The Dark Gifts Birthright (27 page)

“What?” Michael said.

“What, what?”

“You’re keeping something from me.” Michael
crossed the room, grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to
face him. He gazed into her eyes, searching for what he knew was
hidden.

“Oh stop. That gets annoying after a while.”
Liz said, looking away.

“Enough of this shit. I’m talking to Cass.
She owes me an explanation for her behavior yesterday, if nothing
else.” Michael released Liz and stormed off to Cass’ room.

Cass answered Michael’s pounding on her door,
looking deliciously serene. She invited him in, and in true queenly
form, proceeded to explain that Liz had talents none of the other
vampires exhibited, and that what she was about to teach her, no
other except herself, would ever learn. Liz was going to be a
secret weapon in the war against the renegades.

“Like hell she is.” Michael exclaimed.

“Now Michael, don’t be silly. I’d never put
Liz in harm’s way.”

“And because you’ve shown such restraint
recently, I should trust your judgment. Right?” He said through
clenched teeth.

Cass was just about to get nasty with
Michael, she even considered glamouring him to shut him up, when he
quite unexpectedly gave up.

Michael was not unintelligent and he had some
plans of his own. Throwing his hands in the air, he said, “Fine,”
and left the room.

Cass, Angie, and Liz reconvened a short while
later in Cass' room. Cass was desperate to leave the castle and
return to her beloved Dan, but before she could, she needed to
figure out what to do with him. She didn’t want to leave him alone
at the cabin, and returning Jenna to him would be far too
dangerous. Jenna was safest in the Citadel with hundreds there to
protect her. Bringing Dan to the castle would invite too many
questions, and also make her a liar, as everyone had already been
told that her husband had died in the attack.

A human living with that many vampires
wouldn’t be a good idea anyhow. Jenna was human, but she had
several things going for her. First of all, she was Cass' daughter,
adopted or not, surely no one that lived there would touch a hair
on her head for fear of the wrath of Cass. Secondly, vampires had
an extreme fascination with children (because they were unable to
have any of their own) that aided in Jenna‘s safety. Thirdly, Angie
was her full-time bodyguard and it would be a death sentence to try
to mess with Angie. If Angie didn’t kill them, Athena would! Dan
would not have any of those safeguards in place at the Citadel.

Yes, he was Cass' husband and Jenna’s father
and that might help for a while, but in the end, he was a healthy
human male and everyone there had been living on animal blood for
months now. Animal blood was fine, it kept you full and the thirst
at bay, but the difference between the two was comparable to the
difference between a massive chocolate cake and a loaf of bread.
Who wants to eat plain white bread when there is chocolate cake
available?

The three of them sat for nearly an hour
discussing what should, and could be done with Dan. If Cass went to
the Council and told them what had happened, then everyone on the
Council would know about time portals. Although they emphatically
trusted the council members, all of them agreed the information
needed to be kept a closely guarded secret. After all the talking
and planning, they still could not find a solution to the problem.
Angie thought that the easiest and simplest thing to do would be
for Cass to turn Dan and bring him in as a newly found vampire.
Cass was completely irate that Angie would even think of such a
thing. Besides, there was still that matter of Jenna knowing that
Dan was her father, and even if she swore the girl to secrecy,
there was no telling if she might slip up and call him daddy. They
had to figure out something and do it quickly.

Monroe and his minions did not know about
Cass as far as they knew, but they did know about Liz and Angie,
and knew both of their scents. If they were actively searching for
Michael and the others, they would be focusing on both of the
girls. There was no way that Michael would leave Liz, and everyone
knew that finding her would mean finding him. Both of the girls had
been to the cabin, which meant that Dan was no longer safe
there.

"Let’s just explore all the possibilities.”
Liz said. “I’ll play devil’s advocate and you two shoot my ideas
down as they come, if they aren’t feasible.”

“Fine,” agreed Cass.

“Shoot.” Angie replied.

“All right we know we can’t bring Dan here as
a human, and Cass does not want him turned.” Liz said looking
askance at Cass.

“That is out of the question.” Cass
responded.

“So if we can’t do either of those things
then what about putting Dan somewhere else that is safe? Like maybe
my family’s house? Or we could take him to another witches family?”
Liz asked.

“We can’t do that.” Angie answered back. “If
we do that then someone would need to be told why he is important
and needs to be kept safe.”

“You're right.” Liz agreed. Then looking into
Cass' eye’s, Liz spoke softly, “Cass, Dan should really be in on
this conversation. I know that you love him and he is yours, but it
is his future, and he should know the dangers. He should be given a
choice on what happens next. Besides, Jenna is his daughter
too.”

“I know, you’re right, we do need to discuss
this with him. I’ve gotten so used to running the show, that I have
forgotten to take his feelings into consideration. Angie, if you
will go to Jenna, Liz and I will go have a talk with Dan.” Cass
answered.

***

Sitting in the cabin in front of the fire,
Liz felt as if her whole life were now surreal. It was so strange
to be sitting in the human world, in a mortal home. Cass spoke
quietly with Dan in the kitchen. She had wanted time alone with him
to explain, in detail, everything that had happened, and everything
that was about to happen. Every so often, Liz would hear Dan’s
voice raised in shock and sometimes anger. With her supernatural
hearing, she could easily hear every word of their conversation,
but she was trying to block it out.

“What do you mean she can’t come home?” Dan
queried. “She is my daughter, and this is her home!”

“She would not be safe here. You need to
understand. All these things she has been able to do since infancy,
have grown exponentially, Daniel. Her natural psychic ability makes
her as unsafe here as it does in my world. If mortals knew what she
could do, she would be taken to some secret lab to be tested
repeatedly by scientists trying to figure out how and why she does
the things she can do. My world is dangerous too, that is a given.
There is a war going on now and she will be targeted by the other
side, but at least at the Citadel there are hundreds of vampires
and witches to protect her. It’s like I have been telling you for
the last several years, not all are like me. Those that are not,
would kill a child her age with no conscience what-so-ever. I have
already watched Jenna die many times; I will not see it happen
again!”

Dan sat in silence, trying to process all the
information his beloved Cass had given him. He was used to dealing
with things that seemed far-fetched. Living with Cass for the last
several years, and knowing her history, he had become accustomed to
fantastic tales. This insanity, with him and especially his
daughter at the center, was almost too much to comprehend.

He thought for a short time looking down at
the old oak table, then looked into her eyes and spoke, “You know
how I feel about dishonesty. You know that I love you, and that you
and Jenna are my life. I have sat here all these months without
you, waiting for your promised return. Sometimes I got angry with
you for leaving me here alone, even though you told me Jenna and I
were in danger, and that you would return for me. I am a man
Cassiopeia, a
man
. I can’t live in submission to you. I
don’t want to live that way. I want to be your partner, like I have
been all this time. If it is as you say, and we are in danger, then
I can only see one solution to the problem; you must tell the
Council the truth and stop living this lie, and you
must
turn me so that we can finally be equals.” His face gave no room
for quarrel; his mind was made up.

Cass exhaled in utter despair. It was the one
thing that she had never wanted for him. The one thing she had
sworn she would never do intentionally. She had spent thousands of
years in exile and for the most part alone, just to keep from doing
that one particular thing. Now, after all of that, the one man that
she had loved above all others was telling her that it had to be
done, and she had no choice.

Liz thought it prudent to enter into the
conversation at that point, afraid that fireworks would erupt from
Cass. She nonchalantly walked into the adjoining kitchen,
stretching as if stiff from sitting so long. Cass was staring at
Dan in horror and Dan was returning her look with a stubborn glare.
She looked at Liz and begged her to explain to him why she could
not do this thing that he asked. Walking over to Cass' chair, Liz
placed her hand on the woman’s shoulder, compassion for her
friend’s situation overwhelmed her, but she knew that Dan was
right. Realizing that Liz agreed with her husband, Cass sighed in
resignation saying, “all right, but you do it, Liz. I cannot bear
to take his life.”

“I can’t do it, Cass. It has to be you. You
love each other. We can’t afford, for the sake of the connection,
for anyone else to turn him. You know that.” Liz replied
apologetically. “But first I think we need to take him before the
Council and explain things. It wouldn’t do for our fearless leader
to break Council law. That would seriously jeopardize your standing
with the entire vampire nation.”

“Right.” she said. “Of course you are right.
Well we might as well get it over with, so let’s just get
going.”

Liz cautioned both Cass and Dan, that a
return to the cabin might endanger them, so they packed a few bags,
and made ready for an extended stay at the Citadel. Cass insisted
they take plenty of food for Dan and Jenna both; she was still not
convinced that she would have to turn him. At least not right away.
Loaded down like pack mules, they entered the portal and returned
to Cass’ unexpectedly occupied room.

Chapter Eighteen

The Problem With Carnivores Is That They Eat
Meat.

Liz stepped out of the portal coming
face-to-face with Michael. Gregorio and Athena had taken the large
chairs by the fire. Feeling a push from behind, Liz stumbled to the
side to let Dan and Cass through. The second Dan came into view,
Gregorio’s eyes narrowed, and his face turned red.

“What are you doing here?” asked Cass as she
dropped the bags on the floor.

Gregorio bellowed, “What in the world are you
thinking? Bringing a human into the nest? Have you lost your
mind?”

Athena’s head moved from side to side while
she repeated, “This is not good. Not good at all.”

Michael grabbed Liz by the shoulders, moving
her away from Dan and Cass. “Of all the ridiculous--if you had one
thought in your--how could you even think--”

Liz put her hands on Michael’s chest and
said, “Okay, everyone just calm down. We were coming to talk to you
anyway, so it’s better that you are all here where we can talk in
private.” Pausing just long enough to give Michael an--I have this
handled look--she went on, “This will go smoothly, if you will sit
down and listen.”

“Listen?” Michael said pointing an accusatory
finger at Cass. “Of all the things
she’s
done, this has to
be the stupidest--”

“Enough. Michael, shut up!” Liz shoved him
onto the bed, then turning said to the others, “Everyone, sit down
and be quiet. What we have to tell you is important. We’re wasting
time with all this stupidity.”

“Humphf.” Gregorio huffed and returned to his
seat.

“There now, that’s better. Cass, why don’t
you tell them, from the beginning, what's happened.”

***

While they talked, absolutely everything was
put on hold. There were no Council meetings, no hunting; the entire
place was put on lock down. Anyone that came to the door was
immediately sent away, and many came to the door. The scent of
human blood had already spread several levels down, and everyone
wanted to know why. Finally tired of the interruptions, and still
needing secrecy, Angie was placed on guard duty and told not to
allow anyone near the door. At some point, Athena decided that
Minerva needed to be involved in the conversation, and sent for
her. When she arrived, they started over, retelling Jenna‘s
discovery and how it led to Cass and Liz saving Jenna and her
father.

***

Minerva barely listened to the vampire’s
discussion about the turning of Daniel. She was full of her own
thoughts about time portals. That kind of magic was deadly. With
the use of such knowledge, they could strike a blow to the
renegades that would be swift and sure. Possibly, they could
eradicate all of the renegades before they even had time to set the
explosives at the fortress. But changing time lines is very tricky
business. Theoretically, saving some could cause others to die and
changing the past always made for a different future. Even though
it appeared, that in this one instance that hadn’t happened, it was
still a possibility.

Minerva had no opinion on the turning of
Daniel. As far as she was concerned, she didn’t care whether Cass'
husband was immortal or human. However, if he were turned, wouldn’t
it just be a matter of time before the child was turned as well?
Why would the child want to remain a mortal, when her mother and
father both were immortal, and how could both of her parents watch
her grow old and die? Minerva was adamantly against the turning of
Jenna. Creating a 'super' vampire that was unstoppable and
invincible was ludicrous.