Birthright (Birthright Series)

by A. P. Jensen

  You don’t have to do what he says, she said.

  Levi didn’t answer her. He turned to the tree, walked around it once and then set his hands on the trunk and closed his eyes.

  “What are you doing?” Heath hissed.

  Mr. Parker didn’t take his eyes away from Levi. “Get a handle on your power. Fill yourself with it.”

  Levi felt a familiar heat start in his belly and travel through his whole body until he felt toasty warm.

  “Focus your power on the tree. Channel your life into it.” Mr. Parker said, watching Levi closely.

  They all stood in silence. The rush of the stream seemed very loud in the morning quiet. Even though the sun had yet to rise, the darkness was still warm enough that Jordan was glad she was wearing a shirt and pajama shorts. A loud slap from Cibrian had everyone but Levi snapping their attention to him.

  “Mosquito.”

  Heath shook his head and muttered, “Sissy.”

  Jordan narrowed her eyes on Levi. If Mr. Parker told her to make a tree come back to life she would have stared at him as if he was crazy but Levi hadn’t said a word. Could he do it? Besides being able to talk telepathically he’d never shown her anything magical. Did he know more about this world than he let on?

  Cibrian fidgeted and slapped at more mosquitoes but everyone else was completely focused on Levi. Just when Jordan opened her mouth to put a stop to this she heard a deep in drawn breath and it wasn’t from any of them. The nubs on the tree stretched and hummed. The tree trunk twisted back and forth like someone cracking their back after being in the same position too long and straightened up. The tree wriggled its roots into the ground and Jordan saw the dirt sift as the roots burrowed deeper.

  Levi patted the tree and his lips were curved as if he was amused by something.

  You can heal trees? Jordan demanded incredulously.

  Levi shrugged. I guess so. I wasn’t sure.

  You weren’t sure, she said in disbelief. How do you even try to heal a tree?

  Heath gaped at Levi and then turned to Mr. Parker. “How do you know what people can do? I hate when you do shit like that.”

  Mr. Parker tried to act indifferent but his mouth curved. “Come on Cibrian. You’re next.”

  “I can’t heal anything,” Cibrian said, slapping his cheek and then his neck. “I don’t have an affinity for the earth. Is someone directing these mosquitoes to me or what?”

  “Maybe they like you,” Heath said innocently.

  “I know you’re not an earth talent, numbskull,” Mr. Parker said.

  “I’ve been levitating things,” Cibrian said proudly.

  Levi stood beside Jordan and she glared at him. He ignored her, eyes still on the tree. He closed his eyes and cocked his head as if listening to something.

  What are you doing?

  The tree says Kelly killed it.

  Kelly? She couldn’t believe it.

  She was throwing fireballs at Parker, tried to freeze him in a block of ice and when he kept breaking through all her magic she went berserk and killed the poor tree.

  And the tree is telling you this. She couldn’t keep the skepticism out of her voice.

  He cracked open his eye. “Yup. He’s very talkative.”

  “A frickin’ tree, Levi? Really?”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “You don’t think it’s weird that a tree is talking to you?”

  A shrug. “When we were in Haven I talked to the sand but they’re pretty lazy. They don’t talk much.”

  “Shh,” Cibrian admonished so they would look at him.

  Once he had everyone’s attention Cibrian focused on Knight. His eyes lit with wicked glee and he looked at Jordan.

  “May I?”

  “If you drop him, I can’t save you.”

  Cibrian waved that away and cleared his throat nervously. He waved his hands like a maestro and Heath snickered. Knight watched Cibrian and bared his teeth but made no move forward. Cibrian’s face screwed up in intense focus and Jordan felt the air stir around her.

  “Damn, he’s heavy,” Cibrian said in a choked tone as if he were trying to bodily lift the cat.

  Cibrian cupped his palms and braced his whole body as if he were going to move a heavy object. They all watched as he slowly, excruciatingly moved up one inch. His whole body shook and sweat dripped down his face. They all stared at Knight who still seemed solidly planted on the ground.

  Heath lay on the grass, face pressed sideways. “Oh. Yeah, the cat’s up one inch.”

  Levi copied and confirmed, “Yup. The cat’s barely off the ground.”

  They all jumped when Knight thumped back to earth. He hissed at Cibrian, walked towards Jordan and rubbed himself against her. Cibrian sank to the grass, panting.

  Mr. Parker shook his head at his nephew. “Cibrian, the point of meditation is to get rid of excess power, not deplete yourself completely. Now you don’t have any power left. Your body won’t generate energy back until noon or later.”

  “I’m fine.” Cibrian stood, staggered and tumbled back to the grass.

  Mr. Parker stood over him. “You have a lot to learn. Your mind is bigger than your power. If someone were to attack you right now, you’d be defenseless.”

  Cibrian muttered incoherently into the grass.

  “Why do Cibrian and Levi have a better hold on their power than me?” Jordan asked, wondering if she would be able to do what Mr. Parker commanded with her power.

  “The more power you have, the harder it is to control. William’s interference didn’t help. He taught you to hold onto your power until you explode,” Mr. Parker answered.

  “Breakfast!” Kelly called from the porch.

  Mr. Parker and Heath left without a backwards glance. Cibrian remained sprawled like a drunk. He groaned when the men were out of earshot.

  “I think I pulled something,” Cibrian moaned.

  “Why didn’t you pick up Jordan? She’s only weighs a hundred,” Levi said.

  Jordan crouched beside Cibrian. “Can you get up?”

  Cibrian grunted. Jordan stroked Knight’s ears and jerked her head at Cibrian. Knight gave her a long, disapproving stare but leaned down and nudged Cibrian’s head. He let out a yelp, rolled away from Knight and sprang to his feet.

  “Mission accomplished,” Jordan said and started for the house.

  They trudged up to the house and Knight disappeared into the surrounding forest. Instead of sitting at the dining room table, the men sat on stools around the island. Everyone watched Kelly cook. She put a large pot on the stove and tipped a whole package of bloody bacon in. Next she tipped a whole carton of eggs which landed with a crunching sound that made Levi wince.

  “Sausages!” Heath reminded her, interrupting Mr. Parker to make his suggestion.

  Kelly smiled good naturedly and pulled frozen sausages out of the freezer and tossed them over the smashed eggs. She grabbed two unpeeled onions and a carton of milk and poured a healthy dose over the mush.

  “Am I forgetting something?” she mused.

  Levi glanced at Jordan, opened and then closed his mouth. Jordan had seen enough over the past week not to question Kelly in the kitchen.

  “Oh!” Kelly said.

  From the unfathomable depths of the refrigerator, she pulled out six unpeeled, dirty potatoes and tossed them into the pot with a loud plop. Kelly splayed her hands on the metal sides and the pot glowed red for several seconds. Kelly looked down at the contents within and then with a nod of satisfaction, pulled her hands away. She grabbed plates from a cupboard that had been empty a minute before and dug deep into the pot.

  Levi’s mouth dropped open when a perfect steaming omelet with bacon, sausage and onions was placed on the plate. Kelly dug into the pot once more and placed two square hash browns beside the perfectly formed omelet. She served everyone who dug in with great gusto.

  Jordan and Levi looked down at the omelet with evenly cut bacon, onions and sausages and shook their heads. J
ordan tentatively forked up a small piece of the omelet and waited for the crunch of eggshells but there was none. Kelly poured cups of coffee, milk, juice and cocoa and finally sat, sipping her coffee. She looked distracted and worried. The men didn’t seem to notice. Their voices rumbled around the island, only pausing in their talk to swallow before resuming.

  “What’s wrong?” Jordan asked.

  Kelly blinked. “Nothing.”

  Jordan sipped her cocoa.

  “It’s going to be a crazy day,” Kelly said, coffee mug clasped between her hands.

  “Why?”

  “I don’t want to go to the capital when there’s so much going on. Our world is very unsettled right now and-”

  Jordan’s appetite vanished. “You’re going somewhere?”

  “We all are.” Kelly grabbed her coffee mug and headed up the stairs in the corner of the kitchen.

  “We are?” Levi and Jordan said together.

  “Well, yeah,” Cibrian said with his mouth full.

  They rounded on him.

  “What are you talking about?” Levi demanded and waited impatiently for Cibrian to finish swallowing the last of his omelet.

  “Now that we’ve Awakened we have to go to school.”

  “Today?” Levi’s voice was a little higher than normal.

  Cibrian gave him an irritated look as if he should be able to read between the lines. “We have to be chosen to go to a certain school first. Duh.”

  Although Levi and Cibrian seemed to be the same height, Levi somehow managed to look down at him.

  “Explain, you rich snob.”

  Cibrian huffed. “You can’t just choose whatever school you want. The school chooses you.”

  Jordan turned from her half eaten plate, completely distracted now. “And how exactly is a school supposed to pick-”

  “Everybody get dressed. Be in the backyard in ten minutes,” Mr. Parker’s voice cut through the overlapping conversations. “Kelly’s upstairs getting your things ready.”

  “Ready? Ready for what?” Jordan demanded.

  “Nine minutes, thirty eight seconds and counting,” Mr. Parker barked.

  Cibrian went upstairs and they rushed after him, confused and irritated. Jordan walked into her room to see Kelly laying out a fur lined jacket, boots and jeans. She looked up, already dressed in similar winter clothing. Jordan opened her mouth to speak but Kelly waved her towards the bathroom.

  “Get dressed. We don’t have a lot of time. I’ve already packed the things you’ll need when we get there. Levi’s things are already there if he asks.”

  Kelly sped out of Jordan’s bedroom.

  “What the-”

  Levi and Cibrian came into her room. Levi was arguing with Cibrian about putting on a thick parka.

  “It’s frickin June!” Levi snapped.

  Cibrian glared at him as he put on red gloves, looped a thick matching scarf around his neck and put on ear muffs. “Fine. Freeze your ass then,” Cibrian said and turned to Jordan. “Hurry up. You don’t want Uncle Van to come after you.”

  “But I don’t-” Jordan stopped when Cibrian started for her.

  She dashed into the bathroom and changed into the winter clothes. She knew she looked ridiculous. She could hear the guys arguing through the door. Jordan came out of the bathroom and with the boys still arguing, walked down the staircase, through the kitchen and out the back door. Mr. Parker, Heath and Kelly turned as the teenagers came out on the porch. Aside from Heath, all of the adults were dressed in heavy fur lined jackets, snow boots, scarves and gloves.

  “Let’s go,” Mr. Parker said.

  Jordan glanced up at the clear sky and moved to stand beside Cibrian. “Why are we dressed for a snowstorm?” A trickle of sweat made its way down the side of her neck.

  “You’ll be grateful in a minute,” Cibrian said.

  They started around the left side of the house. Jordan’s heart plummeted when Mr. Parker stepped off the deck and made his way towards the forest beyond the glass dome. A nasty premonition took form in her mind. She half turned to glare at Cibrian.

  “Are we going to your house?” she hissed.

  “Yup. Try not to kill my mom.”

  Mr. Parker paused by the bridge leading to Tolly property. “We don’t break formation. If something happens, continue on and I’ll take care of it.”

  Kelly rolled her eyes and whispered, “He’s being dramatic.”

  “Let’s do this,” Mr. Parker said.

  Knight and Mr. Parker looked at one another for a long moment before they fell to the back of the group. Kelly was at the front of the group with Heath and started the group off at a light run that Jordan couldn’t match. Mr. Parker hissed impatiently when Knight stopped beside her and let her clamber on. Watching everyone run in winter gear on a summer night was bizarre. By the time they looked down at Tolly House, everyone was out of breath and the smell of sweat stung the air. Mr. Parker, Kelly and Heath disappeared inside. Levi made a show of smoothing his hair back while Cibrian bent over, wheezing.

  “I’m telling you, I’m faster,” Levi said.

  “You heard Uncle Van- I’m depleted. You can’t hold this race against me,” Cibrian complained.

  “Excuses,” Levi sneered.

  Cibrian opted to ignore that. He walked to Jordan when she jumped off of Knight and slung an arm around her shoulders which was turning out to be a habit. Jordan dug in her heels.

  “What’s up?” Cibrian asked her.

  “I really don’t want to see your mom.”

  “If she’s still in a bad mood, light her hair on fire again. That’ll shut her up,” Cibrian said with a cheeky smile.

  “We’re going into winter wonderland aren’t we?”

  Cibrian nodded and tried to move her forward but still she resisted.

  “Your mom’s coming with us?”

  Cibrian sighed. “She is but once we get there, she’ll go off and do her own thing.”

  Mr. Parker came onto the porch. “Let’s go,” he said, voice carrying easily in the morning quiet.

  Jordan tensed when they walked through the open doorway. Automatically, she looked up at the falling red sky and blinked. Both times she’d been here everything had been illuminated by sunlight but now the interior of the house mirrored the darkness outside. The rose petals still drifted down but in the darkness they seemed faintly menacing. The same moon outside cast faint light over the blanket of snow and field of flowers. Kelly and Heath stood in the winter scene, hoods up as tiny snowflakes drifted over them. They looked into the distance as if they were waiting for something.

  “You coming?” Mr. Parker said.

  Jordan looked around and saw Knight slip inside the house before Mr. Parker closed the door. Knight stalked into the meadow scene and went low on his belly in the high grass, effectively disappearing. Jordan wondered if he was waiting for the Master to reappear.

  “Cibrian!” Rhonda called, rushing down the stairs. “Do you have everything you need?”

  “Yes,” Cibrian said, rolling his eyes.

  She tugged on his scarf, tears in her eyes. “No matter what school you get into, you’re gonna be great.”

  “I know,” he said.

  She hugged him and paused when she saw Levi. She winked at him, smiled at Jordan and then hurried back up the stairs.

  “She’s not coming with us?” Jordan asked Cibrian.

  “No. She hates publicity.” He rubbed his hands together. “And I’ll be with you guys the whole time.”

  There was a loud crunching sound and Jordan turned back to the winter scene as two humongous boxes on skis slid eerily through the snowfall and came to a stop in front of Kelly. The bottom half of the boxes were made of a strange iridescent metal that gleamed. The top half of the boxes were made of impenetrable dark glass that Jordan suspected was Heath’s doing. Jordan took a step back and bumped into a hard chest. She looked up at Mr. Parker who didn’t say anything. He reached out and flicked the hood of her jacke
t up.

  Kelly swung open the door to the first box and disappeared inside. Cibrian started towards the second box and opened the door and hopped in as casually as if it were a car. The size of one box was comparable to two hummers put together. Levi glanced at Jordan, shrugged and followed Cibrian into the second box.

  “Donovan,” a soft voice crooned.

  Ruth glided down the steps. She wore a flowing white coat made of fur. With her hood covering her long hair she looked identical to Kelly. Jordan felt her hackles rise and hoped she did some damage to Ruth’s hair.

  “Ruth,” Mr. Parker said.

  She stepped off the stairs and came down the path. Jordan tried to move towards the winter scene and stepped on Mr. Parker’s shoes instead. He placed his hands on her shoulders, keeping her with him. Ruth never once looked at Jordan, she was completely focused on Mr. Parker.

  “It’s been a long time,” Ruth said, voice intimate.

  Mr. Parker grunted and Ruth’s eyes narrowed fractionally.

  “I trust you heard that Seth and I divorced?”

  The way Ruth looked at Mr. Parker- the possessiveness, the invitation made Jordan’s stomach turn. Ruth obviously didn’t care that his daughter was listening to every word. And she called Jordan’s mom trash? Mr. Parker felt her tense.

  “Seth is a good man,” he said, keeping his distance and not encouraging Ruth one bit. “Have you met Jordan?”

  Ruth didn’t look at her. “Yes.”

  “Did you meet Levi too? Both of them are with me,” Mr. Parker continued blithely.

  Ruth waved a dismissive hand. “Whatever. I don’t care. But I want to talk to you about us-”

  Mr. Parker whirled away from Ruth and faced the front door a second before it opened. A woman with straight brown hair and brown eyes rushed towards Ruth and engulfed her in a hug. Over the woman’s shoulder, Ruth’s face was twisted in disgust. The second figure, a handsome man who couldn’t be much older than Jordan went over to Mr. Parker. He had striking gold eyes and blonde hair.

  “Donovan,” he said.

  “Luther,” Mr. Parker said with a bite in his voice.