Birthrights

by Butler, Christine M.

  "And what did he have to do with the Seer?"

  "Ve had offered to help hide him, but in the process of getting the Seer back to his place the Seer was taken."

  The girls looked at each other with surprise. "By whom?"

  "Melina."

  "Who's Melina" Jaxon asked never having heard that name before.

  "She's a witch Marc hired to do a job for him. But she apparently screwed up and that's why he had me watching Caislyn."

  Caislyn paled as she recognized the name of the witch Seth had mentioned. She put her mug on the table and wrapped her arms around herself as the memories of the night her parents disappeared assaulted her.

  Jaxon didn't have to see Caislyn shut down and close herself off to know that Melina meant something big. She felt the overwhelming change in Caislyn's energies. "Cais, who is Melina?"

  Caislyn ignored the question for now. She had more important things to think about. She dumped a small vial of liquid in Seth's tea, not caring if he saw. "Please, drink up; we can't have you walking into a Vamp Council meeting telling them everything you know."

  Seth understood then what the girls had done. They had used some sort of truth spell on him which was why he divulged so much information to them. He simply nodding a knowing look at Caislyn and drank the remainder of his tea. "We will talk about that later," he said as he got up to leave. "Stay inside, too many people know too much right now and you are both in danger. Stay upstairs where the wards are strongest. I will come for you when the council meeting is over. I have a plan."

  After Seth left Jaxon tried again, "Cais, who is Melina?"

  "She's dead! That's who she is. That double-crossing, power-hungry bitch!"

  "Well, that clears things up."

  "She was working with my parents on whatever they were researching." She thought back about the night her parents were taken and the visions she had. "My mom tried to protect her before she was taken."

  The betrayal was evident now, as Jaxon hugged Caislyn, "We'll get her. We need to practice some things I have been thinking about before we go infiltrate this vampire council meeting to rescue my stalker."

  That definitely snapped Caislyn out of her memories. "What?"

  "If Melina was working so closely with your parents, don't you think she would have picked up on you being a little more than a witch?" Jaxon thought about that a little. "Maybe not, but just in case, it seems to me that if Melina knew, she was double-crossing your parents already, she had the Seer and no telling what he told her, and God only knows what this Marc Pithview, supposed gallery owner, knows. And Frank saw me do what I did, which means they will probably make him testify too. Seth is in trouble and he's never let us down when we needed help. We need to get there and pull him out. In order to do that, we have to figure out how the hell you teleported before."

  Caislyn sat in awe for a moment wondering how her friend had pulled herself together so well under pressure while she felt like falling apart right now. Then, she noticed it. Jaxon's eyes were a bit darker and her body seemed too calm. "Jax?" Caislyn questioned. "Are you vamping out right now?"

  "Just a little. But only enough to take the edge off and keep a shield up so I stop feeling what you're going through." She gave her friend a sympathetic look, "Look, I know it's hard. I would sit here and cry with you all night over everything that has happened to you, but we just don't have time for it now. So, I say we act now and cry later."

  "I don't know how to teleport."

  "Huh? Oh, yeah, right down to business." Jaxon told Caislyn to think of being downstairs in the bookstore and see if she could make it happen.

  Caislyn did as directed.

  "Well, obviously that didn't work." Jaxon said after a few minutes.

  "I felt a little tingle every time I tried, like my body wanted to go somewhere, but I didn't have a big enough battery to power the trip." Caislyn said. At the quizzical look on Jaxon's face Caislyn said, "What? I don't know how to explain it. That's the best I could do."

  "Hmm," Jaxon looked at her friend and thought about her shield and how it worked almost effortlessly and at much higher power during the times they were attacked. "I think I know what's going on with it." She walked closer to Caislyn and grabbed her hand. "Think bookstore and let's go." Jaxon closed her eyes and moments later when she opened them again she was standing in the bookstore downstairs. "Sweet!"

  "Wow," Caislyn looked around at the bookstore, "it worked that time." She looked at Jaxon and the knowledge dawned on her. "Together," She said. "We have to work together for the big things. I wonder how that works."

  "Yeah, I was thinking of my shield and how it was so much easier to do and so much more effective when we were huddled together during the Fey attack, and I thought maybe it was a boost in power from being so close."

  "Good thinking Jax!" Caislyn turned to go back upstairs.

  "Why don't we just port back up?"

  "We need a plan to get your stalker boyfriend out of trouble and I think we need to conserve our energy for that one," Caislyn responded.

  ***

  Discoveries & Disappearances

  The girls surprised themselves by actually being able to port not far from the council meeting.

  “Hey, you did it!” Jaxon exclaimed, then staggered a bit. “uh, I’m not sure I’m ever going to get used to that feeling. Teleporting sucks.”

  Caislyn kept a firm hold on her friend while she regained her footing. “You okay, Jax? Can you maintain the shield? We will do it just like we did at the apartment. You concentrate on the shield and I’ll do the invisibility.” They had learned at the apartment that if they were physically connected, their powers doubled and each gained new skills.

  Jaxon nodded her confirmation as the girls took each others hands. Immediately, a barrier of energy surrounded them. Caislyn looked around, still amazed that they could do such a thing. Then she concentrated and chanted a quick invisibility spell she had learned from her father years ago. She was beginning to understand that much of what he had taught her had been Fey magic. He had been training her even then to be able to protect herself when the time came.

  Once they were sure the spell was complete, signaled by the tingle of energy flowing through their connected hands, the girls moved quietly towards the council members. They listened momentarily as a vampire who oozed authority stood asking Seth if he had anything else he wanted to add before the council went to confer. They assumed at that point that things were not going well for Seth and they took a couple steps forward to be near him.

  “That guy's just a pompous as-“ Jax began when Caislyn hushed her.

  “Shh! Just because they can’t see us, doesn’t mean they can’t hear us.”

  Jaxon’s brow furrowed and she leaned in to whisper, “This magic thing has far too many variables. I say we grab him and go. I mean he’s losing. Look at how they are looking at him, and that one in particular.” She pointed to a fair haired vampire whose face was unreadable, “He’s burning up with rage. He’s not going to be able to contain it soon.”

  Caislyn looked around at the small, restless group. “I think you’re right Jax. None of them look very happy with Seth right now. I think they’ve already made up their minds and he just doesn’t want to give up.”

  Jax nodded in agreement, “Yep. He’s stubborn that way.”

  The girls took one last look around then each reached out and grabbed one of Seth's arms. Caislyn thought 'take us somewhere safe.' The girls, who had moments before been unseen by those in attendance at the Council meeting, became clear the moment they touched the vampire. Before any of the supernatural leaders could react, they were gone with him, having vanished just as quickly as they had appeared.

  When they reached their destination, they all stumbled forward on hard stone floors.

  "This looks a little like our old country cottage, but it's not." Caislyn said as she looked around taking in her surroundings.

  "You don't know where we are?" Jax asked,
still on her hands and knees staring at the stone floor. She was tentative on moving as her senses were still up-ended from teleporting.

  "You should not have done that." Seth barked, looking completely startled.

  "What do you mean we shouldn't have done that? We just saved your ass and ours! You could be a bit more appreciative!" Jaxon snapped back as she got back to her feet.

  "You didn't save my ass, I had everything under control. The council was swaying in my favor. If you had just listened to me, for once, and stayed home, this would have never happened! You have no idea what you've just done!" Seth spat as he stood face to face with Jaxon.

  "Whoa, both of you, fighting isn't going to help anyone right now." Caislyn got in between her friend and the pissed vampire. "Just calm down and then we can talk about what's going on. First I think we need to figure out where we are," she continued as she started to walk around the quaint cottage.

  "No, you don't understand!" Seth's harsh tone reverberated off the walls.

  Caislyn turned to face him, "Then explain it to us, calmly." Jaxon crossed her arms in a defensive gesture and went to stand beside her friend. She was trying to tamp down her anger. Caislyn had taught her before that she needed to keep her emotions under control since anything flammable in close proximity could ignite. Jax didn't want to cause an unintentional fire in some unknown place just because Seth was being a jerk.

  Seth took a deep breath, he had to make them understand how much trouble they were now in. "The High Council had information about Jaxon being a part of the prophecy. I had convinced them she wasn't. Not that they would ever listen to that underhanded son of a bitch, Pithview, but they were about to dismiss everything. The council was in my favor, until you appeared out of nowhere and kidnapped me. You have just become the number one enemy for the council now! You showed them your power! They are going to hunt you down and kill you!"

  The girls stood speechlessly staring at Seth while they processed what he had just told them.

  Caislyn spoke up first "What do you mean they saw us appear out of nowhere? How did they see us? When we teleported there, Jaxon's shield was up and I was keeping us invisible."

  "Apparently your shield or whatever you were doing didn't work as well as you thought. Maybe you should have stayed home, like I told you to do and practiced it a bit." Seth chastised.

  "My shield works just fine, thank you very much, and for the record, we didn't kidnap you. We were saving you, though now I'm thinking we should have just left you there and teleported here without you." Jaxon retorted.

  Seth looked at her wishing he could shake some sense into her. Jaxon was the most aggravating and confusing individual he had ever come in contact with. "The council doesn't realize you didn't kidnap me. To them, you suddenly appeared and took me. Any doubts they might have had about Jaxon being part of the prophecy are now gone. And you weren't even on their radar yet,” he said eying Caislyn. “Now they know about you as well. Why can't she see that I'm trying to help you both? Trying to protect her?" he said as he turned to pace around the room.

  “Maybe because you are treating her like a wayward child instead of like the competent adult that she is. Jaxon has been through a lot in the last few weeks, and considering that, I’d say she’s handling your overbearing father act quite well. Personally, I would have staked you by now,” Caislyn answered.

  "Hello - once again - standing right here! What is it with the two of you and your ability to forget that I am in the room too?" Jaxon complained with her hands on her hips.

  Seth and Caislyn both stopped to look at her, neither one knowing how to respond to their perturbed friend. Fortunately, Caislyn was saved from answering when she saw a picture on the shelf just behind Jaxon’s shoulder. She walked over and picked it up. Jaxon could feel the memories wash over her friend in a mixture of emotion.

  “Its my mother and my grandmother,” Caislyn explained in a wispy voice. She held the picture close to her chest and looked around the quaint cottage. “This is my grandmother’s cottage. I haven’t been here since I was little,” she smiled at the memories of her childhood.

  Jaxon came closer to look at the picture and give Caislyn a side hug. “So when you teleported us, you didn’t know where we were going to end up?

  “I just said to take us somewhere safe. I can’t think of anywhere safer than here. Its not even in the same country.” Caislyn smiled.

  “What?” Jaxon and Seth responded simultaneously. Jaxon ignored Seth, and continued to question Caislyn. “What do you mean we aren’t in the same country? Where are we? Don’t we need a passport for that kind of thing? I am so not getting deported!”

  Caislyn giggled at Jaxon’s reaction. “We are in Ireland. But what matters is we are safe here. For the first time in weeks, we can let our guard down a little.”

  Seth stepped up “The council is after you. You aren’t safe anywhere.”

  Jaxon rolled her eyes, “do you always have to put your negative two cents in, really? I’m just about tired of hearing you tell us how wrong we are about everything. Can we do anything right by you?”

  “At least I’m being rational about the whole thing! I’m not off flaunting my power in the face of the very one who wants me dead! You are both acting like amateurs and it’s going to get you killed! Someone needs to keep you safe and since I’m the only one that seems to care if you keep your heads attached, you might start listening to me!” Seth shouted back.

  Caislyn stepped between her companions again stopping them from further provocation. “Guys, no more fighting. It’s not helping the situation. Regardless of how long,” she glanced at Seth to make her point, “we are safe for the time being. Why don’t we take advantage of that time and get some sleep. We are all exhausted. First thing tomorrow morning, we can sit down and figure out our game plan. Seth you can either take the couch or there’s a small study on the other side of the kitchen that has a pull out in it. I know its not a water bed or anything but it might be more comfortable than the couch. Okay?”

  Jaxon glared over Caislyn’s head at Seth a moment longer then allowed herself to be turned around and walked down the hallway towards the bedrooms. “He’s just so, so… I don’t know what he is! But its pissing me off!”

  Caislyn linked her arm with Jax as they walked down the hallway. “Sweetie, he’s being over protective because he cares about you.”

  “Whatever! He’s a vampire. He has his own agenda.” Jaxon huffed and plopped down on the bed in the room they entered.

  Caislyn stood at the doorway. “You are too, Jax. Sort of. So you can't use that excuse anymore.”

  “How about he’s male? Is that a good enough excuse?” Jaxon snarled as she fell back laying across the bed.

  Caislyn smirked “Maybe. But you can’t deny that there’s something going on between the two of you.”

  “Not what I wanted to hear Caislyn! Now get out!” Jaxon playfully threw a pillow at her friend.

  Caislyn laughed as she caught the pillow and tossed it back. “Okay fine. Bathroom is down two doors and I’m on the other side of you. If you need anything, just yell.” She shut the door leaving Jaxon to rest and walked into the room her mother used to share with her on their visits. Caislyn could feel the exhaustion tugging at her and knew it wouldn’t be long before she was sound asleep.

  Jaxon lay upon the small bed staring at the ceiling. She had been tossing and turning for at least an hour. Her mind was just whirring through information. Caislyn was right, Jax had been through a lot in just a few weeks. It was amazing that she wasn't in some padded room somewhere by now! She couldn't remember the last decent night's sleep she'd had, and instead of enjoying a night off, Seth wanted to be Mr. Jerkface and ruin the one time that they might have some peace!

  Jaxon leaned up and pounded the pillow trying to make it more cushy. 'Stupid vampire,' she thought angrily. She dropped her head back down with a pout. Jaxon turned again in the bed searching for a comfortable position. Every time she st
opped moving, her mind would drift back to her latest confrontation with Seth. 'I refuse to waste anymore time thinking about him and his arrogance. I'll go fix some hot tea and relax. I'm going to get some good sleep tonight, one way or another!' she decided as she got up and threw on her clothes.

  ****

  Caislyn dropped off to sleep almost immediately. She felt secure and at home here, her grandmother and great grandmother had always made certain everyone felt at home in the cottage. Her dreams jumped around a bit, unstable, and random with her last flitting thoughts of the day. She found herself reliving that night that her parents were taken. She watched as her mom sent first Melina and then the book flying off into space. The men in the brown robes were there, the one with the ice eyes was looking at her direction, but he couldn't see her there. She was only a dream. A thought occurred to Caislyn then that she needed to follow the book, but before she could fixate on that thought her dream jumped.

  Caislyn found herself walking around the hidden bunker at the Summer's End party. She walked right into Gregore. His solid body seemed to call out to her. There she was looking up into his eyes, part of her knowing this was just a dream, but wishing it was so much more. She looked into those eyes and abandoned all pretenses. She reached toward his face tentatively, brushed a hand across his cheek, then reached behind his head running her fingers through his hair as she guided him closer. The kiss they shared sent little shock waves through her body, almost as if an electric current were humming through her. The kiss, which started out a light and feathery thing turned into something more, a hungry need that built between the two of them.

  There was a knocking on what sounded like glass that brought Caislyn's attention from Gregore. They were suddenly sitting in a car outside of her family's cottage in North Carolina. Someone was tapping on the window of the cottage. "Oh! I have to go, my parents are going to be so pissed." Caislyn said, without another thought her hand flew to the door handle.

  "Cais, no, stay with me, please!" Gregore begged her. His voice broke up a little on the please which in turn twisted at Caislyn's heart. "These are the dreams I have of you, only this one feels so real. Don't walk away from it now."