The Dark Gifts Birthright (28 page)

She was also strongly against anyone but the
Council finding out about time portal magic. Even in her own coven,
there were witches she would not trust with such knowledge. She
didn’t know if she even trusted herself knowing that she could go
back and change the past. What if going back and changing something
so changed the future, that they never learned to make time
portals, and could not go back and make it right? Then for sure
Jenna and her father would die, and maybe countless others. All of
these thoughts ran through her mind so quickly that she couldn’t
pay attention to what the others were saying. Lost in her own
thoughts, she ignored the rest of the room.

***

It was decided by all there, except Minerva
who was still engrossed in her own thoughts, that Dan should be
brought before the Council. Provided the Council agreed with Cass'
decision, he would be turned. The full Council would have to be
informed of Cass' discovery of time portals, but Jenna’s ability to
create them would be left out of the telling. There were already a
few council members who were unsure of Jenna’s magical training.
Informing them of her part in this would only add fuel to the
fire.

Dan only had one request; he wanted to ask
Jenna if she would be okay with him changing. Jenna was used to
being around vampires, but she was also used to her father being
like her, and he didn’t want to do anything that would scare her.
Should Jenna consent to Dan‘s change, then he would abide by the
Council’s ruling.

When everything had been thoroughly
discussed, Cass called a Council meeting and moved the entire
group, by portal, to the Council chambers. Although his scent
permeated the castle, it was still not prudent to announce his
arrival by parading him through the corridors.

“This is outrageous.” Tiberius bellowed as
his hand slapped the table.

“Truly.” Rene agreed.

“Do you have any idea what kind of mess this
could cause?” Callista asked.

“I understand your feelings in this matter,
but--”

Tiberius cut Gregorio off while glaring at
Cass, “Understand? How could you keep something of this magnitude
from us? Time travel? You’ve gone back in time and changed history
for your own selfish purpose. What use is a Council with no leader?
You could have been killed.”

“I understand. I wasn’t sure when this began
that it would even work.”

“Preposterous! I propose we take a vote on
the mental stability of our leader.” Tiberius stood arms folded
across his chest in total defiance of Cass.

“I agree.” Michael chimed in.

Liz stood and moved to stand behind Cass,
silently giving her support. Athena, taking a cue from Liz, joined
her. Both woman, eyes cold and glaring, stared at Tiberius.

Gregorio shook his head and cast his gaze
over the other council members. “Is this what we’ve come too then?
Not a full year together and already this Council is divided?”

“No.” Rene rose from his seat to face his
friend. “No, Tiberius. We’ve not come to this. What’s done is
done.”

Tiberius conceded and once again took his
seat.

Gregorio cleared his throat, nodded to
Tiberius and continued, “Moving on, we need a vote on turning the
man.”

Dan’s turning was insignificant to them. He
was Cass' partner, and as far as they were concerned, his turning
was between the two of them. The only ruling they made on his
change was that it should be done immediately, so as to not upset
the balance they had finally achieved in their new home. There were
one hundred and ninety mortals at the Citadel, off and on, but
these were witches and untouchable to vampires. It was definitely
not the same thing as having fresh human blood on hand. While the
Council continued their discussion about time portals and their
potential use, Dan, with Liz as guardian, was taken to see his
daughter.

“Daddy!” Jenna squealed in delight when he
entered her room. She ran across the room and jumped into his
arms.

Dan threw her up in the air making her squeal
again. “Did you miss me, pumpkin?”

“Duhhhh.” Jenna, her tiny hands on both of
his cheeks, planted kisses all over his face.

“I’m guessing you did.” He said as he hugged
her.

Once Dan had her settled down enough to talk,
he explained briefly what had happened, leaving out the most scary
and dangerous aspects of the story. Jenna was wide-eyed and full of
awe, hearing the tale of their rescue, by her mother and Liz.

“What do you mean? How can you be like
Mommy?” Jenna asked.

“Well Mommy can make me just like her.” Dan
answered.

Jenna’s little mouth drew up as she thought.
She squinched her eyes causing her nose to wrinkle. “But if you’re
like Mommy then I will be different.”

“Yes, you will. But when you are grown, you
can be like mommy too.”

Liz, knowing how Cass felt about that topic,
grew uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was heading.
“Now Jenna, your Dad can’t stay here if he’s not like your Mom. It
would be too dangerous for him. Don’t you want him to be safe?”

Jenna stomped her foot and yelled, “You stay
outta this! That’s my Daddy.”

“Jenna!” Dan raised his voice and pointed at
her.

Stomping her foot again, she stalked into the
corner and pouted.

“Young lady, you are not too old to get a
good sound spanking. Do you hear me?”

She looked up, tears in her eyes and said,
“Yes sir.”

Watching the two of them together almost
brought a tear to Liz’s eyes. She hadn’t thought much about having
children. When she was mortal, there was plenty of time to start a
family. Now that she was not, she chose not to think about it.
There’s no use crying over spilled milk, if you can’t, then you
can’t, she thought
. Nonetheless, a seed of yearning had planted
itself in Liz’s heart.

***

After the Council had disbanded for the day,
Cass joined the girls and her little family. Liz and Angie stayed
for just a few minutes, and then decided that it would be best to
let them spend some time alone. Jenna was in the middle of
bombarding her parents with questions when the girls took their
leave.

Back at their room, Michael and Liz were
having a not so quiet argument. Michael was still furious that Liz
had not informed him of Cass' plan ahead of time, and that she
would intentionally take on three Unnamed knowing the danger
involved. Liz’s “all’s well that ends well” approach, only seemed
to make him angrier. Exhausted, hungry, and in no mood for the
fight, she needed rest, but let Michael rant until he finally gave
up.

Begrudgingly, he offered to go hunt for her
so that she could get some rest.

“Michael, this had all been very big, and
some of it very scary. What I really need right now is for you to
just lie down and hold me.”

“How do you ignore the magnitude of what you
have done?”

“I can feel the magnitude. Trust me, in every
inch of my body I feel it, but it is done now and although I could
go back and change it, I wouldn’t. In my heart I know this how it
should be. I can’t--no I won’t--be sorry for setting things right
and giving Cass back the love of her life.”

Michael sighed and crawled into bed with her.
Tenderly taking her in his arms, he kissed her forehead, and said,
“Do you have any idea what would happen to me if I lost you?”

“Yes. That is exactly
why
I did what I
did for Cass. I know exactly how it would have been had it been me
that died that night instead of Dan.” Her mouth opened in a wide
yawn, she closed her eyes, and slept.

The Council had given Cass twenty-four hours
to turn Dan. Being a man, and human, Dan spent his last twenty-four
hours eating and spending time with his family. Knowing that human
food would never again taste good to him, he decided to eat
everything that was his favorite in those last hours.

Liz had been brought in on the rather
difficult procedure of acquiring Dan’s favorite food items. He had
an enormous appetite, so filling him up became a game for Liz and
Cass. They made portals to take them to burger joints, and steak
houses, bakeries for deserts, a pizza parlor, and even a produce
stand for fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. The latter taking them to
Australia, as they were still in season there. It took seven trips
to satiate the man.

Jenna thoroughly enjoyed her father’s last
suppers, as they jokingly called the meals obtained. Both Jenna and
her father were so full from feasting they ended up needing to take
naps.

As evening approached, and the hour for Dan’s
turning grew closer, Cass' festive mood dwindled. There was a
slight chance the turning would not take, and Dan could end up an
Unnamed. There was an equal chance that the connection might not
take on the aspects of wife to husband, but of something entirely
different. It was dangerous business turning a mortal immortal.

“You know you cannot see her for at least
several days.” Cass said, still hoping to change his mind.

“I won’t hurt her. I can’t. You know me,
Cass.” Dan replied taking her hand.

Their eyes met. Cass searched his face for a
tell tale sign that everything would be all right. After several
moments, her gaze drifted from his face to the child sleeping on
the bed.

“I want this. I want to be able to protect my
family.” Dan reached out and caressed her cheek, wondering if it
would still feel cold to him after he’d turned.

***

When the designated hour arrived, Jenna
hugged and kissed her father and was taken to her own room. Dan had
held the child and told her how much he loved her, and that she
would need to be brave and very patient. “I will see you again as
soon as your mother says it's safe. All right, baby?”

“Okay, daddy, but don’t take too long, okay?
I still have a bunch of things to tell you!”

Cass had chosen to be alone with Dan during
his turning, but had stationed Michael, Liz, and Gregorio outside
the door should anything unusual happen. Angie and Athena weren’t
invited, but they were there anyway, waiting with the others, with
strict orders not to enter should anything bad happen.

Tension in the corridor was high. Chances
were slim that a turning wouldn’t take, but the possibility was
always there.

It only took a few minutes. Cass had
throughout the day, taken blood from him three times, each time
hoping that she would not be required to do the final act, hoping,
beyond hope that he would change his mind. Bitterly, she tried one
last time to talk sense into him, and seeing that he would not give
in, gave up and gave him her blood.

His pain was excruciating, not having the
luxury of running scared for his life like Liz, he had nothing to
focus on except the torture his body endured. To Cass, it seemed a
lifetime had passed watching her husband suffer in such extreme
agony. After just two minutes, she called out to Michael and the
others for help, thinking that something must be wrong. The only
other turning she had witnessed had been Gregorio, but being so
close to death already, he had not suffered. For him, it had been a
relief from the pain he had already endured.

Just as they entered the room, thinking the
worst must have happened, Dan went silent. His face went pale, at
the same time his hair became luminescent, and his eyes began to
shine with the brilliance of an amber-colored jewel. Then his body,
already muscled and fit, took on the appearance of raw natural
strength, muscles visually hardening and growing larger. It all
happened in an instant and then he stood, the thirst upon him. He
looked at Cass and the others, recognition on his face, then
sniffed the air and growled. Before he could take off, Michael and
Gregorio held him, one on each side, while Cass opened a portal to
take him hunting. They all stepped through.

Dan’s appetite had not diminished with being
turned; he had already taken down five large deer and still was not
satisfied. Athena and Gregorio were very concerned, if Dan could
not control his thirst with fresh blood from animals, there would
be no way he could be allowed around Jenna. After the sixth, he was
finally filled.

Not bothering to wipe the dripping blood from
his chin, Dan looked around at the forest and sky. “Oh, ho, ho.
Someone’s been keeping secrets.” He flexed his arms and grinned as
his biceps bulged. Power coursed through him. His eyes grew wide as
he looked at Cass. “All this time. You could have done it years
ago, but instead you withheld it from me?”

A chill went through Cass’ body. “I couldn’t
do it to you.”

“Couldn’t? Or wouldn’t?” Dan’s eyes narrowed.
He turned from her and slammed his fist into a tree. The tree broke
apart like a Popsicle stick, sawdust and splinters exploded in
every direction. Dan let out a maniacal laugh and smashed into
another one. Grinning, he looked at Michael and Gregorio. “How do
you ever get used to this power? You people are nuts! You could
rule the world.”

.Cass' eyes were full of fright; she had
never seen a newborn react this way. What if he couldn’t be
stopped? What if she couldn’t control him?

Gregorio leaned over and whispered in her
ear, “Enough. Rein him in. He is your responsibility. Take control
before he loses it completely.”

Cass approached him, took his face in her
hands, and looked deep into his eyes. After a few minutes, his
breathing slowed, and his mind returned to him. She held his gaze
for a few moments more, and then released him. “It is finished. He
is mine now, the connection has been established. He will not
waiver from my will.”

Cass should have been happy, everything went
relatively smoothly, but she was not. In fact, she was absolutely
miserable. The one thing he had wanted most; to be her equal, was
the one thing he would not have. He was hers in every way now, no
different from any other vampire in the Citadel, with her age and
control; he might as well have been her slave.