"It's okay," she said, "I will see you later, every thing's back to normal now." Caislyn bent over and kissed him lightly again, before hopping out of the car. She walked to the house and opened the door only to find herself now in the special room at the back of Hidden Dimensions. She stood barefoot in the grass, looking over by the pond. There was a book laying in the grass. She wasn't sure what the book was, but she knew it shouldn't just be laying around on the ground so she went to it. As she got closer, the book seemed to fall further away from her, as if the world was rushing past them. When she finally got close enough to touch it she realized she wasn't in the same room any longer.
****
Seth flopped down on the couch and sighed deeply. This had turned into a complete mess. The more he tried to think about what their next move might be, the more thoughts of Jaxon drifted through his mind. The woman drove him insane. Ever since he had laid eyes on her his life had become increasingly complicated. Now the council would be after them, and there was no telling to what lengths they would go to find the girls. Seth sat up on the couch and put his head in his hands. He could feel the tug of the night calling to his need for blood. But since he wasn’t sure where exactly they had teleported to, Seth was reluctant to go hunting. Many countries had not accepted the existence of his kind as well as the United States had, and were very active in keeping down the population in whatever means they found necessary. He would have to find other means to sustain his body.
Standing, he walked over and opened the sliding doors that lead to the kitchen.
****
Caislyn reached for the book, and spun forward through the Irish cottage until she was standing in the attic. The book sat on top of an old armoire. She went to reach for it, and was surprised at someone clearing their throat behind her. Caislyn turned to see her great grandmother standing there. "Maimeó," Caislyn used the endearment she had heard her mother use for the woman when she was just a child. "How are you here?"
"You are dreaming, dearest, Caislyn." She smiled up at the girl who had so obviously inherited her father's height. "That book is not just for you."
"What do you mean?"
"You alone can not possess it. I don't think your mother did it that way on purpose, but Fate has her way with our tongues sometimes, does she not?"
"So, who then?"
"I think you already know that answer, child."
Caislyn thought a moment about how Jaxon and herself could do things together that they could never do alone.
****
“Holy Crap!” Jaxon shrieked. “Could you warn a lady before you just barge into the room? Geez, I almost threw my hot tea at you!”
Seth raised an eyebrow “I apologize, I didn’t mean to startle you. I wasn’t aware you were in here. You must be learning to mask your presence.“
Jaxon turned back towards the stove where she had just poured herself a cup of hot tea to help relax. “ Whatever, I just came in here to get some tea, I’ll be out of your way in just a second.”
“Jax, you aren’t in my way.”
“Really?" Jaxon remarked turning to face the vampire. "Because it seems lately that is exactly how you’ve been reacting towards me. You know, Like you’d rather me be a good little girl, mind my manners, stay home and out of the way unless spoken too. Well, you’re out of lucky buddy. I've had one man in my life that treated me like that and after almost killing me and coming after me again, I killed him. I’ll be damned if I will ever live through that again!” Jaxon declared holding her head high.
“I have never treated you like that! I just don’t want to see you tromping off flaunting your new found powers and getting yourself killed!” Seth remarked stepping up closer to her.
“See, there you go again!” Jaxon threw her hands up. “I’m not some careless child. Caislyn and I have been training, I’m not going to get myself killed. Besides why would you care? We’d be out of your way and you can go back to being with your precious council!”
“I don’t want to be with the council,” Seth said in a low velvety voice. His need for blood and his mounting frustration had turned his eyes a bright green. Jaxon was close enough he could smell her light perfume. Her dark eyes were flaring with anger and she looked sexy as hell.
Suddenly Jaxon felt the atmosphere in the room turn from strained tension to a deep attraction that was pushing at them both. Seth reached out and grabbed her, pulling her to him. He kissed her roughly, allowing a small bit of his desire to seep through.
At first Jaxon didn’t know how to react, but her body immediately defied any logical thought and responded to his urgency. Her hands followed their own path, one reaching up curling her fingers into his hair, and the other running along the hard, defined muscles of his chest and abdomen. Jaxon could feel the slight scrape of his fangs along her lips and it sent a tingling rush through her body.
Seth’s grip on Jaxon tightened as he backed her up, pressing her against the counter. Kissing her had only ignited a deeper yearning, and his control was starting to slip. He could feel his body reacting to her close proximity and knew she could as well. He had wanted this for weeks and he wasn’t about to let her go now. His mouth left her lips and traveled a painstakingly slow path along her chin and down her neck. His hand was moving up her rib cage underneath her shirt. Jaxon let out a small, barely audible moan when the heat of his palm reached her breast. That small sound drove Seth nearly mad. He reached up and grabbed a handful of hair, directing Jaxon's face back towards his as he reclaimed her mouth. He pressed himself against her harder, and reached for the clasp of her bra.
"I know where the book is! The one my parents were looking at when they were taken! The key to their disappearance is here!!” Caislyn burst into the kitchen, eyes wide with excitement.
Jaxon pushed Seth aside quickly, “W-what?” she asked stumbling over the word as she tried to give herself a minute to shake off the encounter she just had. Her body was still shaking from anticipation and her face was flush with heat. She blinked rapidly trying to understand what Caislyn had just announced.
Caislyn realized what had been going on before she so rudely barged in, but she didn't want to embarrass Jaxon any further, and this was too important to wait, so she pressed on. “I had another dream! The book that my parents were looking at when they were taken, you know the one I kept trying to find and it was gone? Its here! I just need help getting to it.”
“You mean your dad dream-walked with you again? He showed you where it was?” Jaxon questioned.
“No, this was more like a vision. I saw the attack on the store again, when my parents were taken. I saw this man wearing a brown cloak with these crystal blue eyes, then I saw the book and it was like it was flying through time and space. And then I saw it here. It’s up in the attic, but I can’t seem to get the door to come down. My Great, Great Grandmother appeared to me in the dream and told me I couldn't get the book myself. She wasn't lying, the door is stuck. That book holds the key Jax. I have to have that book!”
“Okay, well, lets go get it,” Jaxon declared as she started to walk into the little hallway. She was grateful for the interruption. Her breathing had calmed somewhat, but she wanted as much distance between her and Seth as possible and didn't even want to think about what could have just happened.
Jax stood looking up at the cutout in the ceiling containing the stairs to the attic. The little string that was used to pull the stairs down had broken a few inches from the clasp. It hung, right above her head, taunting them.
Jaxon looked to Caislyn, who held up the rest of the string. “It broke when I tried to pull them down,” she gave Jax her best cheesy smile.
“I’m shorter than you, Cais. There’s no way I can reach that string," Jax began looking around. "Where’s a chair? Maybe if you stand in the cha-"
“Jaxon, you’re part vampire. You can jump and reach it.” Seth said irritably as he moved in front of the girls and hopped up grabbing the pull string. He had to tug hard, but
the stairs creaked downward allowing access to the dark storage area above.
Caislyn grabbed the rungs and started climbing without hesitation.
"Oh, right! I forgot." Jax commented grabbing the rungs and heading up behind Caislyn as quickly as possible. She could feel the frustration rolling off of Seth. He was irritable as hell, but there was something more to it than their little tryst being interrupted. Jaxon couldn't identify the feeling though. Between Caislyn's anxiety to find the book and Seth's foul mood, she was sure it was enough to cause her to unintentionally ignite something. She decided she needed to put up her shield, even if it was only to allow herself some clarity of thought.
Caislyn stepped up to the wooden floor of the attic into complete darkness. She held up her hand and witch light glowed from her palm. It gave just enough illumination for her to see the small lantern hanging from the ceiling. She turned towards Jaxon, "Can you light it?"
"Can I light what?" Jaxon asked as she stood up straight and banged her head on the lantern. "Ouch! Oh that. Yeah sure," she steadied the swinging lantern and rubbed her head. The wick sparked to life and filled the room with a yellow light.
Caislyn looked about the room and noticed the armoire she had seen in her dream. She moved a couple steps towards it to give Seth room to get up the stairs too. As she moved closer, a cold tingly sensation ran it's way up her arms and over her entire body. Through shivering teeth she managed to say, "something is not right. It just got really cold in here."
"Caislyn?" Jaxon questioned, but before she could say anymore an old woman sort of flickered into existence beside Caislyn. It was as if she was just a thought in one moment and then she pulled herself together to create the illusion that she was just as solid as the two girls in the room. "What the hell?"
"Jaxon, meet my Great, Great Grandmother." Caislyn smiled shyly then shrugged, "I did mentioned that she was in my dream last night, but honestly, I didn't expect to find her here when we came up either. I thought she was just a dream person, you know?"
"The two of you," the old woman said with a smile, "always so much trouble, even before you were born." She laughed a hearty laugh that only old ladies can get away with. "I don't have much time. Your mother sent me with a message, Caislyn.” The look on Caislyn's face let the old woman know she had left out some important information. “Oh, she is quite fine, dear, as is your father. You need to find The Order though, and the monks that stole them away. The book they were looking for is here. A secret only the two of you can uncover lies within. Your parents were looking, and came so close, Caislyn. The monks took them, with their brown robes and cruel eyes. You must find them soon, and fear not help is on the way. Trust your hearts, they'll see you through.” The old woman was beginning to fade a bit around the edges.
“What are we supposed to do? What about Seth?” Jaxon asked.
“Seth?” the old woman questioned, then she looked pensive. “Quite the character, if memory serves.” She smiled and faded a bit more,before she noticed the man who had finally found his way up into the attic. “Ah, I knew I could count on you to stick around.” She smiled up at Seth, “Your word is yet kept.” She looked to the girls, nearly invisible now, “trust your hearts.”
The girls both looked to Seth.
“Looks like you have more to explain, Seth,” Caislyn started.
“A lot more,” Jaxon finished. “Let's get this book downstairs and figure out what the hell is so important about it.” Jaxon paused after watching Caislyn pick the book up. “What the hell did Grandma Ghost mean about trusting our hearts?” Jaxon asked.
“The hell if I know,” she shrugged again, “but we need to figure it out because she was right about the monks. Remember my dream sketches from when my parents were taken? Those men were wearing brown robes, they very well could have been monks. Maybe the book here will tell us which kind.”
“Or maybe Seth will know,” Jaxon interjected turning to look at the vampire, “he seems to know everything else before we do.”
“Yea, I am more concerned right now with what she meant by help being here soon. How would anyone know where to look for us?”
“If help knows where to find us, we may not be as safe as you thought here,” Seth pointed out.
“Great, nothing like setting a girl’s mind at ease there stalker-boy.” Jaxon started in.
“You kidnapped me, remember?” Seth retorted.
“Shut up! The two of you were just trying to rip each others clothes off a few minutes ago, thank you for that image that I have to try to erase by the way.” Caislyn thought for a moment. “What do we know?”
Jaxon and Seth simply looked at her, afraid to put their two sense in now that Caislyn appeared to be starting up on her own rampage.
Caislyn sighed and kept rolling through her little tirade, “We know that I am part witch and part Fey and that Jax is part witch, part vampire. That makes us both pretty unique, I guess. We know that together we are stronger than we are separately. My parents are okay for now and are being held by some loony-bin monks who have a hard-on for this book,” she held the book in the air for effect. “We know that we are in Ireland now, which is at least somewhat safer than where we were in the States, especially since it will take a while for anyone to realize how far we went or in what direction. According to my dead great grandmother, help is on the way and we are this close to uncovering the secret my parents have been working on for years. We’re close to an end, guys. We just have to find the creepy monks, rescue my family, and figure out how to make the non-human community believe we are not part of some freaky end of days prophecy.”
“Yea, that sounds simple enough!” Jaxon said sarcastically, while all Seth did was give an audible sigh.
Caislyn looked over at the two cynics she now had to deal with, “well, I don’t know about the two of you, but I'm tired. I only got about an hours worth of creepy-dream time sleep earlier. I need to shut my eyes so I can think tomorrow.” She headed for the bedroom and turned in time to catch a look passing between Jaxon and Seth. “Seriously, I don’t care if you two screw or fight all night, but I don’t have ear plugs, so which ever you choose, just keep it down. Tomorrow I am all about saving the world!” At the looks she got from her friends Caislyn amended her comment, “okay how about just saving my family and our own asses then?”
***
Three Short Stories of The Awakening Trilogy
Into the World a Witch is Born
Into the World a Secret is Born
Double Crossing Demon
***
Into the World a Witch is Born
Catriona came from a long line of witches, many with special talents. Hers would prove to be one of the rarest talents a witch could inherit, future sight. It had not been seen in their family line for more than five generations. She didn't just see glimpses or random predictions, if she focused on a particular person she could see their entire life and beyond flashed before her in waves of emotions, knowledge, and sometimes as clear as a movie playing in her head. When her great granddaughter, Vesta, was born she would use her gift despite the fact that she did not agree with meddling into the family line and looking to their own futures. Vesta had been sick from birth and they all just wanted to have a little piece of mind about whether the child would make it or not.
Catriona took a small lock of the child's hair and went to work scrying for her future in the waters of the pond behind their old stone cottage. At first she saw nothing and she feared what that meant. Then slowly, the light chop to the water decreased and became smooth as glass. Images began to unfold and Catriona was dumped into a conversation she would one day have with Vesta as a young woman.
"Maimeó, I don't know what to do." Vesta looked to her great grandmother, the most trusted person in her life since she lost her parents, and pleaded for answers that she knew the old lady did not possess. "I love him, Maimeó, I can't just walk away from him and go back home." Tears were streaming down her flushed face. Vesta wa
s the token Irish girl in looks alone. Her mother's family had come from Romania, but her father's family was pure Irish. The red hair that fanned out across her shoulders along with her alabaster skin, which was spotted with freckles, gave away that Irish heritage.
Vesta was the first Vadoma female to be born away from the gypsy clan in her family. They denounced her mother for running away with the fair-haired Irishman who swept her off her feet during their travels. Having been banished, Vesta's mother, Drina, moved with him to his family's home in Ireland. While Aedan was not magical in nature, he came from a long line of Irish witches. When the women of the family found out that Drina was a gypsy they embraced her and her knowledge while sharing theirs. Vesta was five when her parents packed her up and they moved to the United States where Aedan was offered a position he couldn't refuse. She would always visit her grandmother and her great grandmother during her summer vacations from school. In doing so, it ensured that she kept a bit of the Irish lilt to her voice when she spoke, especially when her temper flared. Catriona smiled as the imprint of how Vesta came to be was intermingled with her own memories of meeting Drina and blessing her union with her grandson, Aedan.
"Gariníon," Catriona spoke softly, "It is easy to be pleasant when life flows by like a song, but the man worth while is the one who will smile when everything goes dead wrong. For the test of the heart is trouble, and it always comes with years, and the smile that is worth the praises of earth is the smile that shines through the tears."
"Maimeó, that was beautiful! You always know just what to say."
"Don't pass judgment on me too quickly, Gariníon, I read that one on the Internet this morning." Catriona laughed heartily and Vesta could not help be undone by the woman's pleasure with herself. "See there, sweet child, life is not all tears. Your troubles will soon be quelled."
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