Birthrights

by Butler, Christine M.

  ***

  Bringing on the Change

  The click of her heels along the concrete sidewalks and the swish of her dress as she moved were the prominent noises flooding Jax's ears. Her nerves were on edge for some reason tonight. She chided herself for being so paranoid. She had just had the most successful night of her career, which was good news for both her and Caislyn. Something was still bothering her as she moved along at her swift pace. She shifted restlessly, placing her hand inside her purse, fingers grasping the dagger she had hidden within. It was a comfort for her to touch the carved bone handle as she walked. It momentarily relaxed her, but the uneasy feeling soon returned.

  She was only a block away from her apartment building and had not seen anyone, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being followed. Jaxon quickened her pace as she crossed over McMorrine Street heading towards the exposed entrance of her apartment complex garage. She was not even ten feet away when she took in a deep breath and tried to convince herself that everything was fine. She could feel like a jackass for perceiving non-existent threats later. Jax scanned the garage one last time before she entered it, heading for the stairwell that would lead to her apartment. Seeing nothing, she continued her visual checks of the area around all the cars as she walked. As she passed by the few, old, beat up, familiar cars that occupied the garage she heard someone breathing. She tried to tell herself it was just her mind playing tricks, but then she heard it again. A deep intake of breath from someone nearby. It sounded almost as if they were sniffing the air. She tightened her grip on the dagger and picked up her pace once more, headed for the stairs.

  "Well, well, well, aren't we just the fancy bitch tonight?" The harsh tone in that voice echoed off the walls and stopped Jax dead in her tracks. She knew that voice and as she said the name to herself, a cold sweat spread across her body.

  "Rick," Jaxon whispered to herself. Her ex-boyfriend had tracked her down like he always said he would. She had trained during her recovery to be prepared in case he had ever found her. She knew she could defend herself, but Jaxon wasn't sure she would be able to move through the fear that was now coursing through her body. She listened intently, hearing him approaching from behind, but also hearing other sounds of approach from one, no, two other directions. He had not come alone. 'Coward,' she thought to herself. His hand touched the small of her back and slid along her side as he walked around her body to face her. Bile rose in her throat. Any moment now she expected the same fear she'd felt all that time ago to envelope her, make her helpless. That feeling never surfaced. Still she braced herself for the inevitable pain Rick was bound to bestow upon her.

  "What, no hello, Jasmine? Aren't you glad to see me?" he laughed bitterly. He reached a hand to touch her face and she moved away from it. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You know better than to turn from me." He grabbed her upper arms and pulled her close. His friends drew closer, laughing at the obvious terror that Rick could impart on his victims. With her face still turned away, his breath was evident on her cheek. A fire was welling up inside of her and begging for release. As Rick nuzzled her face and neck, inhaling her sent, Jax was choking on his overbearing cologne. His scent had such an animal smell to it that she wasn't sure at first if her mind was playing tricks on her. He smelled like a wet dog dipped in aftershave. Deep inside of her that fire was blazing brighter and while she didn't understand what was happening to her, she knew tonight she had something more than just her ability with swords on her side. Jaxon still hadn't responded to him, even though he had been repeating his question to her over and over. He shook her so hard she felt as if her neck would snap before she was able to get her feet solidly under her again. "I said, look at me, and answer me!" He was snarling now, he was beginning to look the part of the animal whose sent lingered on him. "Why did you leave me?!" He was shouting now, as she just looked into his eyes and smiled. The burning rage that had been building inside her had finally bubbled over to her eyes, and when she smiled it was not a kind smile or even the fearful one Rick had hoped for. What he saw in her eyes gave him pause because he had never seen it there before.

  Rick pushed her away, brushing off that feeling of icy cold fingers sliding across his bones. As he walked to the stairs he ordered his two friends to follow with her. When Rick had pushed her, Jax had stumbled a bit in her high heeled shoes, but she didn't stumble as hard as she appeared to. Jax was formulating a plan at breakneck speed. It was as if someone had taken out all of her doubt, her emotions, and the seemingly endless array of bullshit knowledge and replaced it with the sheer thought of survival. As Rick's goons began to approach, Jax rocked herself forward, grabbing inside the clutch that had fallen from her grasp. As the short and stocky lackey approached her from the right she continued that forward rock into a full out roll. When she came back up to her feet, she was standing face to face with Mister Stocky. What Mister Stocky failed to realize was that when she came to her feet, her amazingly beautiful, bone handled, silver dagger was being propelled up in front of her. She sunk it home just under his ribs angled upward with her movements. He looked onto her eyes and saw a dark fire burning there before he looked down at his own wounds and dropped to the ground.

  The other man, who was tall with an athletic build and a blond crew cut had been stalking up to them as a predator would, until the moment the unseen dagger hit its mark. He stopped short, sniffing the air and crouched into a fighting stance. Jax also sensed what he had. There was another presence nearby, but before she could see who it was she was watching Mr. Crew Cut sailing through the air, over top the red Pontiac Sunfire parked just beside them. He didn't stop until he hit the far garage wall, taking chunks of the paint and concrete with him as he slid down to the cold hard ground. Jax turned back to look and saw no one. While she wasn't entirely sure what just happened she decided to go after Rick. She ran up the stairs, giving Rick the advantage. As she rounded the stairs on the landing he was already there grabbing her and using her own momentum to slam her through the door to her apartment. 'Damn, crappy doors!' Jax thought to herself. 'Screw better locks when the door won't hold up to a little beat down.' Rick tossed her aside as he shut the now splintered door behind him.

  The only light in Jaxon's apartment was filtering through the curtains from the street lights outside. The barely there light sent eerie shadows through the room and across Ricks face, making it look disfigured. Jaxon could feel the anger rolling off of him in waves. It matched the grotesque look the shadows were creating. Jax still had her dagger in hand. She kept scooting backwards away from Rick as he slowly stepped towards her. Anger consumed him. Jax could feel the emotion as if it were tangible. It was taking her breath away. She grabbed a hold of the arm of her couch and pulled herself up, running towards the bedroom. She slammed the door and locked it.

  Rick laughed, "That's not going to hold me anymore Jasmine. I'm stronger now, and so much more than what I used to be when I was just a human."

  Jax backed away from the door up against the bed. "Just a human,' she thought. Reality suddenly dawned on her. She had melled something strange in the garage, the musty animal scent, it was Rick. 'Oh God,' she thought. 'What do I know about Lycans? Not a damn thing, but if I get out of this I am definitely gonna learn everything I can!' She looked around and remembered her sword on the wall beside her. She used her dagger to slice her dress further up so she could move better. Then she replaced the dagger with the sword on the wall. She knew she was going to have to keep her distance from him and a dagger was only good for up and close and personal.

  Jax kicked off her heels as Rick knocked lightly on the door. "Little pig, little pig, let me in..." he mocked the children's story. He let out a guttural laugh that sounded more like a growl. The door burst in and there he stood. Rick's eyes were glowing, his face was contorting – the disfigurement no longer just a play of light. He was beginning to change in front of her. Rick took several steps towards her and continued his transformation.

  At that moment, somethi
ng in Jax shifted. Whatever had been awakened in her early wanted out and it wasn't going to take no for an answer. Her body tightened and her breath stopped in her lungs. Everything went silent. It was as if the world stopped moving for just a split second. Jax closed her eyes briefly to give herself a mental shake. When she looked up again at Rick, her vision was different. She could see him fully covered in fur, face like a wolf, glowing eyes, and much bigger and muscular than he'd ever been. His clothes were in pieces around him. But there was something else, she could hear his heartbeat and see his blood flowing inside of him. Jaxon could smell his blood, his anger, his excitement at what he thought he was going to do. She took all those things in within a matter of seconds. The world had slowed down, all except for her.

  Rick growled showing huge sharp teeth and drool dripped from his jaws. Jaxon looked right at the lycan version of Rick, "I am so not tongue kissing you." He lunged. Jax spun left and felt the sting of his claws as he made contact with her back. Using the bed as a spring, she bounced up and behind him. Raising her sword she slashed as she moved past him. Rick roared and swiped at her. She stood facing him again, holding the sword up so that he could see his own blood dripping down the blade.

  Rick's inability to gain control over his own anger had always been his downfall. Jax was using that against him now. He jumped at her again. For Jaxon, time slowed down again. She felt like she was leisurely walking out of the way, as if she had all the time in the world to move. In reality, it was less than a second and she was behind him again. Rick turned, confused that he had not made contact with his prey.

  Jax was confused too, but her body seemed to be on auto-pilot and it would not stop to allow her to figure things out. She would have to work it out on her own later. She took the opportunity, the moment of confusion had brought, and swung her blade from right to left. Rick howled and grabbed his mid-section. Blood poured down through his arms. He roared at the pain and lunged at her again. Jax jumped straight up and brought her sword down and through the back of Rick's neck. His body fell limply onto the floor, reverting back to its human form, with her straddled over top of it. Jax thought she heard something from behind her and she wheeled around in a defensive stance before she could even think about what she was doing. The room was empty, save herself, the dead body beneath her, and the piece of paper that was slowly flitting its way to the floor from the bookshelf that stood beside the doorway. Someone or something had been in the room a moment ago. Her body sensed no more danger, and while she didn't understand that feeling, she knew that she had to trust herself. Jaxon stood up to her full height and looked around her apartment. Blood was spattered everywhere, the dead body of her ex-boyfriend lay beneath her, while drops of his blood rolled down her sword and ticked their way onto the floor beside her. She took a deep breath and all she could smell was the sweet metallic scent of blood mingled with the musty odor of dog. 'Now is not the time to go into shock, Jax.' she thought to herself. 'Get your things, get out, and get to Caislyn. She will know what to do.'

  Jaxon grabbed her bag, shoved in jeans, some t-shirts and underwear. Then she grabbed her brush and toothbrush and her file of important papers. She grabbed a second bag and threw in some daggers and a few blades. She looked around wondering where her purse was. Then it hit her, it was in the garage, she'd have to get it on her way out. After grabbing some shoes Jaxon ran downstairs to the garage to grab her purse and go.

  The garage was silent. The bodies of both of Rick's friends were gone. Her purse was laying near the front tire of the Pontiac that she had watched Mr. Crew Cut fly over. The wall of the garage still held the evidence of his demise. Hesitantly, she dropped down picked up her purse and turned to run. Her car was only a few parking spots away. Jaxon hit the unlock mechanism on her key chain and dove into her Nissan Sentra as she got to it. She immediately locked the doors behind her. She knew these silly locks and doors would do nothing to keep her safe, but she could live with the delusion as long as it got her away quickly. The car was started and reversing out of the parking space before she even realized she had done it.

  As she put the car in drive and tore out of the garage she was also calling Caislyn on her cell. Caislyn answered before the first ring finished, “What happened?"

  "Oh my God, it was awful! Wait, how did you know something happened? Never mind. I'm..."

  "You're coming here, now." Case said finishing Jax’s sentence as usual.

  "Yeah, I'll be right over. You are not going to believe anything I tell you."

  "Wanna bet?"

  ***

  Flickering Flames

  Caislyn was already waiting downstairs in the bookstore when Jaxon arrived. She quickly opened the door and stepped aside to allow Jax to enter. The poor girl was shaking so hard you would have thought it was freezing outside instead of the unseasonably warm weather that was hovering over their town. Caislyn reached out and grabbed hold of Jax in a one armed hug as she shut and secured the door.

  "Are you sure you're okay?" Caislyn asked as she looked her friend over for any signs of her having been injured. It was at that moment, while she looked Jaxon over that Caislyn realized this person, her friend, was so much more. 'I would be just as devastated if anything ever happened to her as I was when my parents disappeared,' she thought. She hadn't waited for Jax to answer her, she just started guiding her to the back of the store. "Let's go upstairs and get you a drink."

  Jax dropped her bags and began heading toward the stairs, she turned back around when she noticed Caislyn had let go of her and had turned to physically make sure the door was locked.

  “Why don't you just do some magic flip of the wrist to lock the door, I've seen you do that before,” she asked Caislyn.

  “The act of physically doing something holds a stronger weight than magically doing it. You are putting both your mental and physical weight behind a lock when you perform the task this way. Upstairs I am not as worried about things because of the double locks down here and the wards that increase on each floor of the building.” As Caislyn caught up to her she continued to explain, “this is why when you want a spell to be potent you actually cast the circle and perform all the ceremony that goes with it, instead of doing it mentally. It adds more strength to the spell."

  "Oh," Jaxon responded, thinking it over in her head. "I guess that makes sense."

  "Let's go, we'll talk when we get up there." Caislyn turned and looked at the door behind her once more. "I will feel more secure talking upstairs after what happened, and I know you will too."

  Jaxon sat on the couch in the living room while Caislyn went to make some hot chocolate, laced with butterscotch schnapps. When she returned with the two steaming mugs she noticed Jaxon was fervently looking around the room for something. Caislyn simply handed the mug to Jax and sat in the chair opposite her.

  "Jax, what are you looking for?" Caislyn asked before she continued to sip from her own mug.

  "Where are they?" Jaxon asked, almost breathlessly. She was breathing heavily, her blood was pumping so fast she felt a rush of pressure in her head and knew she needed to calm herself, but she also needed answers, because this night had been her worst nightmare come true. Well, except for the fact that she wasn't sure how it had turned out differently than the nightmares that always awoke her in her sleep.

  Caislyn looked questioningly to her friend, "where are who, Jax?"

  "Not who." She said turning back toward Caislyn, "where are the sketches? You said you had already seen what had happened, so there must be sketches, right?"

  "Oh!" Caislyn sat her mug down on one of the coasters that were haphazardly tossed about her living room tables. She got up and walked to her bedroom. The brand new pad sat on the nightstand beside her bed, still opened to the last image she saw in her visions before she woke up. After doing research so early in the day about her parent's whereabouts, Caislyn had fallen asleep earlier than she normally did. Apparently that was enough to get her in dreamland in time to start sketching wh
at Jaxon was encountering, because thirty minutes later she was sitting up in her bed, asleep and sketching. As soon as her consciousness realized it was Jax that she was sketching, she was brought out of her reverie and stopped sketching, so the last one in the series was incomplete. It hadn't been until Jaxon called that Caislyn knew how the fight ended, it was also the reason Caislyn had been so shaken. She hadn't know if she had lost another person in her life. Caislyn took the pad into her shaking hands and walked back to the living room and handed it over to Jaxon.

  Jax mumbled a quick thank you to Caislyn before flipping to the beginning of the book and looking through the sketches Caislyn had done. She quickly flipped through the pages, disappointed at only seeing four sketches and the last one didn't even look finished. She turned back to the first page again, needing to see the details of what had happened to her. It was a bit surreal to stare at a moment of time in her life, frozen in the charcoal and graphite on a page, especially when that moment had come and gone so quickly in her own eyes. Jaxon jumped back as the images on the page finally started making sense and she saw Rick standing there wide-eyed and so realistic she thought he might walk off the page and attack her again. 'That can't happen,' she thought to herself, 'I took his head, he won't be coming back this time.'