The Dark Gifts Birthright

  “Fine. But you will tell me about it. I’m not letting this go.” Angie answered as she took Jenna’s hand in hers.

  “I would never expect you too.” Cass said closing the door behind them.

  ***

  Cass was exhausted. Opening portals was easy work, but opening portals in time was draining. She lay on the bed thinking. If she kept this magic to herself, she could travel back in time and help where she was needed. She could go forward in time, see what was coming, and stop it from happening. Of course, if she went back she would have to be very careful about what she did. No one could know.

  She couldn’t trust anyone with this knowledge. It was just as Minerva had said at the Council meeting, it’s not always that people choose to be dark, and sometimes you are swayed that way through circumstances beyond your control. If someone was tempted to go back and say, save a wife…or a husband. Or a husband.

  The thought echoed through her mind. She couldn’t stop thinking about it. What if she did go back and save Dan? How could that possibly hurt the time line? She was chasing off the unnamed while he lay there dying. If she had been able to chase them off and stay with him at the same time he might have lived!

  Cass drifted off to sleep still arguing with herself about whether changing history was all that dangerous. It was just one life. One life that was insignificant to all others. With the exception of course to her and Jenna, he was not insignificant to them.

  Chapter Seventeen

  A Stitch in Time Saves …How Many?

  Cass was a mess. She paced unceasingly and had started constantly talking to herself. It was obvious that something was on her mind, but she wasn’t sharing it with anyone. During Council meetings she appeared distracted, and many times had to ask the speaker to repeat what was said. She had given up teaching Jenna, saying the child was profoundly skilled in magic and needed no more guidance.

  Liz and Athena had already approached her several times, trying to find out what was wrong. Each time, she would tell them everything was fine, she was working out a plan and would fill them in when it was fully formed. Neither woman was buying the bridge she was selling. Something was definitely up. After several days of her strange behavior, she stopped bothering to attend Council meetings. Gregorio decided to try to talk with her himself.

  Gregorio wasn’t one to eavesdrop, but standing outside Cass’ door, he could hardly stop himself. She was talking so loud that a person would have to be completely deaf not to hear the conversation. There were two distinct sides, but only one voice spoke. The voice definitely belonged to Cass.

  “Fine, so if I do it and am not seen, and encounter no one, then how will that possibly harm anything?”

  “But if someone does see you, then that could cause everything to fall apart.”

  “Okay so I go back, and watch from the trees the first time, and see how it all played out, then I can go back again and make sure that everything turns out all right.”

  “But how do you explain him to them?”

  “Well I have to figure that one out!”

  “You have no idea what you’re doing. This whole thing is insane!”

  Gregorio rapped loudly on the door and the conversation stopped. Cass looked bothered when she opened the door. Seeing Gregorio there seemed to upset her more.

  “What do you want, Gregorio?” Her foot tapped with impatience as she waited for his reply.

  “Are you well?” He questioned.

  “Of course I am well. Why does everyone keep asking me that?”

  “Most people don’t have intense conversations with themselves, Mother.” Gregorio snidely replied.

  “What did you hear?” Her voice cracked.

  “Nothing really, just you obviously having an argument that made no sense...with yourself.” Gregorio put his hand against the door, opening it wider.

  Cass pushed back, closing the widening gap. “Gregorio, I am extremely busy today. I will tell you the same as I have told the others…I am fine! I am working out a strategy that will eventually help us all. I want to be sure of it before I bring it to the Council. That is all. If you would all quit pestering me and let me finish, this wouldn’t take nearly as long.” Cass rolled her eyes and slammed the door.

  Dumbfounded, Gregorio stood staring at the closed door. In all the long years he had known the woman, he had never seen her act this way. The overheard conversation made no sense. If she hadn’t done it already, the woman was well on her way to losing her mind. He went directly to Athena and told her what had transpired. Together, they called in Michael, Liz, and Angie and relayed the story to them. All were at a complete loss as to what was happening to Cass.

  “Do you think that maybe all this magic is getting to her?” Angie asked.

  “I don’t think that is it, dear. Minerva is with her frequently, and she would have noticed a darkness seeping in. I think this is something else.” Athena replied.

  “I don’t think we should leave her alone.” Liz said hesitantly.

  “Me either.” Angie agreed.

  Finally, Michael told them that he felt it would be in Cass' best interest if someone watched her at all times. It was not that he didn’t trust her, just that her obviously irrational behavior could be dangerous for everyone.

  “It has to be someone she would never suspect,” he said.

  All eyes turned to Angie.

  “Hey!” She exclaimed. “She is not going to let me get out of my duties with Jenna anyhow. Besides, do you know what she could do to me if I make her mad?”

  “Liz, it should be you. She would never suspect you, and with your expertise in magic, you could easily disguise what you are really doing with wanting to learn more.” Athena said.

  “Great. Fan-freaking-tastic.” Liz answered.

  Michael squeezed her arm. “She’s right. It should be you.”

  So it was settled. Liz was to be the Council’s spy and keep watch over Cass. That was an easy order to give, but nearly impossible to do. Cass didn’t want to be bothered, and every time Liz tried to spend time with her, she sent her to Minerva claiming that the girl’s great-grandmother would be better suited to explain things to her. Liz had finally taken to standing outside the woman’s door, trying to hear what was said, and following her discreetly when she left. That worked fine for a couple days, until Cass stopped leaving her room altogether.

  ***

  She was back and trying to control her emotions. Each time she went back to that place, it became harder for her to focus and regain her strength when she returned to her own time. She’d already been there seven times, watching Dan and Jenna die over and over. After her first departure to that time, it had become apparent that she was destined to save them. In fact, she must have already saved Jenna.

  As she watched, Jenna had been torn from her child safety seat and devoured by the Unnamed. The shock of seeing such a horrendous thing kept her from running out and killing every last one of them.

  All this time they thought that Jenna had been unconscious and hidden in the brush, but that was not the case. Cass had saved her daughter. Knowing that, she tried to figure a way to save both her child and husband. When they attacked the small car, the Unnamed hit it from both sides. Jenna had been killed almost immediately. Cass burst through the door and fought those on the passenger’s side. While she was fighting, the three on the other side of the car had ripped her husband from the vehicle and fed. Somehow, she had to get both of them out, together.

  She had already tried looping back on herself, endeavoring to arrive while she was watching it happen. Cass had hoped that she could get her “other” self, which should have already been there, to help. For some reason, she couldn’t do it. She could go back to the first time it happened, but each time she was there, it was as if the other times she watched had not occurred.

  Cass could do no more that day. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d fed, but she was too tired to hunt. Lying across
her bed, she told herself, “Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will save them both.”

  ***

  Day two of Cass' self-appointed solitude, Liz went to Gregorio. “I don’t know what to do. She hasn’t left the room at all. I’ve tried many times to listen at the door, but I don’t think she’s in there. It is completely quiet. Other times, I hear her rustling around and talking to herself, then it becomes silent again.”

  “Have you tried to enter?”

  “She keeps it locked.”

  Gregorio’s face became vacant as he sent for Athena. “I need you down here.”

  “What’s wrong now?” Athena answered.

  “Bring Minerva. We will need her help. Whatever she‘s doing, it has gone too far.”

  “We are coming.”

  Gregorio’s eyes focused once again on Liz. “Find Angie and put her at watch. Go get some rest.”

  ***

  An hour into her watch, Angie grew tired of waiting. She left her hiding place and knocked on Cass’ door.

  No answer came. Angie pressed her ear against the door and listened. The only sound coming through the door was the wood crackling in the fireplace. Angie knocked again and then tried to open the door. It was locked.

  “Oh yeah? Well we’ll see about that.” She said as she forced the handle. A small click sounded as the lock broke. Cass was nowhere to be found. “Who does she think she is?” Angie plopped on the bed, crossed her legs, and waited for Cass to return, intending to give the woman a piece of her mind. Maybe the others would tiptoe around her, but Cass was a mother and someone needed to remind her of that!

  She waited for hours. Finally, a portal opened and Cass tumbled through, nearly hitting her head on the wardrobe in the corner. Tattered, ragged, and bleeding, she collapsed on the floor. Angie was by her side in an instant, lifting her gently to the bed. Cass, almost delirious with pain, kept crying out that she couldn’t save them both.

  She grabbed Angie by the shirt, pulled her close, and with a wild crazed look in her eyes whispered, “You have to help me! We have to save them both. I can’t watch them die anymore!” As her last word was uttered, Cass lost consciousness.

  “Liz, help!” Angie screamed.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “She’s back. She’s hurt. Hurry up.”

  Liz entered at full speed, causing the door to crash into the wall. If she had been moving slower, it would have knocked her off her feet as it bounced back and fell off its hinges.

  “She needs blood.” Angie said.

  Cass' wounds were not healing as they should.

  “Do you know when she fed last?” Liz asked.

  Angie shrugged.

  “Michael? How fast can you get here?”

  “I’m around the corner.”

  “Can you--”

  “Got it.” Michael said as he entered the room carrying a full carafe of blood. Starved as she was, the smell of it brought her around. She drank deeply, and then meekly asked for more.

  “Do you mind?” Liz asked, holding up the empty carafe to Michael.

  “I will, but when I get back I want some answers,” he answered as he stormed out of the room.

  While he was gone, Cass told the girls what she had been up too.

  “Are you insane?” Asked Angie

  “Cass, you know better than to attempt something like that on your own. Why didn’t you come to us?” Liz scolded.

  “I know. I just…I had too--”

  “You had to nothing.” Angie stopped her mid sentence. “You have an obligation to us and to the Council, and let’s not forget to your daughter. What if you’d died? We’d have lost you both!”

  “You don’t understand. I could not take the chance that the Council would find out about her time travel. You saw how they reacted to her learning magic. How do you think they would react to this?”

  “We have to tell them. This is too important to keep to ourselves.” Liz answered.

  “Right, we tell them and then what? Remember what Minerva said at the meeting? Most don’t choose to be taken over by dark magic, it does it without their knowledge. Do you trust every witch that lives in the Citadel? Every last one of them? Can you?”

  Liz and Angie looked at each other in doubt. After the fiasco at the fortress, who was to know whom could be trusted?

  “See what I mean? There are only a few we can trust with this. The ramifications of this power are astronomical. We can’t take any chances. Imagine what would happen if a dark witch found out? It would be the end of all of us! Of everything!”

  Liz tried to calm her down. She was getting hysterical in her plea for secrecy. Both of the girls finally assured her that they wouldn’t tell.

  When Cass told them the story of what had happened to Jenna the first time she had returned, Angie and Liz were devastated. “Don’t you see?” she asked them. “I have already gone back and saved her or she would not be here! I can save Dan too!”

  “What if you can’t save him, Cass?” Liz asked tenderly. “Why isn’t he here if you saved him too?”

  “I don’t know, I haven’t figured that out yet. What if I couldn’t let myself know about this until it was time for me to know? What if I stashed him somewhere safe until after I knew he was saved? If I knew to start with he had been saved, then I wouldn’t have ever tried to go back and save him and found out that Jenna had died.” Cass was way past the point of making sense. She needed sleep.

  “Look, you just rest. In the morning we will discuss this further.” Liz said as she straightened the blankets around the exhausted mother.

  “I don’t think we need to wait till morning.” Hands on her hips, Angie glared at both of the other woman.

  Liz returned her glare and sweetly replied, “I said it’s enough for now. Go tend to Jenna. Shouldn’t she be having a test or something?”

  “Wait.” Cass called out as Angie headed for the door. “Don’t leave yet. You have to promise me. Both of you. You have to promise that you will tell no one until we’ve figured this out together. Just the three of us.”

  “Okay, Cass. We promise, don’t we, Angie?”

  “Umm,..yeah sure. We promise.” Angie said glaring at Liz.

  Liz winked at Angie and then bent over and pushed the hair out of Cass’ face. “But you have to make a promise in return. Okay?”

  “Of course. Anything.” Cass replied.

  “Good. You promise that you will not do one more thing without first telling both Angie and me. Will you do that?” Liz asked.

  Cass thought it over for a few seconds and nodded her head.

  “Wonderful. Now you get some sleep. First thing in the morning, we will figure all of this out.” Liz blew out the candles and gently led Angie out the door.

  In the hallway, Angie began to argue with Liz about leaving the woman alone.

  “Shhh. That’s enough. Michael is just around the corner.”

  “But--”

  “Hello darling.” Liz said as Michael rushed down the hall. “I’m afraid she won’t need that now, we just got her to sleep.”

  “What the hell is going on around here?” Michael asked.

  Liz smiled, nodded at Angie, and led a ranting Michael back down the hall.

  ***

  The next morning, head cleared, and wounds healed, Cass went out to hunt. She looked better than she had in days; she almost had a smile on her face as she left the Citadel. After she returned, she called Liz and Angie to her. She finally had it all figured out, she knew exactly what she needed to do. The solution was simple. She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of it before. She would take Liz with her! Liz already knew portal magic, so there was no danger of her being caught unaware. She was an extremely capable killing machine, so she should have no problem taking the three Unnamed on Dan’s side of the car. The only real problem was stopping her past self from seeing the future versions of themselves.

  When the girls arrived, Cass told them what
she wanted to do. Liz was to go with her and Angie would stay behind to create a diversion. Both of them were flabbergasted. They both thought that Cass had finally gone off her rocker. Even if Angie kept the others at bay, Michael would know immediately that Liz had left the castle. How was she to explain an unauthorized departure? He would be furious if he knew that she was even thinking about going through with Cass' hair-brained scheme. And how in the world were they going to stop Cass' past self from seeing either of them jump out and attack the Unnamed surrounding the car?

  Angie sat there listening to the two argue and finally said, “It’s too bad we can’t mesmerize ourselves, Cass, then you could just make yourself remember that you weren’t there.”

  Cass and Liz’s jaws dropped at the exact same time. Cass started laughing so hard she doubled over. Liz just smiled and shook her head.

  Angie gave both of them a nasty look and folded her arms across her chest. “It wasn’t that freaking funny! I’m just saying that it’s too bad we can’t do that.”

  Cass had stopped laughing, but was still smiling. “Who says we can’t, genius?”

  They agreed that Cass would try one more time, and Liz would go with her. Cass was pretty sure that if she knew herself (and she did), that seeing them both there would stop her in shock, but after a few seconds, she would turn and fight off the Unnamed. Once they had saved both Jenna and Dan, they would wait for her “other” self to return to the vehicle and Cass would glamour herself. The only major concern was what to do with Dan to keep him out of the way until they had returned from saving him.

  “I’d take him to the cabin to keep him safe, but I’ve been there recently, and I know he isn’t there.”

  “I thought you told me that when you went to the cabin it was last year?” Liz said.

  “Of course. It was last year. As of right now, I am deciding right now that no matter what, I am taking Dan to our cabin in the mountains for safekeeping.” Then with a conspirator’s look on her face, she said, “You know what we do now?”

  “What?” Liz and Angie asked in unison.

  “We go to the cabin and see if he is there. If he is there right now, then we have already saved them both and will know exactly what to do.” She laughed.