The Dark Gifts Birthright (34 page)

Entering the room, Liz took a seat and waited
for Cass to join her. Cass sat down and expectantly waited for Liz
to speak. Liz leaned back, pulled her thoughts together, and
decided to approach Cass in a different way than anyone had
before.

“You’re a wonderful mother, Cass. I have
never really given motherhood much thought, at least not until I
met your Jenna. Now I’m wondering about being a mother. I know I
can never have a child of my own, but do you think it would be
horrible of me to adopt one? Of course, it wouldn’t be the same as
what you’ve done with Jenna, but there are thousands of babies that
need homes and can’t find them. I was thinking that when this war
thing is over and we get back to our normal lives, maybe I can
adopt a baby.”

While Liz spoke, Cass nodded and smiled. She
understood completely what Liz was going through. She’d felt the
same for several thousand years. With Liz’s status in the mortal
world, she would have no trouble finding a baby to adopt. Within a
few years, she would be able to tolerate daylight well and no one
would be the wiser to her condition. Laying her hand on Liz’s arm,
she lovingly replied, “Of course you should dear! You will be a
wonderful mother, and Michael will be an excellent father. I highly
recommend motherhood to any that feel something significant is
lacking in their lives. I can tell you, without a doubt, it has
made me feel complete and brought me more joy than anything else I
have ever done. Seeing your child’s face as she learns and grows is
so rewarding. The unconditional love, affection, and trust they
give, pales in comparison to anything else.”

Liz sighed. She had Cass where she wanted
her, now for the hard part. “I just wonder though…is it fair? Is it
selfish of me to bring a child into this life? I mean sure, I would
be saving them from an orphanage, and being unwanted, and maybe
worse. But with all this death, danger, and magic? Is it really
right for me to intentionally, purposefully, bring a mortal child
into an immortal world, knowing that they will never be able to
rejoin the world that is theirs by birthright, should they desire
too?”

Liz waited, hoping she had not crossed the
line with her questions. She studied Cass’ face; she could see that
the woman was deep in thought and carefully planning her response
to Liz’s questions.

“Maybe it’s not fair, and maybe it is
selfish, but if you weren’t living here at the castle, there would
be no real need for the child to know you were anything other than
its mother. There would be no need for it to learn magic.” Cass
replied hesitantly.

Liz kept her voice soft as she spoke,
“Wouldn’t there? A human child, living among us would always be in
danger, wouldn’t it? We can’t possibly kill every renegade and
rogue out there. If that were possible, Michael would have been out
of a job long ago. You said yourself that Jenna would not be safe
without magical knowledge. She learned to use her physic ability
through interacting with you. Wouldn’t it be safe to assume that
any infant child, raised in a vampyric home, would learn the same
way?”

“Well yes, every human has the potential for
that ability, but that doesn’t--” she let the last of her sentence
drop. Cass knew that Liz was right. Any mortal child, subjected to
life with a vampire, would most probably acquire good use of
telepathy at the very least. Her eyes closed as realization set in.
“Oh Liz.” she gasped. “I have done a terrible disservice to
Jenna.”

“Oh, no. You have not. You have loved and
cared for her in every way possible. How could you have known that
these things would happen? You did the very best you could with the
child. I wasn’t trying to hurt you.” Liz responded and pulled Cass
into her arms.

Cass hugged her back, and vowed that she
would not allow anything else to interfere with the child’s ability
to return to her own world, should she ever choose to return.

Liz chatted with Cass a few minutes more, and
when she was certain that no matter what the Council voted, the
woman would not allow her daughter to learn magic, she left the
room. Liz didn’t know if she should go back to her own time, or
wait to see the outcome of the meeting. Unwilling to waste anymore
time, she created a portal and returned to her own timeline.

***

The moment she exited the portal, Michael
began grilling her, wanting to know where she had been and how
she’d learned to use portal magic. Confused to start with, it took
a moment to realize her trip to the past had changed more than
intended. Michael waited for an answer she couldn’t give. Liz
needed to find out what else she had changed. She took a deep
breath. “You better sit down. We need to talk.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Confusion Is The Mother Of All Screw Ups

Liz was exhausted from dealing with Michael.
Every question she asked, he countered with another she could not
answer. No one had bothered to tell her what to do should she
accomplish any change. The point of her mission had been to keep
anyone from learning about time portals. Why could she remember how
to make them? She needed to talk to Brogan and find out what she
was supposed to do now.

According to Michael, Cass was taking a
sabbatical with her husband Dan, so at least she knew that remained
the same. Jenna had not learned any type of magic because Cass had
come to the Council meeting and vetoed her training before it even
started. Everyone there was surprised at Cass' drastic change in
attitude toward the issue. As she was the child’s mother, no one
had questioned her as to why.

Brogan had indeed come to the Citadel, and
was off on some errand of his own. They still knew about Jenna’s
possession, and Michael was to try to entice the demon into
choosing him as her new protector, while Athena was off clearing it
from Angie’s mind. It was almost time for him to leave, but he was
still giving Liz a hard time. “I know there’s something you’re not
telling me. You’re leaving something out and that something is a
big deal. Why can’t you just tell me?” he asked.

“I can’t tell you. I want to, but I can’t. I
need to talk to Brogan first. You’ll understand later. Please just
let it go for now, It’s not life or death, I promise.”

“It’s not life or death, but it
is
vital.”

Liz gave him an exasperated look, and then
said, “Drop it.”

Michael laughed at the look on her face, then
bowed low and said, “Yes oh mighty
Queen
.”

Liz threw a pillow at him as he sauntered
away laughing at her response. She knew he was on the way to
relieve Minerva, and thankfully, now they wouldn’t have to worry
about the child creating a portal and jumping to get away from
them. She opened the window, taking in the last few seconds of
sunset, and then went to lie down. Her part, for now, was finished
and before the others returned, she needed to get some rest.

***

Angie was gravely ill. Vampires did not get
sick. There were no vampire doctors or nurses to call on should a
vampire fall ill, because it just didn’t happen. Athena summoned
Gregorio and Minerva, but they had no answers. It was not her
physical body that was in trouble, it was her spirit that was
injured. Humans have a saying that time heals all wounds, but this
was a different circumstance and Angie was not human.

Athena was positive that she had eradicated
every last particle of the dark evil from Angie’s mind, but she
either would not or could not wake up. Brogan was probably the only
one that could help her, but no one had heard from him or Michael
in hours.

Gregorio knew that Michael was still with
Brogan battling the demon, but until the presence was gone,
breaking into Michael’s concentration could be disastrous. They
waited and watched the girl, hoping that Brogan would be able to
join them soon.

***

Lack of sleep, and fresh blood, had begun
taking its toll on Michael. He had no idea how long they had been
in the cavern. The battle for Jenna’s body had been going on for
hours, maybe even days. The poor child had been in and out of
consciousness several times. Each time she awoke, for a brief
second she would have control then Baael would take over and she
would be lost inside herself again. Her body was a pitiful sight.
Battered and bruised, she looked like she’d been in an automobile
accident. Her beautiful brown eyes were nearly swollen shut from
crying, and her sweet little pink dress was tattered from writhing
on the stone table.

Every time Baael spoke, he would first demean
them, and then offer them many great and wonderful things. Then the
threats would begin. He was going to kill Liz and the rest of the
family, and make sure that after he killed both Brogan and Michael,
every mortal in the world would pay for what they were trying to
do. The list he gave of the things he was going to do was a mile
long. When he saw that his malicious words were getting him
nowhere, he would allow Jenna to come back to herself, so they
could watch her cry out in pain and hear her beg them to help her.
Over and over, the same scenario repeated itself while Michael
waited for the sign that Brogan had assured him would come.

Jenna for the moment lay blissfully
unconscious, Brogan stopped chanting and walking, and waited.
Michael tensed to the point of snapping, looked in surprise at the
man. Brogan gave him a quick wink, then nodded his head toward the
table.

Jenna’s body began to lift, hovering above
the table. Slowly it started to turn in a counter clockwise motion.
Her face, pale and drawn, appeared to be coming off itself, as if
it had duplicated itself and was getting rid of the unneeded
portion. Gradually her body started turning faster, and the rest of
it seemed to be coming apart.

She woke and a thunderous snarl came out of
her mouth. Then there were two Jennas, one right on top of the
other, each spinning in perfect alignment. The Jenna on top was
almost transparent, and was beginning to glow. Then without notice,
both Jennas came to a complete stop. Both hovered for a just a few
seconds, then the bottom Jenna fell hard to the stone table, making
a cracking sound as she landed.

As soon as her body landed, Michael grabbed
her. Away from the table, but still near enough to the fire to see
her well, Michael tried to take stock of her injuries. It appeared
that she was whole and unbroken, just badly bruised. Her sweet
little lips were blue, and her delightful face bruised. Michael
whispered in her ear, trying to coax her injured spirit back to
life. “Wake up, baby. Wake up and talk to me. I know you’re hurting
and scared, but you’re safe now. It’s all going to be okay now.
Wake up, Jenna.” Jenna didn’t flutter an eyelash. If Michael hadn’t
been able to hear the slow beating of her tiny heart, he would have
been sure she was dead.

The other Jenna hovered over the table
watching them. The eyes were black empty orbs. Jenna’s beautiful
face was now a picture of pure evil. It laughed at them, trying to
taunt them, still showing no fear until the facade of Brogan slowly
fell away. As he became his true self, the evil trapped above the
table began to screech in fury. Brogan stared at the thing in
disgust, waiting for it to stop its fit of anger.

“You lie! You cheat! You trickster!” it
hissed.

“Now you have reason to fear, eh?” Brogan
returned.

“You had to hide to come at me? You are so
weak and so terrified of my power that you have to hide like
cockroach in the dark?” it squealed back.

Brogan, pulling himself to his full height of
seven feet, bellowed, “You have been judged and found guilty,
rejoin your brethren in hell!” He shoved the head of his staff into
the Jenna thing.

The creature raged, as chunk by chunk, the
table beneath collapsed inward leaving a gaping black hole. A small
flicker of red light appeared in the center of the opening and grew
brighter until flames appeared. As if the fire held some
intelligent force, the flames explored the edges of the rift.
Licking, seeking, ravenously hungry, they hunted for their prey. A
low rumble echoed in pit. Molten lava rushed to the surface, joined
the flames, and oozed upwards. Within seconds, the deadly mixture
reached the dangling toes of the demon and devoured it bit by bit.
Deafening screams echoed through the cavern until the lava’s
mission was complete.

Other than the sound of wood crackling in the
fire, the room became silent. Brogan went to Michael’s side and
stared down at Jenna. His careful gaze touched every inch of her
battered body before he reached down, opened one tiny eyelid, and
peered within. “She has taken no lasting harm I think.”

Michaels eye’s took on a faraway look as he
heard Gregorio’s call. “Brogan, Angie is badly injured. Gregorio
says you are needed.”

The ancient sorcerer sighed and shook his
head. Mumbling something about no rest for the weary, he created a
portal to Athena’s cottage.

***

Liz was wide-awake but did not feel rested or
at ease. For the last half hour, she had been trying to figure out
just what she had changed in the time line, and how to go about
finding it out. She couldn’t just ask someone what was different.
She needed to talk to Brogan.

Finally, tired of doing nothing, she decided
to roam the castle and see what was going on. Possibly, she could
see some changes just by paying attention and mingling with the
rest of the occupants.

The Citadel seemed empty. It was daylight, so
most slept, but even with that, it seemed that there should have
been more people (especially witches) wandering around. Liz
strolled all over the upper levels seeing just a few stragglers
moving quickly about with their housekeeping duties. Deciding to
bite the bullet, she headed to the Council chambers.