by Willow Cross
Incredible as it sounded, it made perfect sense to check ahead of time to see if they could actually pull this off. At least as much sense as could be made when discussing time travel and alternate time lines.
Without waiting, Cass created a portal and jumped through. Liz and Angie followed her. They came out in the middle of Cass' living room. Cass was enfolded in the arms of a man, kissing him with all her might.
Angie and Liz looked each other, then at Cass and her husband, and started laughing. Liz patted Cass on the shoulder saying, “Come on, Casanova, let’s go save this man and you can pick up right where you left off.”
***
They jumped straight from Cass' home to the primary time when the event occurred, and took out most of the Unnamed without much trouble. Cass was powerful, and Liz was second only to Michael, in killing techniques. The primary Cass gave them little trouble, shocked as she was to see herself there, and allowed future Cass to mesmerize her. Of course, the girls had to explain everything to her to get her to do so.
They took Jenna just outside the clearing, and Cass planted the seeds of the alternate story that Michael would see, leaving one directive in her head: walk into the clearing and wait for help. As elaborate as the plan was, it went off without a hitch. Dan was returned to the cabin for safekeeping, and the girls returned to their own time. That is when the actual trouble with their plan began.
Cass and Liz arrived back at the Citadel just a few minutes after they had left. Luckily, Michael didn’t even notice that Liz was gone. Liz went off to find him, while Angie went to Gregorio and Athena. She was to report to them that Liz had indeed managed to get into Cass' confidence, and that Cass would be taking her on special training missions that were highly sensitive and top secret. Liz was to tell Michael the same thing, and then report right back to Cass.
“You absolutely will not.” Michael bellowed slamming his fist on the table. A pewter goblet tipped over and rolled off, hitting the stone floor with a loud clink.
“Oh for Pete’s sake. Be reasonable.” Liz bent down, retrieved the goblet, and set it firmly on the table.
“The woman came back half dead yesterday. Nobody knows where’s she been or what she’s been up too. And you think I’m the unreasonable one?”
“I already told you she was fighting Unnamed.”
“By herself.” Michael said glaring at her.
“I didn’t say that it was a brilliant plan, but she has the right idea.” Liz walked over to the fireplace, picked up the poker and stabbed at the burning logs.
“And you’ll be doing what exactly? Fighting them with her? Alone?”
After her excursion with Cass, Liz knew she didn’t need a bodyguard anymore. But she couldn’t tell him that. It was hard enough keeping that little secret locked in her mind.
“What?” Michael said.
“What, what?”
“You’re keeping something from me.” Michael crossed the room, grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. He gazed into her eyes, searching for what he knew was hidden.
“Oh stop. That gets annoying after a while.” Liz said, looking away.
“Enough of this shit. I’m talking to Cass. She owes me an explanation for her behavior yesterday, if nothing else.” Michael released Liz and stormed off to Cass’ room.
Cass answered Michael’s pounding on her door, looking deliciously serene. She invited him in, and in true queenly form, proceeded to explain that Liz had talents none of the other vampires exhibited, and that what she was about to teach her, no other except herself, would ever learn. Liz was going to be a secret weapon in the war against the renegades.
“Like hell she is.” Michael exclaimed.
“Now Michael, don’t be silly. I’d never put Liz in harm’s way.”
“And because you’ve shown such restraint recently, I should trust your judgment. Right?” He said through clenched teeth.
Cass was just about to get nasty with Michael, she even considered glamouring him to shut him up, when he quite unexpectedly gave up.
Michael was not unintelligent and he had some plans of his own. Throwing his hands in the air, he said, “Fine,” and left the room.
Cass, Angie, and Liz reconvened a short while later in Cass' room. Cass was desperate to leave the castle and return to her beloved Dan, but before she could, she needed to figure out what to do with him. She didn’t want to leave him alone at the cabin, and returning Jenna to him would be far too dangerous. Jenna was safest in the Citadel with hundreds there to protect her. Bringing Dan to the castle would invite too many questions, and also make her a liar, as everyone had already been told that her husband had died in the attack.
A human living with that many vampires wouldn’t be a good idea anyhow. Jenna was human, but she had several things going for her. First of all, she was Cass' daughter, adopted or not, surely no one that lived there would touch a hair on her head for fear of the wrath of Cass. Secondly, vampires had an extreme fascination with children (because they were unable to have any of their own) that aided in Jenna‘s safety. Thirdly, Angie was her full-time bodyguard and it would be a death sentence to try to mess with Angie. If Angie didn’t kill them, Athena would! Dan would not have any of those safeguards in place at the Citadel.
Yes, he was Cass' husband and Jenna’s father and that might help for a while, but in the end, he was a healthy human male and everyone there had been living on animal blood for months now. Animal blood was fine, it kept you full and the thirst at bay, but the difference between the two was comparable to the difference between a massive chocolate cake and a loaf of bread. Who wants to eat plain white bread when there is chocolate cake available?
The three of them sat for nearly an hour discussing what should, and could be done with Dan. If Cass went to the Council and told them what had happened, then everyone on the Council would know about time portals. Although they emphatically trusted the council members, all of them agreed the information needed to be kept a closely guarded secret. After all the talking and planning, they still could not find a solution to the problem. Angie thought that the easiest and simplest thing to do would be for Cass to turn Dan and bring him in as a newly found vampire. Cass was completely irate that Angie would even think of such a thing. Besides, there was still that matter of Jenna knowing that Dan was her father, and even if she swore the girl to secrecy, there was no telling if she might slip up and call him daddy. They had to figure out something and do it quickly.
Monroe and his minions did not know about Cass as far as they knew, but they did know about Liz and Angie, and knew both of their scents. If they were actively searching for Michael and the others, they would be focusing on both of the girls. There was no way that Michael would leave Liz, and everyone knew that finding her would mean finding him. Both of the girls had been to the cabin, which meant that Dan was no longer safe there.
"Let’s just explore all the possibilities.” Liz said. “I’ll play devil’s advocate and you two shoot my ideas down as they come, if they aren’t feasible.”
“Fine,” agreed Cass.
“Shoot.” Angie replied.
“All right we know we can’t bring Dan here as a human, and Cass does not want him turned.” Liz said looking askance at Cass.
“That is out of the question.” Cass responded.
“So if we can’t do either of those things then what about putting Dan somewhere else that is safe? Like maybe my family’s house? Or we could take him to another witches family?” Liz asked.
“We can’t do that.” Angie answered back. “If we do that then someone would need to be told why he is important and needs to be kept safe.”
“You're right.” Liz agreed. Then looking into Cass' eye’s, Liz spoke softly, “Cass, Dan should really be in on this conversation. I know that you love him and he is yours, but it is his future, and he should know the dangers. He should be given a choice on what happens next. Besides, Jenna is his daugh
ter too.”
“I know, you’re right, we do need to discuss this with him. I’ve gotten so used to running the show, that I have forgotten to take his feelings into consideration. Angie, if you will go to Jenna, Liz and I will go have a talk with Dan.” Cass answered.
***
Sitting in the cabin in front of the fire, Liz felt as if her whole life were now surreal. It was so strange to be sitting in the human world, in a mortal home. Cass spoke quietly with Dan in the kitchen. She had wanted time alone with him to explain, in detail, everything that had happened, and everything that was about to happen. Every so often, Liz would hear Dan’s voice raised in shock and sometimes anger. With her supernatural hearing, she could easily hear every word of their conversation, but she was trying to block it out.
“What do you mean she can’t come home?” Dan queried. “She is my daughter, and this is her home!”
“She would not be safe here. You need to understand. All these things she has been able to do since infancy, have grown exponentially, Daniel. Her natural psychic ability makes her as unsafe here as it does in my world. If mortals knew what she could do, she would be taken to some secret lab to be tested repeatedly by scientists trying to figure out how and why she does the things she can do. My world is dangerous too, that is a given. There is a war going on now and she will be targeted by the other side, but at least at the Citadel there are hundreds of vampires and witches to protect her. It’s like I have been telling you for the last several years, not all are like me. Those that are not, would kill a child her age with no conscience what-so-ever. I have already watched Jenna die many times; I will not see it happen again!”
Dan sat in silence, trying to process all the information his beloved Cass had given him. He was used to dealing with things that seemed far-fetched. Living with Cass for the last several years, and knowing her history, he had become accustomed to fantastic tales. This insanity, with him and especially his daughter at the center, was almost too much to comprehend.
He thought for a short time looking down at the old oak table, then looked into her eyes and spoke, “You know how I feel about dishonesty. You know that I love you, and that you and Jenna are my life. I have sat here all these months without you, waiting for your promised return. Sometimes I got angry with you for leaving me here alone, even though you told me Jenna and I were in danger, and that you would return for me. I am a man Cassiopeia, a man. I can’t live in submission to you. I don’t want to live that way. I want to be your partner, like I have been all this time. If it is as you say, and we are in danger, then I can only see one solution to the problem; you must tell the Council the truth and stop living this lie, and you must turn me so that we can finally be equals.” His face gave no room for quarrel; his mind was made up.
Cass exhaled in utter despair. It was the one thing that she had never wanted for him. The one thing she had sworn she would never do intentionally. She had spent thousands of years in exile and for the most part alone, just to keep from doing that one particular thing. Now, after all of that, the one man that she had loved above all others was telling her that it had to be done, and she had no choice.
Liz thought it prudent to enter into the conversation at that point, afraid that fireworks would erupt from Cass. She nonchalantly walked into the adjoining kitchen, stretching as if stiff from sitting so long. Cass was staring at Dan in horror and Dan was returning her look with a stubborn glare. She looked at Liz and begged her to explain to him why she could not do this thing that he asked. Walking over to Cass' chair, Liz placed her hand on the woman’s shoulder, compassion for her friend’s situation overwhelmed her, but she knew that Dan was right. Realizing that Liz agreed with her husband, Cass sighed in resignation saying, “all right, but you do it, Liz. I cannot bear to take his life.”
“I can’t do it, Cass. It has to be you. You love each other. We can’t afford, for the sake of the connection, for anyone else to turn him. You know that.” Liz replied apologetically. “But first I think we need to take him before the Council and explain things. It wouldn’t do for our fearless leader to break Council law. That would seriously jeopardize your standing with the entire vampire nation.”
“Right.” she said. “Of course you are right. Well we might as well get it over with, so let’s just get going.”
Liz cautioned both Cass and Dan, that a return to the cabin might endanger them, so they packed a few bags, and made ready for an extended stay at the Citadel. Cass insisted they take plenty of food for Dan and Jenna both; she was still not convinced that she would have to turn him. At least not right away. Loaded down like pack mules, they entered the portal and returned to Cass’ unexpectedly occupied room.
Chapter Eighteen
The Problem With Carnivores Is That They Eat Meat.
Liz stepped out of the portal coming face-to-face with Michael. Gregorio and Athena had taken the large chairs by the fire. Feeling a push from behind, Liz stumbled to the side to let Dan and Cass through. The second Dan came into view, Gregorio’s eyes narrowed, and his face turned red.
“What are you doing here?” asked Cass as she dropped the bags on the floor.
Gregorio bellowed, “What in the world are you thinking? Bringing a human into the nest? Have you lost your mind?”
Athena’s head moved from side to side while she repeated, “This is not good. Not good at all.”
Michael grabbed Liz by the shoulders, moving her away from Dan and Cass. “Of all the ridiculous--if you had one thought in your--how could you even think--”
Liz put her hands on Michael’s chest and said, “Okay, everyone just calm down. We were coming to talk to you anyway, so it’s better that you are all here where we can talk in private.” Pausing just long enough to give Michael an--I have this handled look--she went on, “This will go smoothly, if you will sit down and listen.”
“Listen?” Michael said pointing an accusatory finger at Cass. “Of all the things she’s done, this has to be the stupidest--”
“Enough. Michael, shut up!” Liz shoved him onto the bed, then turning said to the others, “Everyone, sit down and be quiet. What we have to tell you is important. We’re wasting time with all this stupidity.”
“Humphf.” Gregorio huffed and returned to his seat.
“There now, that’s better. Cass, why don’t you tell them, from the beginning, what's happened.”
***
While they talked, absolutely everything was put on hold. There were no Council meetings, no hunting; the entire place was put on lock down. Anyone that came to the door was immediately sent away, and many came to the door. The scent of human blood had already spread several levels down, and everyone wanted to know why. Finally tired of the interruptions, and still needing secrecy, Angie was placed on guard duty and told not to allow anyone near the door. At some point, Athena decided that Minerva needed to be involved in the conversation, and sent for her. When she arrived, they started over, retelling Jenna‘s discovery and how it led to Cass and Liz saving Jenna and her father.
***
Minerva barely listened to the vampire’s discussion about the turning of Daniel. She was full of her own thoughts about time portals. That kind of magic was deadly. With the use of such knowledge, they could strike a blow to the renegades that would be swift and sure. Possibly, they could eradicate all of the renegades before they even had time to set the explosives at the fortress. But changing time lines is very tricky business. Theoretically, saving some could cause others to die and changing the past always made for a different future. Even though it appeared, that in this one instance that hadn’t happened, it was still a possibility.
Minerva had no opinion on the turning of Daniel. As far as she was concerned, she didn’t care whether Cass' husband was immortal or human. However, if he were turned, wouldn’t it just be a matter of time before the child was turned as well? Why would the child want to remain a mortal, when her mother and father both were immortal, and how could
both of her parents watch her grow old and die? Minerva was adamantly against the turning of Jenna. Creating a 'super' vampire that was unstoppable and invincible was ludicrous.
She was also strongly against anyone but the Council finding out about time portal magic. Even in her own coven, there were witches she would not trust with such knowledge. She didn’t know if she even trusted herself knowing that she could go back and change the past. What if going back and changing something so changed the future, that they never learned to make time portals, and could not go back and make it right? Then for sure Jenna and her father would die, and maybe countless others. All of these thoughts ran through her mind so quickly that she couldn’t pay attention to what the others were saying. Lost in her own thoughts, she ignored the rest of the room.
***
It was decided by all there, except Minerva who was still engrossed in her own thoughts, that Dan should be brought before the Council. Provided the Council agreed with Cass' decision, he would be turned. The full Council would have to be informed of Cass' discovery of time portals, but Jenna’s ability to create them would be left out of the telling. There were already a few council members who were unsure of Jenna’s magical training. Informing them of her part in this would only add fuel to the fire.
Dan only had one request; he wanted to ask Jenna if she would be okay with him changing. Jenna was used to being around vampires, but she was also used to her father being like her, and he didn’t want to do anything that would scare her. Should Jenna consent to Dan‘s change, then he would abide by the Council’s ruling.
When everything had been thoroughly discussed, Cass called a Council meeting and moved the entire group, by portal, to the Council chambers. Although his scent permeated the castle, it was still not prudent to announce his arrival by parading him through the corridors.
“This is outrageous.” Tiberius bellowed as his hand slapped the table.
“Truly.” Rene agreed.
“Do you have any idea what kind of mess this could cause?” Callista asked.