Dominion 4 - Ascendance

by Lissa Kasey

  “We can drop you off,” Jamie said as we headed for the car. “We’re going to do some shopping before heading home.” We were? “Yeah, I have to find some gifts for my family.” Kelly shrugged into the back between me and Sam. The two of them got along just fine.

  Wait, what? We were going Christmas shopping? Could the night get any more torturous? Maybe some jock to knock me around, or a vampire to bite me just to watch me bleed? Surely those things would be less painful to me than shopping for presents. Kelly winked at me. Okay, so we weren’t going shopping?

  Jamie pointed the car toward downtown. Kelly chatted the whole time about some football game he’d watched. Sam stared out the window. Gabe played with his smart phone, and I contemplated what we’d be doing for the evening. The new moon was weeks away yet and I didn’t really like the cold, so I had no plans to be outside unless I had to.

  We let Sam and Gabe out in uptown. The lights and many bars meant the streets would be filled till well into the early hours of the morning. I planned to be sleeping by then. Gabe opened my door and kissed me goodbye before taking off with Sam at his side like some superhero and his sidekick. I guess it bothered me more than I cared to admit.

  Jamie smiled in the mirror at me. “Let’s go shopping.” “Can you just pull out my fingernails instead and call it a day?” I had to ask. Jamie’s laughter filled the car. “We’re going home. Kelly is going to do his shopping on the internet while you and I bake something tasty.”

  Oh. Okay. “I like that plan.”

  “Sei is a regular old scrooge,” Kelly commented.

  “Am not. I like giving presents. But I can give people presents year round. Why do we have to have some jolly man in red telling us to cut down trees and give gifts to people, or else we don’t love them? It makes no sense. It should be about the rebirth of the earth, not about elves and toys.”

  “Commercial conspiracy,” Jamie said. “My family wasn’t into the holiday much either. A dinner for Solstice and that’s it. No presents, candy, or men in red suits.” He glanced back at Kelly with a lecherous smile. “Though it has possibilities.”

  “Men in a red suits? Not a chance.”

  “Bows are fun.”

  I laughed at the two. They’d been like honeymooners for the past few weeks. It only annoyed me because Gabe spent so much time with Sam these days. A sudden flash of pride came through my bond with Gabe. Something Sam had done made him proud? I ground my teeth. If I had to watch more of the coddling I was going to hurt someone. Most likely Sam.

  “Let’s not go home.”

  Jamie glanced back. “You want to go shopping?”

  “Yes. Let’s go to one of the department stores.” An idea formed in my head. Someplace that had luggage.

  “Huh?” Kelly asked.

  “I just want to pick up some new clothes. Maybe look at some shoes.” I smiled at Kelly. He frowned back.

  “I feel like I’m not in on a joke here,” Jamie said. “No joke. Let’s get the stupid shopping done before all the crazies are let loose from the sanitarium.” I didn’t even like going to grocery stores this time of year. When some granny smacked you around with her cart just to get to the giant stack of canned pumpkin, you knew that time of year had come again.

  Money, and now time, were something I had a lot of to use up. I’d been working like crazy at Bloody Bar. Lots of people I’d never even met sent me money for graduation. Maybe they thought I’d never find work. And maybe I wouldn’t, not in magic, at least. But I could do a lot of other things. If people wanted material things to prove that I cared, so be it.

  Jamie pulled into the lot of the nearest department store. We parked in the back. The heavy piles of snow made the lanes uneven, and cars jutted out everywhere like a bad accident. The bare trees around the massive building wore lights that danced to overplayed Christmas tunes. Would it be like this in California? Would everything feel so cramped, cold, and dead, while the world moved around at blinding speeds?

  I could probably afford a trip to last through the holiday, which was only a week and a half away. Not that anyone would miss me much now that school was over. Jo would cover the bar for me, and we had a few temps who were always looking for shifts. The Dominion had gone silent as they prepared for the many holiday parties filled with aristocracies of witches. My boyfriend had a Christmas buddy in Sam, and Jamie and Kelly had each other. That sort of left me as odd man out. A vacation to someplace warm sounded like a great idea to me.

  “What are we looking for?” Jamie asked as we hurried through the cold toward the door. Once inside, he went to a shelf filled with colorful stuffed critters. Jamie worked parttime as a pediatric RN. He loved the work. I think the only reason he didn’t work full-time was because he still worried about me. If I had a full-time day job, he’d probably be working full-time too. Just one more reason for me to find something other than the bar.

  He’d buy a couple dozen of those critters just for the kids to take home with them if he thought the clinic wouldn’t protest. Plus they were some kind of charity thing, buy a toy and have a donation sent to XYZ or whatever. To someone with a big heart like Jamie, that made sense. Me, I’d wonder how much actually went to help kids. But I’d been raised cynical that way.

  I checked the charge on my phone and waved Kelly toward Jamie. “Take your time. I’m going to shop. I’ll text you when I’m done.”

  “Okay, but don’t leave the store without us.” “No problem.” I grabbed a cart, using several wipes to clean off the handle before touching it—cold season was in full swing—then steered it toward the back of the store. In less than twenty minutes I’d grabbed two pairs of new Nikes for Kelly, a smoothie machine for Jamie, some luggage, a couple of cashmere sweaters each for Hanna and Ally, and half a wardrobe’s worth of clothing for me. Booking my flight through my phone was easier than waiting for the old ladies in Santa hats to wrap my presents.

  Gabe’s Solstice gift had already arrived and was hidden away in a drawer back home. The first edition of The Little Princehad cost me more than a week of tips, but I knew he’d love it. We both had that story memorized now, having read it together so many times. He still thought of me as his unprotected rose. Sometimes that was cute, the rest of the time just annoying. I liked to think I had thorns too.

  Jamie and Kelly met me at the entrance, each with a cart filled with things. Most of them were wrapped. I wondered what those jolly old ladies had thought of us tonight. Maybe I should have had them wrap some of the underwear I’d bought. Or bought some for Gabe too, just to make them wonder. People didn’t stare as much, and I didn’t get nearly as many “faggot” calls now that my hair was short. But the odd scratchiness of it made me want to grow it long again. I kind of missed people looking at me and how I could hide behind my hair. Those days it was easier to get what I wanted with just a smile.

  “What’s with the luggage?” Jamie asked. I’d chosen a solid case that was bright yellow in color.

  “No peeking. There are presents in there.”

  Kelly laughed and pulled us toward the car. “Let’s hope it all fits.” BY the time we got home, I expected Gabe to be waiting for me in the condo. He wasn’t. Everything was dark and cold, or at least it felt that way to me. The time was past nine and surely not that late for a vampire, but late for me. Jamie dropped my stuff off for me. He and Kelly left for his place upstairs, looking like they’d be having some good intimate time together.

  I sighed to the empty room. The luggage at my side had seemed like such a good idea at the time. I’d sort of expected Gabe to be here and see it, then talk me out of going. Maybe this trip was really meant to be.

  After detagging and stuffing my new things into the washer, I called the number on the letter that had been sent to me. Jamie told me to leave it for Gabe, but he had other things to occupy him right now, mainly Sam. The lawyer, a man by the name of Jonathon Odagiri, told me he would arrange for a car to pick me up at the airport and take me to the estate. Did that mea
n the house was mine? What would I do with a house in California?

  I worked on laundry, packed, and debated what I would say if someone came back before I left for the airport.

  Chapter 3

  THE doorman told me the taxi had arrived just after 11:00 p.m. I thanked him and let him help me to the car with my carry-on. He shut the door of the cab for me, and the driver headed toward the airport. There was still time to go back, talk to Gabe, Jamie, or Kelly. They would all try to convince me to stay. Or insist on going to guard me from whatever. Not only did I want to escape the holidays bearing down on me, I wanted to learn more about my family, my uncle, and my father.

  The lines and scanners nearly gave me a breakdown. The security guards did stare at me, but they also smiled and wished me a good trip like they did all the other travelers. I hurried to my flight and waited close to the gate, reading until they called to begin boarding. I glanced one last time at my phone before turning it off and stepping onto the plane.

  No one had called. No one texted. Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to let them go. After stuffing my bag in the bin, I took the window seat, strapped on the belt, and closed the little flap to the dark outside world. Hopefully I’d get through the four-hour flight without a panic attack. The new book I’d begun earlier in the day was about fallen angels and lifetimes of hard living to find true love. The sex every ten pages or so got old fast, but maybe it could keep my mind off things. Real life was never filled with that much sex, no matter how much I wanted it to be. Sigh.

  The time passed quickly. I finished the first book and began another before arrival was announced. After flipping up the little shade, I stared out at the bright lights of Los Angeles. From this angle it looked a lot like the Twin Cities, with the exception of the dark stretch that seemed to be the ocean in the distance. I hoped there would be trees, grass, blooming flowers, and lively critters to make me feel like I was whole again.

  The plane landed without incident. I followed the trickle of passengers to the exit, my little yellow bag in tow. There were several taxis hanging around, but I didn’t have an address. Maybe I could call the lawyer again? I was beat, more emotionally than physically. I could just go to a hotel for the night.

  “Mr. Rou?” a voice asked. I turned to blink at a young man with brown hair and pale-blue eyes. He looked like the kid of a movie star, breathtaking in that too-beautiful-to-be-real way. “Yes?”

  He held out his hand. “Timothy Merth. Charles was my dad. Jonathon said you were coming, and I told him I’d take you to the house. I’m sure you’re tired.”

  I shook his hand. He felt normal enough. “Okay.” Perhaps he’d tell me a little more on the way. “My car’s over here.” He motioned us away from the cabs and across to the parking lot and his Chevy Malibu. He put my bag in the backseat and opened the passenger door before I could get there.

  “Thanks.”

  “No problem.” He handed me a business card after he

  got inside and started the car. “Call me if you need anything. My work is sort of sporadic, so I’m usually available.” “Mr. Odagiri said something about the estate?” I prodded. He drove us out of the airport lot, paid the parking fee, and headed toward a highway and the lights of the city.

  “Yes. That is where I’m taking you now. It will be yours if you sign the papers. It was your dad’s, but he left it in my dad’s keeping. He really should have handed it over to you a few years ago, when you turned twenty-one.”

  Right, his dad had just died, shit. “I’m sorry about your dad.” Timothy shrugged. “We weren’t close. I know he cared about me, and I cared about him, but he was never really there, so it’s not much different. You know what I mean?”

  Sounded like my mom. “Yeah.” “So anyway, the estate is a really big house on about two acres of land. It’s probably a mess, so let me know if you need to hire cleaners or something to help you. There’s a pretty big trust account to help with the maintenance. You could turn it into a bed-and-breakfast or sell it for a pretty good profit.”

  “No one lives there?” “No. My dad lived alone for years, pretty much confined to just a few rooms. In fact, I think your dad’s rooms are the way he left them. My dad didn’t like others around him much. He had some paranoia issues.”

  Maybe my emotional problems came from my dad’s side of the family. Did that mean it was just going to get worse? “How did your dad pass, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “Heart attack.” “I’m sorry.” It was never easy to lose people you knew, whether you liked them or not. “Do you know why my dad didn’t leave my older brother the house?”

  “He gave Jamie money. Your dad was always generous with that. Maybe he just thought you were better suited to the house.”

  I sighed internally. What would I do with the house? Sell it, probably. I couldn’t see needing a home in California. As much as I grumbled, Minnesota was my home, four seasons and all. Maybe I could spend some time learning about my dad before I left it all behind.

  At least here the earth pulsed strong and awake. Sure, many trees had lost their leaves, but the grass was still green and bushes bloomed. Maybe that’s why my dad had lived out here. The distance made me wonder how he and my mom met.

  I already missed Gabe, had been missing him for weeks, in fact. But I didn’t dare open the link between the two of us; no telling how he’d react. I didn’t want him to be mad. He did this silent stewing kind of anger he’d let build up until he could get away. I never knew where he went and what he did to get out his anger. When he came back he’d be calmer, sometimes talk about what had been bothering him. Most of the time, he said nothing until I pointed out my own mistake and tried to fix it. I just wanted him to miss me a little. Making our relationship work would be so much easier if he’d just talk to me.

  We pulled up to a gate that had probably been blackpainted metal at one time. Now it was overgrown with thick ivy and dark branches. The house beyond towered through the trees in glimpses of windows and pale-beige stucco. The trees loomed as large as the house. The overgrown grass that bent over the path made me cringe and was reminiscent of a dying cornfield before the harvest. The smell of fallen leaves and dirt comforted me a little. The earth had really gone wild here. If this was the outside, how bad would the inside be?

  Timothy held out a ring of keys for me. “Big one is for the gate. The small one with the red ending is for the main door. The power and water is on, but I don’t know how livable it is. I haven’t been inside in years. Do you want me to take you to a hotel for now?”

  I took the keys from him and stared at the house, wondering what sort of secrets about my family it held. Had my dad known how difficult my life would be? Would he still love me now if he could see how incredibly fucked up I’d become? “I’d like to stay here, I think.”

  “You’ll need food for sure. There’s a 24-hour grocery store just up a couple of blocks. You want me to drive you there and back?”

  “I’ll Google a pizza place on my phone if I get hungry. Thanks for the ride, Timothy.”

  He smiled at me, jumped out, and got my bag out of the backseat. “Don’t forget to call me if you need anything.” “I won’t, thanks.” I stepped up to the gate, unlocked it, and pushed it far enough for me to squeeze inside before shutting it again. Timothy waited only a few more seconds before taking off. I turned toward the house, which looked more than a little spooky in the dark. The earth that surrounded it and grew up around it in wild patches told me it was free of human life. The power here was strong, beyond anything I’d felt before, but contained, waiting, it almost seemed like, for something to release it.

  I sent a thought out to any critter kinds who might have made the house home, asking them politely to vacate. No need to hire exterminators. Animals gladly moved on when nudged. When I opened the door, the eerie creak reminded me of a horror movie. Stupid overactive brain.

  Using my cellphone as a flashlight, I searched the walls until I found a light switch.
When light flooded the main foyer, I stood in awe. This put my mom’s house to shame. The wide-open area housed a large oak tree. The leaves had fallen, scattered around the scarred wood and tile floor and the staircase that curved around it to the second level. But the trunk was wide enough around to look like one of those ancient trees you could drive a car through. Branches stretched across the room and around corners into other areas.

  I touched the base and let the power wash through me. Peace, utter, nondisruptable peace. The tree napped, the earth telling me it was time for most trees to rest and renew. My watch beeped 3:00 a.m., and I figured I should probably sleep too.

  I carefully made my way upstairs, opening doors, revealing a mass of rooms, one after another. This place wasn’t a house, it was a mansion. At the end of the hall to the left, a door made me pause. The faded old sign on it read:

  Peace to all who enter, in heart, spirit, and soul. —Dorien The black ink was faded, but the scrawl still had an elegant flair. My dad wrote this. Was this his bedroom? I opened the door, found the light, and stared at the room. Sadly it didn’t appear much different than any of the other rooms I’d passed. My bright yellow bag stood out as modern and loud compared to the very traditional furniture.

  A little red bug that looked like a large ladybug landed on the bag and crawled around a bit. The dust made me sneeze a dozen times. The bug didn’t move. I wondered how it had gotten inside, but I opened the window and carefully let it crawl into my hand so I could let it outside. The damn thing bit me before it flew out into the darkness toward an overgrowth of weeds in the back of the house. Obviously not a ladybug, then. Must have been an Asian beetle or something. At least with the window open, the soft breeze eased the musty smell of the house.

  The bed was already stripped of linens, but covered with a dust cloth. I carefully peeled it back, then dug in all the closets until I came across sheets that didn’t smell like they’d been put away for years, and made the bed. The bathroom needed dusting too but was otherwise clean.