Scion's Freedom (Siren Publishing Classic)

by J. Annas Walker

  As they exited the van, one of the massive doors opened. The spilling light was interrupted by a middle-aged woman in a pale green gossamer gown similar to the gatekeeper’s. A long, dark braid speckled with gray draped over one shoulder. She smiled warmly and beckoned them up the stairs. Cassy greeted her with a kiss to each cheek.

  “Merry meet, Mother. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice,” Cassy said.

  “Merry meet, Cassy. Please, bring your consort and companion in out of the cold. There is much to discuss.” The woman disappeared back into the house. Cassy followed without looking back at the men. She could hear them following her.

  The entrance opened up into a sunken palm-lined court. The marble floors and soaring ceiling gave her the impression of being in a garden. There were wicker chairs and small matching tables scattered around. Mother motioned them to have a seat.

  When the woman had left, David leaned in to whisper questions to Cassy. “Why did you call her Mother? Is she your mother? You referred to the gatekeeper as Maiden. Why?”

  “No, she’s not. My mother died when Sherman set fire to Atlanta. Mother is a title indicative of a witch’s age and status. It means she has given birth at least once and gained enough wisdom to no longer be a Maiden. The gatekeeper is always called Maiden. The job usually goes to someone with enough knowledge to be called Mother but who has chosen not to have children,” she explained. “This is a matriarchal society.”

  Cap cleared his throat and joined their conversation. “So, are we supposed to just sit here and look cute while you conduct business?”

  “No. You may request information, but you have to make it a request. Never lose your temper, and be polite. They will answer or else let you know why they refuse. They do nothing without a reason.”

  David asked, “Why won’t they just tell us what they know?”

  “The Burning Times. If I rounded up over a million people, tortured them, and then set them on fire in an effort to eradicate a single group, would you expect those same people to care what happened to me or my kind?” She waited for an answer.

  “I guess not,” David answered. He looked down at his hands.

  Cap scratched his head, looking around. “Is that why they are so neutral all the time?”

  Cassy shook her head. “It isn’t neutrality. They just don’t care what happens to mankind. Nor will they allow themselves to become pawns in the power plays other magical creatures conduct. They genuinely want to be left in peace.”

  Cap stopped looking around and addressed Cassy. “So, what’s to say they’ll tell us anything?”

  “They’ll want an information exchange. We have the thumb drive. It may be of use to them,” Cassy said. Cap shifted uneasily in his seat.

  A single piece of rolled parchment fluttered down in front of her. Before she could pick it up, it unrolled itself. On the blank surface, writing began to appear.

  Please join us in the dining hall.

  Lady Helena

  “I guess we are invited to dinner,” David surmised. “Good, I’m hungry. We drove nonstop up every winding pig-path between here and there avoiding the interstates.”

  “Whiner,” Cap muttered under his breath. “Does anybody know where the dining hall is?”

  “Yes,” said Cassy. “It’s been a long time since I was here last, but I think I remember.”

  They stood together. Cassy exited the indoor courtyard to the rear and entered a small room with a large oval table and chairs. Passing through this room, she led them to a door on the right. The soaring ceiling was surrounded by glass windows along the top. Even so, the heavy wood panels and darker décor made the room seem dim in comparison to the indoor courtyard. The enormous fireplace was lit with a roaring blaze. A table long enough to seat everyone in the house sprawled out before them. At the far end sat thirteen gray-haired women, six on either side of the table’s head.

  In the principal chair sat a very old woman. She wore a heavy black cloak over a thick woolen gown. Her grizzled features had been ravaged by the ages. Her eyes were taking on a milky haze. Cassy could not tell how old the woman was. Witches were never immortal, but she knew their life spans were extremely long.

  “Sit with us and take refreshments,” the crone offered. She flicked her fingers. The chairs closest to the seated women slid out. She raised one hand above her head and snapped. Charging plates and glassware floated down, landing in front of the three offered chairs. Silverware landed neatly to either side of the plates. By Cassy’s plate, stainless steel replaced the silver.

  “Thank you,” Cassy said. “It was kind of you to see me, Lady Helena.”

  “Think nothing of it, child. I have memories of you from the moment of your birth. Your mother was a favorite of mine. I was most vexed at hearing she passed into the summer lands. We are pleased to offer you assistance,” Lady Helena chuckled. “It is good to see you again, too, David Ashe, son of Lucinda, grandson of Godfrey. But you are much changed since last I saw you.” She ignored Cap completely.

  “You know me? I beg your pardon. I don’t recall meeting you,” David said with uncertainty. He seemed genuinely confused.

  “Of course, you were only a newborn. You would have no memory of it. Now, let us begin with food and end with conversation,” Lady Helena commanded. She clapped her hands twice. The glasses filled with wine. Trays with plated food floated through the air to the table. When the trays landed, the plates lifted themselves up, landing on the chargers in front of each person. Roasted meats, potatoes, and leafy greens mounded every plate, save one. Cassy’s held black pudding and a side of blood sausage. Her glass held a blood-wine mixture. Until the plate presented itself, Cassy had not realized how hungry she was.

  No one spoke throughout dinner. Glasses clinked, forks and knives made noises against the plates, and the fire crackled at the end of the table. When everyone was finished, the old woman clapped twice again. The used dishes returned to the trays and levitated. They drifted out of the room the way they had entered. Another clap and the fire went out. The thirteen women rose in unison. Cassy, David, and Cap followed suit.

  “Child, I wish for you and your consort to follow me to the library. You have questions in need of answers. Let us see what we can find.” The old woman strode ahead back through the indoor courtyard, past the entrance hall, and stopped at a tapestry-lined gallery. Before entering the gallery, she turned to face the group. “Lady Ursula, would you be so kind as to show the Princess’s companion to a guest room. I would prefer a private audience with her and her consort.”

  A tall, thin woman to her right stepped away from the group. She extended a long, rail-like arm toward Cap. “This way, please, Captain George Duffington.” It sounded like a polite invitation, but the weight behind it had a driving force. If Cap had any objections, he kept them to himself. He followed her up the spiraled staircase in a trance-like state.

  David whispered in Cassy’s ear, “Is he okay?”

  “We have done him no harm, but this conversation should be between only us, for the time being. Once vetted, he will rejoin us,” said a shorter woman whose gray braids made a crown interwoven with small flowers. Her eyes were the same icy blue as the gatekeeper’s. Cassy suspected this was her grandmother.

  The remaining group entered the gallery and proceeded to the library at the end. The dark wooden walls were lined with thousands of volumes of old books. Heavy furniture filled the floor space. The fireplace was a dark hole in the wall until erupting into life. The balcony railing that ringed the upper floor cast shadows against the walls. The women took seats either in chairs or on oversized silk pillows piled on the floor. Lady Helena sat nearest the fire. She pointed at two cushions and crooked her finger. They scooted across the floor, stopping at her feet.

  “Come, children. Sit with me and talk,” the grizzled crone invited. Cassy and David obliged. “Now, Cassandra, dear, tell me your story. Why are you here?”

  It took a considerable time to weave the sto
ry and fill in the details. She started with Erica bringing home the box and thumb drive and finished with calling the crow. David told how the department suspected a mole in the unit and his distrust for using others to keep the only survivor safe. The group sat intently listening. When they had finished, the old woman sat stone-faced and silent.

  “We have heard of these murders. Until we look at the information you brought, we may be unable give you what you seek, vindication or condemnation. As for why you are being targeted, I think you will find these victims have more in common than vocally predicting The Fall. They have you. You are the focal point,” Helena said with considerable stress.

  “Me? How can they be tied to me? I have never met any of them before in my life!”

  “That is something we may be able to tell you once we have seen the documents you brought.”

  She held out her hand for the thumb drive. Cassy laid it down gently. The old woman curled her hand around it and opened her palm to reveal empty space.

  With considerable amount of patience, the crone asked, “Did you call your father as Erica requested?”

  “No, Lady, I didn’t.” Cassy admitted, chagrinned.

  “Is this man why?” She motioned to David. There was no judgment in either her actions or her tone. Sincere curiosity dripped from her voice.

  “Not exactly, Lady. I didn’t want his help. He made it clear at our last meeting any future help would come with a price. I wasn’t interested in finding out what it might be. Then David and I started bonding. I don’t want Father to take him from me. I won’t let him take David,” she said. Without thinking, she laced her fingers into David’s and pulled his hand closer. The woman smiled at the possessive gesture in a knowing way.

  “I see silver in your touching auroras. You do not yet have a full bond, but it is very strong. A strong bond for the strong-willed young. You have a streak of stubbornness and courage in you, Cassy. You would have made a formidable Lady. David is one-quarter witch, as I think you already know. There is something more, but I cannot say for certain what it is. It is not witch, whatever it may be.” She turned her attentions to David.

  “You were tested as a baby. We found nothing about you that would lead us to believe you or your offspring would develop any magical abilities. What has changed, we cannot say, but something has.” She pushed herself out of the chair to address the others.

  “Let us rest and meditate on what we have learned this night. Please show them to a safe room for the coming day.”

  Lady Ursula had returned unnoticed during the meeting. “I will, Lady Helena. This way, please.” This time there was no weight, no demand or force behind the request. They followed her to the second-floor guest rooms. Outside one door stood two centurion-style guards. Ursula led them to a room two doors past it. A flick of her wrist opened the door. Another flick turned on the lights. A pointed finger drew back the covers to turn down the bed.

  David looked alarmed. “Was that Cap’s room? Why is he under armed guard?”

  “There are things we must learn before trusting him. He repeats only his full name in his mind as if reminding himself who he is. That is not the action of someone free of harmful secrets. You may come and go as you please, David, son of Lucinda. Use the bell system should you need anything,” she said, pointing to a call button on the wall. “The windows were upgraded to UV protection and the curtains are heavily lined. Sleep well, Princess. We should have more to tell you come nightfall.”

  She stepped out of the room, crooked her finger at the door, and swung it closed. A heavy clicking sound told them the locks had been set. David tried the handle. The lock popped free, allowing the door to open. He shut it again and reapplied the locks.

  David looked at the wall clock, comparing it to his wrist watch. “It’s another hour till sunrise. What do we do until then?”

  “I think we need to talk,” Cassy said with a tired sigh and sat down on the bed.

  “What was the phrase you used? ‘Uh-oh. That’s not good.’ Never has a woman uttered those words without something unpleasant following them,” David said, resigned to whatever may come next.

  Chapter 12

  “I overheard your conversation in the hideout. Why didn’t you tell me you suspected my family? Don’t you think I have a right to know?” Cassy sat on the bed watching him.

  He squeezed his eyes tight and laid a hand on his forehead. He began to pace the floor. He started to say something and stopped. More pacing and another false start followed. Finally, he stopped and got down on his knees in front of her. He took her hands in his and pulled them to his chest.

  “I’m glad you know. It made me sick to keep it from you. I think it would have, bonded or not. I’m falling in love with you. There’s no explanation for it and no excuse for keeping secrets. It would have hurt your feelings or made you mad at me. So, I kept it from you.

  “I knew my grandfather was a witch, but men don’t, as a rule, have active powers. I never thought I could be anything more than a human. I wasn’t brought up around magic. My mother couldn’t really do much, and she died when I was young. My grandparents brought me up human, until Gramps disappeared. Grams died a few years later. I don’t know who my father is, what he is or was, as the case may be. They never told me, if they knew.

  “To join the unit, I had to submit to a DNA test. It showed he wasn’t entirely human, but there was no indication he was a witch. I was mixed enough they didn’t care and let me join.

  “Cap sent me to retrieve you at your apartment. I was supposed to bring you to the station. He said you needed police protection and was setting it up. Then when everything went so haywire, he told me to hang onto you at my house. He didn’t know about the emergency hiding place my grandfather had built until I called needing transportation.

  “I don’t want to hurt you or cause you anymore trouble. I don’t, but I don’t want to be parted from you either. You should have called your father. I should have made you the second I found out about the note. I didn’t know who he was, but he could have protected you better than I have,” David admitted.

  He seemed sad and hung his head, still holding her hands against his chest. She could feel the hard, fast pounding. It was like a bass drum under her hands.

  “You should have told me Father and Max were suspects,” she reprimanded. “I’m not a child. I’m over two hundred years old and from a family whose members have done far worse than anything you can imagine. My grandfather wasn’t called Vlad the Impaler for no reason! Father took part in some very bloody battles of his own. A cousin of mine served three men their own genitals for dinner for raping his half-human daughter before beheading their families while they watched! My sister-in-law is a cousin of Elizabeth Bathory, the Blood Countess. What could you have shown me worse than that?”

  “I know you’re not a child. You’re an amazing woman. You’ve rescued me more times than I have you. You were the damsel in distress and the knight in shining armor at the same time. It’s hardly fair, you know. A guy likes to feel he’s needed,” he finished.

  Cassy took a deep breath. As long as they were confessing, she might as well tell him.

  “These witches aren’t here to give advice to wayward vampires. There is an agreement between the two groups. The Burning Times left their numbers too low to sustain their population. Made vampires can’t reproduce. The magic freezes them in time. There were only four born clans, but one of those was destroyed in 1918. We agreed to help each other by blending humans, witches, and vampires several centuries ago. The program provides the proper traits to each side. That’s what Cap meant by the bloodline meaning everything. The Draculs have been the ruling clan since the beginning. My mother was created just for him. The man I refused to marry was bred just for me, but I will not be a walking womb. I’ve never met him or seen his picture. They tried selling me on the idea of a daytime protector. He was vampire enough to produce the right kind of children with me but not enough to be full vampire himse
lf. Chances are your grandfather was a part of the process, too, and was allowed to walk away when he or your mother didn’t play by the rules. It happens,” she confessed.

  David stared at her in stunned silence. “I was some experiment gone wrong? You mean somewhere in this house is a genetics lab?”

  “No, you’re not an experiment, potential breeding stock, maybe, but not an experiment. These days they do use a lab. In the good old days, they played matchmaker and let nature take its course. My brother and his wife have been unable to conceive. It doesn’t always pan out. The nursery complex is separate from the house,” she added. “They converted the old shopping village behind the estate to living quarters. The main house here is more or less an office and home to the council members.”

  Light began creeping into the room from the large windows. A centurion passed by on the balcony outside the room. Cassy went to the window to pull the heavy curtains. The mountains spread out before her were taking on their blue-tinted hue for the day. It made her wish she did not need to go to bed. The room darkened as the fabric closed. Gone was the beautiful vista, but so was the light.

  As they undressed David asked, “Why are the guards armed? I thought you said witches don’t need weapons.”

  “They are very young and just beginning their training. This is used as a first assignment for most of them. They have weapons because they don’t know enough magic, or their magic isn’t strong enough to use at a great distance. The more advanced guards patrol the perimeter and the nursery complex behind the main house,” she said, crawling into bed. “No one expects danger to get this far inside the perimeter.”