiet
.
Then waking in terror.

The first day of the dream Liz and Angie told
no one, not even each other. That evening when all the others were
up and around, most were quiet and subdued. It was quite by chance
that anyone even mentioned the dream.

Most in the camp were in foul moods. Now most
vampires, even in the best of moods, are hard to get along with.
They have that whole superiority issue going on. They think they’re
always right and always know best. Put a group of these egomaniacs
together, and you’ll have trouble. Putting a group of them together
when they’re in foul moods, is a recipe for disaster. So of course,
after a few little squabbles here and there between several of
them, a heated argument ensued.

“Micah, grab a few men and walk the
perimeters.” Big Jon ordered.

“Will do boss,” he replied.

Big Jon took one last look at his clipboard
and searched the group gathered around the fire. “You there.” He
pointed at a blond male sitting across from him.

The vampire looked up gesturing toward his
chest.

“Yes you. I don’t recall your name. Have you
been given a duty for the evening?”

“A couple, but thanks for asking,” the man
replied and turned his head to continue his conversation with the
female sitting next to him.

“Hold up there, son. What exactly were you
told to do? And why aren’t you out there doing it?”

The male stood and advanced to where Big Jon
stood, glaring the whole time. “You got a problem with me? I
already told you I’ve had
more
than one task to
perform.”

“I don’t believe I like your tone,
youngster.” Big Jon’s clipboard dropped to the ground as he began
rolling up his sleeves.

“Oh yeah? Well I don’t think I like you
period. You seem to think you’re pretty big shit around here.” He
looked around at the others. The onlookers stared back.

“You have about two seconds to reconsider
your tone, boy.”

That was it. The young one flew across the
meager space between them and unloaded several blows against Jon’s
head. Jon didn’t so much as flinch as the young man threw three
solid punches against his jaw. After the third hit, he stopped and
stared incredulously at Big Jon.

Big Jon’s mouth slid into a crooked vicious
smile. “My turn.” He threw one punch that bowled him end over end
into the group of onlookers. Fists began flying and an all out
brawl ensued. By the time the fracas was over, there were black
eyes, cuts, and scrapes for nearly thirty of them. The newcomer
apologized and told Big Jon he hadn’t slept well. A murmur of
agreement went through those gathered there. They hadn’t slept well
either.

It was the blond male who first brought up
the dream. The others chimed in and started telling their versions
of it. It was the same for everyone. Generally vampires don’t
dream. The ability is lost when the change occurs. So for each one
of them to have a dream at all was significant. For them to be the
same was incomprehensible. It wasn’t just the vampires though, the
witches had dreamed too.