The Dark Gifts Birthright (25 page)

Cass nodded, wiping away the lone tear.

“And then, when it opened, I was in my room.
So…I thought since I was there anyhow, I would get my favorite
things to bring back here.”

Cass thought for a few seconds before
speaking. “But baby, your teddy and that suit case have been
missing for at least a year, remember?”

“But they were there mommy; all of my stuff
was there. Am I in trouble?”

Cass patted the child on the head and let her
go. “You’re not in trouble. Mommy needs to think a minute,
okay?”

Jenna smiled brightly, sat down, and opened
the suitcase, pulling out one toy after another, and placing them
in a line in front of her.

Cass wracked her brain, trying to remember
the last time she had actually seen teddy and Jenna’s little
suitcase. She vividly remembered the day that the child had come
home from preschool distraught because she couldn’t find either.
She was positive that it had happened several months before the
attack on the car. She stood completely still as it dawned on her
what might have happened. It was impossible! Wasn’t it? Her mind
reeled with the ramifications of what Jenna had been able to do.
Time travel? Through portals?

Quickly, Cass called Angie and asked her to
come and get the child. She had to have time to think. She knelt
down beside Jenna and said, “You know Mommy loves you, right?”

Jenna nodded.

“And no one loves you like Mommy, right?”

She nodded again.

“You must not tell anyone how you got your
things Jenna; it has to be our secret for right now, okay? Not even
Angie.”

Jenna solemnly looked at her mother, crossed
her heart, and promised not to tell anyone.

After Angie collected Jenna, Cass paced the
room in thought. It just didn’t seem plausible that this could
happen, but it had. She knew she could not tell the Council. They
would all go crazy! She couldn’t tell anyone. If others knew that
portal magic could be used to time travel, then they could go to
any when and possibly change time lines. One mistake and thousands
of people might not ever be born. That was providing that it was
possible for others to use a portal that way. It might be just a
fluke, or part of Jenna’s personal abilities. Good grief, Minerva
would have a field day with this!

She thought and paced for hours, and then
decided that before she got too worked up over something only Jenna
could do, she should try it herself. If she couldn’t do it, then no
one else, besides Jenna, could either.

Cass emptied her mind of all thoughts and
worries. She pictured in her mind their cabin in the mountains. She
pulled from memory, a rainy day she’d been out hunting while Jenna
had gone to town with her father. Her mind focused on that day. She
pictured the house, the rain, and her front porch, then opened the
portal. Stepping through, she found herself on the long front porch
looking right at the front door. Stunned, she entered the house,
and looked around; unsure of whether she just happened to be there
on a rainy day, or if she had truly gone back in time. The calendar
hanging on the kitchen wall showed that today’s date was April 15.
But it was October 29, two days before Halloween. At least that’s
what day it had been at the Citadel.

She moved into the bedroom. The long mahogany
dresser that Dan insisted they buy was covered in family pictures.
Sorrow overwhelmed her. She had been so busy with everything else,
she hadn’t fully taken the time to mourn her lost husband.

Cass lay on the bed, pulled his pillow over
her face, and breathed in his scent.

Outside, there was the sound of a car pulling
into the drive. Her time was up. As much as she wanted to see Dan
again, she couldn’t take the chance of disrupting the natural flow
of time. Hurriedly, she grabbed two pictures from the dresser. In
her mind, she pictured her room at the Citadel, created a portal,
and left.

Cass returned to her proper place and time,
and found a very angry Angie sitting in a chair with Jenna on her
lap.

“Where have you been?” Angie snarled as she
stood and placed Jenna in the chair. “Do you have any idea how long
we’ve sat here waiting on you? You have been gone for hours. Jenna
was a nervous wreck! She has some crazy idea that you left because
you are mad at her and weren’t coming back.”

Cass took Jenna in her arms, “Of course I‘m
not mad at you, darling. I was just exploring that’s all. I’d never
leave you and not come back.”

Angie was not letting it go. “Cass you have
been gone five hours. Five hours! Don’t you think you should at
least let one of us know if you’re going to be gone that long?”

“What do you mean I’ve been gone five hours?
I haven’t been gone more than ten minutes.” Cass replied.

“I am telling you that we have been sitting
in this room for four hours waiting on you to return. We got here
an hour after I picked Jenna up from her lessons, and you were
nowhere to be found.”

“But that’s impossible. I just left ten
minutes ago!” Cass exclaimed. Her thoughts became erratic. Time
travel works both ways. You can go back and you can go forward. She
had gone forward five hours in time. It was impossible. “Angie,
please take Jenna and go, I need some time to think. I’ll try to
explain everything to you later.”

“What's going on here? Don’t look at me like
that.”

Jenna tugged on Cass’ sleeve. “Mommy, can I
have one of those?” She asked, pointing to the pictures in Cass’
hand.

“Of course you can,” she said, pressing a
small framed picture into her hand. “Baby, you be a good girl for
me, okay? Go play with Angie and have a good time. I’m not mad at
you; I’m just working on that thing you taught me. And remember
what we talked about!” Cass said as she walked Jenna to the
door.

“But--” Angie tried to stop her.

“But nothing. Scoot. I’ll tell you more
later.” Her hand on the small of Angie’s back, she moved her toward
the door.

Angie anchored her feet and would not
budge.

“This is important, Angie. Extremely so. As
soon as I get it all worked out, I will fill you in. Now please
take Jenna and go.” Cass pleaded.

“Fine. But you will tell me about it. I’m not
letting this go.” Angie answered as she took Jenna’s hand in
hers.

“I would never expect you too.” Cass said
closing the door behind them.

***

Cass was exhausted. Opening portals was easy
work, but opening portals in time was draining. She lay on the bed
thinking. If she kept this magic to herself, she could travel back
in time and help where she was needed. She could go forward in
time, see what was coming, and stop it from happening. Of course,
if she went back she would have to be very careful about what she
did. No one could know.

She couldn’t trust anyone with this
knowledge. It was just as Minerva had said at the Council meeting,
it’s not always that people choose to be dark, and sometimes you
are swayed that way through circumstances beyond your control. If
someone was tempted to go back and say, save a wife…or a husband.
Or a husband
.

The thought echoed through her mind. She
couldn’t stop thinking about it. What if she did go back and save
Dan? How could that possibly hurt the time line? She was chasing
off the unnamed while he lay there dying. If she had been able to
chase them off and stay with him at the same time he might have
lived!

Cass drifted off to sleep still arguing with
herself about whether changing history was all that dangerous. It
was just one life. One life that was insignificant to all others.
With the exception of course to her and Jenna, he was not
insignificant to them.

Chapter Seventeen

A Stitch in Time Saves …How Many?

Cass was a mess. She paced unceasingly and
had started constantly talking to herself. It was obvious that
something was on her mind, but she wasn’t sharing it with anyone.
During Council meetings she appeared distracted, and many times had
to ask the speaker to repeat what was said. She had given up
teaching Jenna, saying the child was profoundly skilled in magic
and needed no more guidance.

Liz and Athena had already approached her
several times, trying to find out what was wrong. Each time, she
would tell them everything was fine, she was working out a plan and
would fill them in when it was fully formed. Neither woman was
buying the bridge she was selling. Something was definitely up.
After several days of her strange behavior, she stopped bothering
to attend Council meetings. Gregorio decided to try to talk with
her himself.

Gregorio wasn’t one to eavesdrop, but
standing outside Cass’ door, he could hardly stop himself. She was
talking so loud that a person would have to be completely deaf not
to hear the conversation. There were two distinct sides, but only
one voice spoke. The voice definitely belonged to Cass.

“Fine, so if I do it and am not seen, and
encounter no one, then how will that possibly harm anything?”

“But if someone does see you, then that could
cause everything to fall apart.”

“Okay so I go back, and watch from the trees
the first time, and see how it all played out, then I can go back
again and make sure that everything turns out all right.”

“But how do you explain
him
to
them?”

“Well I have to figure that one out!”

“You have no idea what you’re doing. This
whole thing is insane!”

Gregorio rapped loudly on the door and the
conversation stopped. Cass looked bothered when she opened the
door. Seeing Gregorio there seemed to upset her more.

“What do you want, Gregorio?” Her foot tapped
with impatience as she waited for his reply.

“Are you well?” He questioned.

“Of course I am well. Why does everyone keep
asking me that?”

“Most people don’t have intense conversations
with
themselves
, Mother.” Gregorio snidely replied.

“What did you hear?” Her voice cracked.

“Nothing really, just you obviously having an
argument that made no sense...with
yourself
.” Gregorio put
his hand against the door, opening it wider.

Cass pushed back, closing the widening gap.
“Gregorio, I am extremely busy today. I will tell you the same as I
have told the others…I am fine! I am working out a strategy that
will eventually help us all. I want to be sure of it before I bring
it to the Council. That is all. If you would all quit pestering me
and let me finish, this wouldn’t take nearly as long.” Cass rolled
her eyes and slammed the door.

Dumbfounded, Gregorio stood staring at the
closed door. In all the long years he had known the woman, he had
never seen her act this way. The overheard conversation made no
sense. If she hadn’t done it already, the woman was well on her way
to losing her mind. He went directly to Athena and told her what
had transpired. Together, they called in Michael, Liz, and Angie
and relayed the story to them. All were at a complete loss as to
what was happening to Cass.

“Do you think that maybe all this magic is
getting to her?” Angie asked.

“I don’t think that is it, dear. Minerva is
with her frequently, and she would have noticed a darkness seeping
in. I think this is something else.” Athena replied.

“I don’t think we should leave her alone.”
Liz said hesitantly.

“Me either.” Angie agreed.

Finally, Michael told them that he felt it
would be in Cass' best interest if someone watched her at all
times. It was not that he didn’t trust her, just that her obviously
irrational behavior could be dangerous for everyone.

“It has to be someone she would never
suspect,” he said.

All eyes turned to Angie.

“Hey!” She exclaimed. “She is not going to
let me get out of my duties with Jenna anyhow. Besides, do you know
what she could do to me if I make her mad?”

“Liz, it should be you. She would never
suspect you, and with your expertise in magic, you could easily
disguise what you are really doing with wanting to learn more.”
Athena said.

“Great. Fan-freaking-tastic.” Liz
answered.

Michael squeezed her arm. “She’s right. It
should be you.”

So it was settled. Liz was to be the
Council’s spy and keep watch over Cass. That was an easy order to
give, but nearly impossible to do. Cass didn’t want to be bothered,
and every time Liz tried to spend time with her, she sent her to
Minerva claiming that the girl’s great-grandmother would be better
suited to explain things to her. Liz had finally taken to standing
outside the woman’s door, trying to hear what was said, and
following her discreetly when she left. That worked fine for a
couple days, until Cass stopped leaving her room altogether.

***

She was back and trying to control her
emotions. Each time she went back to that place, it became harder
for her to focus and regain her strength when she returned to her
own time. She’d already been there seven times, watching Dan and
Jenna die over and over. After her first departure to that time, it
had become apparent that she was destined to save them. In fact,
she must have already saved Jenna.

As she watched, Jenna had been torn from her
child safety seat and devoured by the Unnamed. The shock of seeing
such a horrendous thing kept her from running out and killing every
last one of them.

All this time they thought that Jenna had
been unconscious and hidden in the brush, but that was not the
case. Cass had saved her daughter. Knowing that, she tried to
figure a way to save both her child and husband. When they attacked
the small car, the Unnamed hit it from both sides. Jenna had been
killed almost immediately. Cass burst through the door and fought
those on the passenger’s side. While she was fighting, the three on
the other side of the car had ripped her husband from the vehicle
and fed. Somehow, she had to get both of them out, together.