Revelations

by Butler, Christine M.

  "Well he's not a person is he? He's a vampire, so maybe he is that kind of vampire."

  "You don't believe that any more than I do." Caislyn smiled at her friend and threw her arm around her shoulder. "Seth is a good guy." At the look she received from Jaxon she continued. "If Mameio Catronia trusts him, then I trust him."

  "Do you think..." Jax stopped herself short as Caislyn waited patiently. "Do you think they were, you know, involved?"

  Caislyn's eyebrows raised as she thought about it. "I don't know, Jax. It was a long time ago, before the prophecy even, I think. It's possible, I suppose." She watched as Jaxon's shoulders sank lower. "She's dead, Jax."

  "Yea, but so is he."

  Caislyn laughed again. "She lived out her very long life, married a fine Irish lad, and had a family that ended with me. Somehow, I think if there were ever anything between them, it was over long ago and you have nothing to worry about."

  The girls found the little car in the garage. Caislyn grabbed the keys off the peg and went to try to start the car. As she figured, the engine wouldn't turn over. "No telling how long this car has been sitting." Caislyn took the key out of the ignition and touched her finger there. She mumbled a few words under her breath as Jaxon looked on curiously. She then put the keys back in the ignition and the car started right up.

  "That is one trick you have to teach me!" Jaxon smiled as she thought of her Sentra back home with its own touchy starter. "It would sure save me the mechanic's bill."

  Caislyn laughed at her friend as she put the car in drive and headed toward the Rathmullan.

  ~...~

  After about thirty minutes, and what seemed like hours to Jaxon she shouted, "It's about time!" She glanced sideways, scowling at her friend. "Who the hell puts their cottage so damn far away from civilization anyway?"

  Caislyn grinned. "Imagine a time when the witches in my family didn't have to come to town because they produced everything they needed. Not to mention they had to hide that they were witches. Staying away from the larger areas made it easier to hide and to survive. Besides, once I get a good look around at some of the more out of the way places around here we will have a spot to teleport into and we won't have to worry about the drive so much."

  "Fine!" Jaxon griped, "but I'm dying here, can we get some food now?"

  "Fine, let's get some food first so you don't try eating the check out girl." Caislyn giggled as she spoke and pointed to the pub on the corner.

  "Ha ha, very funny, Cais, but I agree."

  ~...~

  As Caislyn and Jaxon sat back waiting on their food to arrive, Caislyn was staring off out the pub window. She sat a little straighter as she noticed the woman leaving the grocery store across the street. "Oh, that looks like my parents' old assistant, Melina." Caislyn squinted a little and added, "the magics have not been kind to her though, she's looking old."

  Jaxon perked up and looked out the window too. "Hey, that's the woman that was at the bookstore that day." At Caislyn's questioning look she continued, "remember when I told you there was a woman outside who I thought I startled. She claimed she was just window shopping." Caislyn nodded, vaguely remembering the conversation with Jaxon. "She does look older though, but I would almost swear that was her." Jaxon thought about it a minute and then added, "should we go talk to her?"

  "No." Caislyn was lost in her own thoughts as she answered and then she realized the weight behind the question. "No!" She responded again emphatically. "I mean, let's think about this. What is she doing here of all places? She disappeared after my parents were taken. I mean disappeared, as in people knew she was around, but she avoided me like the plague."

  "Maybe it was just survivors guilt?"

  "I don't think so. I get a weird feeling about her. Plus, aging like that means a witch is using some seriously out of balanced magics." At the blank look from Jaxon, Caislyn continued, "you know the darker arts. When you use magic that is out of balance with nature you pay a heavier price for it. I shouldn't say the darker arts. Dark and light really have nothing to do with it, it's more an issue of overuse. Remember when we first started doing lessons and you got so tired after trying to cast simple spells for a while? Well, that is the normal price for neutral magic use. You get tired, but after a little rest you are right as rain. When you use the darker arts or too much magic, throwing the normal balance of thing out of whack, it takes more energy, more magic, more everything. You don’t come back from that kind of output with just a little nap. The price stays with you. It ages you. Witches live longer than humans, but I have seen some witches die long before their time because they were used up by their magic.”

  Caislyn had lost her appetite and pushed what was left on her plate away. She watched through the window as Melina got into a dark sedan and left. "Let's go get those supplies and get out of here before we run into anyone else we know. Besides, we need to get back and let Seth know that we saw her. It can't be a coincidence that Melina turned up in Ireland the same time we did."

  ***

  SKETCHED ENVY

  "Where the hell have you two been?" Seth questioned harshly as Caislyn and Jaxon returned to the cottage.

  Caislyn's eyebrows rose in response as did her arms with the packages she now held. "Shopping, some of us need more than blood to survive."

  "Neither of you knows how to let a person know?"

  Jaxon put the bags she was carrying down on the kitchen counter before she responded. "You were a little busy with ghost granny this morning when we were leaving." She didn't mean for the jealousy to permeate her words, but she could tell by Seth's reaction that he noticed.

  "Cat," he paused trying to find the right words. "We knew each other long ago. She helped me find myself during an exceptionally difficult time."

  Jaxon closed her eyes for a minute trying to breath around the words that Seth was so carefully choosing. Obviously there had been something between Catronia and Seth, despite what Caislyn had to say about it. Not wanting to hear any more about the past that Seth and Catronia shared, Jaxon stormed out of the room and headed for the bedroom she was staying in. "I'm tired, not much sleep last night," she mumbled as she stalked off and slammed the door behind her.

  Seth looked to Caislyn for advice and all she could do was shrug as she continued putting things away. "I don't know what to say about that." Caislyn turned her full attention to Seth as he slumped down in the kitchen chair. "Wanna talk about it?"

  "Catronia was there, she found me, after I had been turned." He sat quietly for a few minutes, obviously reflecting on what had transpired in the field moments ago, or perhaps ages ago. Caislyn let him have this moment without prodding for anything further. "I wasn't happy to become this," he motioned to himself. "I thought I had reconciled myself with it long ago, I guess some wounds never heal though." He paused again and then looked up at Caislyn, "I promised her all those years ago that I would look after her family in the years to come." A small smile escaped him, "I suppose that would mean you, since you've been such a royal pain in my..." Before he could finish the sentence he was catching the dishtowel that Caislyn threw at him. A smile played at the corner of his mouth. "So, Jaxon appears to be jealous of your dead great, great grandmother."

  Caislyn allowed herself to laugh a little. "Yeah, well, girls and their emotions, right?" She caught the dish towel that Seth threw back to her. "So, were you and my grandma an item?" Caislyn shuddered a bit, "sorry," she apologized. "That just seems a little creepy, even for someone who grew up knowing about non-humans."

  "It was a bad time, Caislyn. If we had met under any other circumstances, I would have been quite taken with Catronia. Times being what they were, and me being what I had become..." His voice trailed off a bit and then he continued, "well, romance was the last thing on my mind." He looked down at his hands again, lost in thought. "I owe her a debt I can never repay."

  Caislyn left the conversation there and continued putting things away. Before long Seth came over to help her.
/>   "I almost wish I had gone with you." Seth took the pasta noodles and placed them in the cabinet, "it's been many years since I returned to Rathmullan. I wonder how much it has changed?"

  Although Caislyn thought for sure he was just voicing his thoughts out loud and not really carrying on a conversation she answered him, "it hasn't changed much since I came here as a girl, but I'm sure it has changed quite a bit since you've been here. Caislyn began telling him about the pub she and Jaxon had eaten in and suddenly she remembered Melina had been there. "I almost forgot about seeing Melina."

  "What?" She now had Seth's undivided attention. "You saw Melina? In Rathmallan?"

  "Yea, I think so." Caislyn described Melina and how she looked older, used up by magic, but that she was sure it was her. She also told him what Jaxon had said about seeing her hanging around outside the book store.

  "Well, I had been hoping it would take a bit longer for them to track us down."

  "I don't get the feeling they know we are here. I think it's just a guess on their part. Melina would know where my mother's family had come from. They were close before," Caislyn paused, "before my parents disappeared."

  "I don't like it. Can you spell the cottage to appear unoccupied?"

  "I already did that first thing this morning before I ever left for the store."

  "Good." Seth appeared lost in thought for a moment and then looked up at Caislyn with a weary expression. "Do you still have copies of the sketches you sold at the show?"

  "Yeah, why?"

  "I think you might want to take Jaxon and teleport back to the apartment to get those copies. We might be able to find something useful in there." The far away look returned to Seth's face. "Just be careful and do not leave the apartment. Don't go down into the bookstore or anything. The apartment should still be safe, for now."

  "I'm not sure what help those sketches will be." Caislyn looked up at Seth again, "Are you sure it's a good idea?"

  "I'm pretty sure I know who Melina will be traveling with." Seth said absently, "and I am also certain that you have a sketch of him."

  Caislyn stood quietly trying to figure out Seth's agenda. He seemed determined to keep secrets and she was sure he knew a lot more than he was letting on. Obviously he had been keeping information about her sketches hidden. He knew things that could possibly keep them safe, or help to find her parents. She looked at him and remembered that while she was suspicious, Catronia had trusted him. It was the only saving grace he had in her eyes at the moment.

  "Fine." She replied. "But, when we get back, I want answers. I'm tired of getting half truths from you and information only divulged when you think you can't hide it any longer." She watched as Seth's head snapped up. She finally, had gotten through the funk that he seemed to be dwelling in, and now had his full attention again. "I am not Jaxon. I am not infatuated with you. It gives me a little more clarity." She watched as he made his face unreadable, knowing he would still hide what he could. "I trust you for now, only because Catronia has put her faith in you." She stopped beating around the bush and looked him right in the eye, "That trust is a loosely based thing and can be tossed aside just as quickly as it was given. You will explain yourself when we return." She didn't leave any room for argument. She put the dishtowel down and walked back to the bedroom to retrieve Jaxon.

  ~...~

  “Are you sure this was a good idea?” Jaxon asked as she looked around the apartment they had just teleported into. She kept her stance loose and defensive, just as she had been taught. Her body was ready for the imminent attack her mind expected.

  “Well, I never said it was a good idea, but it will get more information out of your boyfriend and it’s information we need right now.”

  “He is not my,” Caislyn cut her off before she could finish.

  “Boyfriend, okay, maybe not, but close enough.” She eyed her friend one more time and decided now was the best time for a little pep talk. “Remember all those times you were the one highly suspicious of the ‘stalker vamp’ as you used to put it?” She waited for the nod that Jaxon would give her. “Well, you may get distracted by him now that he gets you all hot and bothered, but I still have a lot of unanswered questions and he’s still hell bent on hiding his answers.” Caislyn knew the next part was going to sting Jaxon a little, but she had to get it all off her chest. “I don’t even care what went on between Catronia and Seth all those years ago or why she seems to trust him the way she does. All I know is that he is hiding things and I don’t like it. And you need to remember that when you’re doing the googly-eyed drool fest you do when you’re around him.”

  A very indignant Jaxon snapped her head up to look at Caislyn, “I definitely don’t do a googly-eyed drool thing!” Shame flushed her cheeks with a bright tinge of red across her pale complexion. “Do I?”

  “Yeah, you do!” Caislyn teased as she tossed one of the pillows from the couch at her friend. “Let’s grab some of our clothes and things while we are here too.”

  “Oh yeah! I miss my shoes!” Jaxon crooned as she headed off toward her closet.

  Caislyn walked over to where the box of copied sketches lay and she put them on top of the counter in the kitchen. Then she went to go grab some of her clothes and belongings when she noticed the light blinking on her answering machine. At first she was going to ignore the light, but curiosity got the better of her and she pushed the play button and listened to the familiar voice booming from the speaker.

  “Caislyn, I’m glad to hear you’ve hidden yourself away so well, but we need to talk. I have information you need about the council’s plans now that you two showed up at the meeting and disappeared with Seth. I also found something out about your parents and where they may have been transported to.” The rest of the message was lost on Caislyn as the meaning of those last words fully impacted her. ‘He might know where my parents were taken.’ The thought was there and yet intangible at the same time. Caislyn stood there as the message beeped its end. It wasn’t until Jaxon came around the corner that she snapped out of her daze.

  “What was that?” Jaxon asked.

  Caislyn scrambled to hit the button to make the message play again. Both of the girls listened as the voice of Arkos, leader of the local werewolf pack, boomed from the machine. This time, Caislyn made herself listen to the rest of the message and Jaxon wrote down the information they would need to contact him.

  “Do you think it’s real?” Caislyn finally managed to ask of her friend.

  “I don’t know, Cais. What I do know is that we will damn sure try to find out.

  The girls heard voices coming from the door to the apartment. “Looks like they’ve finally worn down the wards here.” Caislyn said as she grabbed the box of xeroxed sketches and her bag of clothes. The magical wards had been strong enough to keep Caislyn safe for nearly a year after her parents were kidnapped. She was surprised they had been so strong to begin with and that they had lasted as long as they did. Caislyn took a final look around her apartment, not knowing if she would ever be able to come back home to it again. Then she looked at her friend’s hand that was held out waiting to make the connection. “We better get going.” The girls found a way to balance everything they were bringing back and still make contact with one another then they teleported out of the apartment and back to a very worried Seth.

  Seth looked pointedly at all the extra baggage the girls were stumbling over as they teleported back into he cottage beside him. “That seems to be a lot more than a few photo copied sketches.” He saw the worried look on Caislyn’s face and asked, “what happened?”

  “We figured we'd grab a few essentials while we were there." Jaxon's bag tipped over and shoes spilled out around them.

  "Right," Seth said as he handed a shoe back to Jaxon, "essentials."

  "Then," Caislyn continued, ignoring the remark, "we listened to a message that Arkos left for me on the machine. When we were taking down notes on what he said we heard voices. They’ve breached the wards. There
won’t be any more trips back to Hidden Dimensions or the apartment.” Caislyn’s voice took on a much lower, saddened tone as she finished telling him.

  “I thought as much. I was worried they may have already gotten past the wards. Your father was good, but no wards can hold out forever without being reinforced. What did Arkos have to say?”

  Caislyn tossed the answering machine to Seth. “When I heard the voices I grabbed it and tossed it on the pile. I didn’t have time to erase the message, so I thought it was best.”

  Seth smiled. “Smart girl,” he started to say when Jaxon tipped over the bag that she had just picked up. She began to stalk off when Seth grabbed her by the arm. “Can I speak to you for a minute, privately?”

  Caislyn took the hint and grabbed up her bags to take to her room and unpack. “She’s all yours!” Caislyn said as she smiled at the two of them. As she walked out of the room Caislyn caught a glimpse of Jaxon pulling her arm free from Seth’s grasp and plopping down on the couch that was off to her right. “That should be a fun conversation,” Caislyn mumbled to herself.

  ~...~

  Jaxon looked up into Seth’s eyes as he moved closer to her. Instead of sitting beside her on the couch he sat on the coffee table in front of her so that they were eye level with one another. “Well?” She questioned quietly.

  “Jaxon, I don’t know what’s going on here. I thought...” his voice trailed off. For the first time since Jaxon had met Seth she watched as he showed the frustration that he usually kept well hidden. He placed his head in his hands for a moment while she continued to just sit and watch him. Slowly, he brushed his fingers back through his dark hair and looked up again into her nearly black eyes with his otherworldly green ones. “Since we got here,” he started again. “I don’t even know where to begin. This is such a mixed bag.” He looked away from her momentarily as if he had been trying to collect his thoughts. “Listen, because I am not good at this and I won’t know how to say any of it again.” He took her porcelain white hands in his and kept direct eye contact with her, “The other night, I would have given anything for there to have been no interruptions. I would have given anything for the two of us to just let go and be with each other in that moment, like we both wanted.” He smiled at her, “I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since I first saw you in the gallery. Don’t think for a minute that because I have business to discuss with Caislyn or history to relive with a ghost that any of that can even come close to what’s there when I am in the same room with you.” He looked away for a second, distracted by the music that Caislyn had just turned on in the other room. “In fact, it takes so much more than you know for me to concentrate on anyone else when you’re around, because I want to just grab you up in my arms and have my way with you, be damned whoever happens to be around for that!” That smile flashed at Jaxon again, the one that melted her where she sat. “I don’t know what you think you have to be jealous of. You are the only person on my mind lately!” He moved, lightening fast, but she was ready for it and braced herself as he picked her up and settled her in on his lap, as he now sat in the very spot she had just occupied on the couch. Before Jaxon could say a word he had lowered her face to his and began kissing her, effectively cutting off any response she was about to make.