Birthrights (16 page)

Jaxon just paced and shook her head. "I don't drink
blood. I can survive without it."

Caislyn looked at Seth. "Well, now," Caislyn
said, "that puts a wrinkle in the theory doesn't it?"

"See, I told you that I wasn't a vampire!" Jaxon
pouted as she plopped down beside Caislyn on the couch.

"I don't know what all this means, at this point. But
we will figure it out, Jax."

Jaxon looked at her friend, then over to Seth who was
unusually quiet. "You know, you've avoided answering my questions
this afternoon Seth. Why were you at the Causeway Park?"

"Wait," Caislyn said impatiently, "more importantly,"
she looked up from the sketch she was still holding and straight
into Seth's eyes, "why were you there the night Jaxon killed Rick?"
Caislyn pointed to the stranger in her sketch and then looked from
Jaxon to Seth. "This was you, wasn't it?"

"What?" Jax exclaimed, "This is going too far! You
were there? Why didn't you help me! What the hell is up with this
stalker crap of yours?"

"Umm, Jax," Caislyn said as she rolled her eyes, "he
did help you." She pointed again to the sketch. "He's the mystery
person that dispatched the other Werewolf, and if I am not
mistaken, he's probably also the person who cleaned up after your
mess."

"Oh, well, it wasn't really my mess, it was Ricks. So
you were there? You're the one I saw after I killed him?" Jax asked
in a small voice. "Why? Why were you there to begin with Seth?"

Seth sighed at no one in particular before he began
explaining why he was there, "I just wanted to make sure you made
it home okay that night. You wouldn't accept a ride from me and I
didn't get the impression that you were that well versed with the
creatures of the night." He grinned as he continued, "I mean, you
didn't even know I was a vampire until tonight."

"I can stake him right? I mean it may not kill him,
but it will hurt like hell won't it?" Jax asked Caislyn.

"I think we may want to finish listening to what he
has to say first, then you can stake him if you want." Caislyn said
mimicking Seth's grin.

"You guys really know how to get a guy to open up,
don't you? Like I said, I was making sure you got home safely.
That's all."

"What about today? Why were you following me?” Jaxon
pleaded with him to just tell her what was going on. "Things have
just gone from bad to worse," she looked down and continued, "this
is too much. I don't even understand what I am, the least you could
do is tell me why you're following me everywhere!" She looked
him dead in the eye and put all the force she could muster into her
next command, "Tell me why you've been following me!"

"You were there the night of the rave too. I saw you
when I looked back to make sure the vamps weren't on our tail. You
were fighting them off as we ran," Caislyn recalled.

"Oh my God, that was him too?" Jaxon's eyes flashed
over with a tinge of fear. "What the hell is going on, Seth?" Jaxon
was yelling at this point.

Through another long sigh Seth began to explain, "I'm
not stalking you," at the look he received from both girls he
continued, "really, I'm not. I was... I thought..." He let both
sentences trail off as he tried to form the words he didn't want to
say. "First of all Jax, it wasn't you I was following in the
beginning. It was Caislyn."

Caislyn looked startled, "What?"

"I worked with your parents before in the OTHS." Seth
paused, unsure how to continue. "I have kept tabs on you now and
again since their disappearance. I was hoping that you would lead
me to those responsible, but you kept hitting dead ends."

Caislyn sat stunned, listening to the revelation.

"Wait," Jax interrupted, "You said in the beginning."
She gave him a sideways look. "So, you were stalking both of
us?" 

"No I wasn't stalking anybody!" Seth remarked towards
Jaxon. "I met you at work and thought you were interesting,
puzzling is more accurate I suppose. Then my observations of
Caislyn led me back to you and with all the talk of how the
prophecy is supposed to be fulfilled soon, you tended to raise some
questions considering you were supposed to be human and performing
some rather inhuman feats." 

"Oh, there it is again," Caislyn stammered on, "this
prophecy, why is everyone talking to us about a prophecy?"

Seth looked a bit startled and his interest was
definitely peeked when he began questioning Caislyn, "Who else
mentioned the prophecy to you?"

Jaxon ignored Seth and continued to talk to Caislyn.
"I know right? You'd think that they would have a better grip on
their beliefs and prophetic ramblings."

Caislyn looked at Seth, amused, "How about we end
this stalking nonsense and you tell us what you know and then,
maybe, we will think about sharing more information with you.
Because right now, I gotta tell you, I don't trust you as far as I
could throw you and since I don't have vamp strength, that means
not at all.”

Seth looked at both the girls. He wasn't sure how
much sharing was necessary, but he knew Jaxon and Caislyn well
enough to know they weren't budging until he gave them
something.

"Okay, fine. The supernatural world is worried about
some prophecy about an inter-species union that is supposed to
create an ultimate power. Any time a new witch, vamp, Were, or
anything else comes around, everyone gets twitchy. Jaxon is
obviously not just human and so her presence is making waves." Seth
explained.

Jaxon crossed her arms and leaned back into the couch
with a huff. "I'm so glad everyone else could see that I wasn't
human while I couldn't."

"And this prophecy is?" Caislyn prompted Seth to
finish telling them.

Seth shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure really.
Only the High Council members of each species really know. Most of
them won't share it with their subordinates because they fear they
will try to make it come to pass in order to control the
power. The biggest thing to come out of the prophecy so far
were the laws passed long ago against inter-species mating. The
prophecy came from the old seer who has never been wrong, so they
put a lot of faith in this one. Inter-species mating comes at a
high cost – death."

"So that must be why the books never give anything
but a mention then." Jaxon stated as she leaned forward to look in
her empty tea cup. "Its a shame I can't read tea leaves." 

"I've overheard portions of the prophecy, it starts
something like this," 

"When Fair Immortal and Death unite 

the world will falter before their might

Their will be done, when worked together

altering legends and lives forever"

Seth continued, "but I don't know the rest of it. I
just know that they are all afraid of this prophecy."

"Well, what the hell does that have to do with us?"
Jaxon asked.

"I don't know the rest of the prophecy, myself, but
it goes on to say other things. Because of all the fear of
inter-species mating I can only assume it has something to do with
that. Since you apparently don't know if you are a witch or a
vampire, it stands to reason you could be both." Seth stopped and
looked at Caislyn's puzzled face. "I know that you have noticed
that you are a little bit different than the average witch, but I
haven't figured out just how yet."

"You are most definitely wrong about that," Caislyn
was interrupted before she could finish.

"Yeah, that doesn't sound anything like what Jaxon's
been preaching to us, now does it?" Seth replied sarcastically as
his phone signaled an incoming text message. "Excuse me, this is
work. I'm going to have to go. But I suggest that you both take
this very seriously. Fey do not attack without good reason. And I'm
betting they haven't given up yet. Jaxon, I suggest you take some
time off. I will take care of it with Ronald. I'll check in with
you later," Seth stated as he went out the door and down the
stairs.

"Son of a..." Caislyn began as the door shut behind
Seth. She then turned to Jaxon, "He always has a clever excuse to
leave before he has to give up too much information, doesn't he?"
She walked over to the table and began pouring herself more tea.
"He was right about at least one thing though, once a Fey hit squad
comes after you they don't stop. We need to get prepared."

"Umm, how do we prepare for that? I mean we ran the
only time I've ever been attacked by the Fey," Jaxon declared.

"We go see Ve."

***

The Pithview Agenda

Seth's cell phone chimed another incoming text as he
climbed into the Escalade. after leaving the bookstore. He tossed
it into the passenger seat as he started the vehicle and pulled
away from the curb. He was in no mood to deal with his employer at
the moment. The events of the day and their implications were
swirling through his mind.

Seth hadn’t really lied to the girls when he said
that he had worked with Caislyn’s parents before they disappeared,
and he certainly hadn't lied about the fact that he had been
keeping an eye on her since then. What he failed to mention was
that it was an assignment from his employer, Marc Pithview. He had
known from the beginning that there was more to his assignment than
to observe Caislyn and follow any leads she had. Since every lead
Caislyn pursued ended up going nowhere, Seth couldn't figure out
what it was that his employer found so interesting. There had to be
something else. Fortunately for him, Jaxon had come along and made
an excellent distraction to offer up to his employer and a perfect
way to get closer to Caislyn. He needed more information and the
only way to get it was to be in the ring with all the players.

Of course Marc would not be too happy about that
decision, but he had so far been able to show reasonable cause to
get more involved. Jaxon's unique abilities had garnered
attention from some local factions, especially after the werewolf
debacle, and learning more about her proved useful. He hated using
her that way, but he felt the key to everything lie with Caislyn or
more so, with her parent's disappearance. The problem with that
theory was what he had witnessed today at Causeway Park. It had
been much more than he expected. Not only had both of the girls
just appeared in front of him out of nowhere, but they had produced
an energy shield that was stronger than Fey magic. He was quite
sure he had never seen anything more powerful than that, which only
lead to more questions, and a sinking feeling that he had just left
the presence of what he had been seeking for over a century and a
half, answers to the Old Seer's prophecy.

Being an investigator for former High Vampiric
Council Chairman, Darren Stalwart, Seth had searched high and low
about information concerning the prophecy. Darren's views on the
matter were much different than those of the other High Council
members. He felt that the prophecy was foretelling an optimistic
future, rather than a dreadful one. Seth had respected and cared
for Darren as a mentor and friend. Darren was of average
height and slight build, with dark clean cut hair and dark eyes. He
carried a silent intelligence and made his decisions based off of
facts and rationale. He always had the Vampire community’s interest
as his first priority. Darren's death had been a huge loss,
not just to Seth, but to the Council and the Vampire community as
well.

Since Darren's death Seth began to work for Darren's
successor, Marc Pithview. Marc couldn’t be more different from his
predecessor. Fair haired and blue eyed, Marc Pithview stood just
over 6 feet tall. He possessed a lean athletic build and an air of
intimidation as well as arrogance. He came up through the ranks of
the council quickly and was known for his ruthless and aggressive
actions. Although his charisma and public profile tended to win him
the votes of many in influential positions, he did not tolerate
disloyalty and disposed of any vampire under his rule that openly
disobeyed him. While inner-species killings were frowned upon, Marc
always made it appear legit. There would be proof of the deceased's
vile deeds if ever the assassinations were questioned. His
political views for the Vampire Community seemed to be just as
aggressive in that he didn’t want to bend completely to the laws of
humans, but thought that the supernatural species should have their
own set of regulations and policies as they were far superior
beings. Seth believed that Marc saw all supernatural species as
unrivaled and that his obsession with personal power overwhelmed
his desire to do what is right for the entire community.

That was exactly why the Vampiric Council members
appointed Seth as Marc’s second in command. They believed that Seth
could balance out Marc’s flare for being impulsive and
supercilious. Seth had his doubts. He had seen first hand through
his dealings with the new leader, that Marc was an expert
manipulator, and now he was beginning to think that his boss had
his own personal agenda, and that it had nothing to do with the
Vampire Community or the High Council.

There was no way that Seth was going to tell Marc
about what happened at Causeway Park. He had to tell him something,
and soon, or Marc would send someone to find him and more
importantly to find the answers he wasn't giving. Seth would video
conference with Marc when he got back to his hotel. He was hoping
it would give him a few more minutes to figure out exactly how much
to tell Marc.

Seth pictured Marc tapping his pen on top of his
desk, as he usually did when he was irritated with those he felt
were beneath him. Marc's office was extravagant in size with
bookshelves that ran along the entire length of one wall and a
beige, suede couch nestled across from him. A huge picture window
took up most of the back wall behind his desk with heavy dark blue
curtains that were presently pulled closed to keep out what little
daylight was left. Luckily, Seth only had to video conference with
him today, not stand in that room with the vampire who was probably
beyond irritated by now.