The Dark Gifts Birthright (31 page)

“You folks might ought to sit back down, this
is gonna take a bit, I can tell.” He waited for everyone to find a
spot, and then began.

“It’s like this here, ya’ll have a fox in the
hen house, and ya ain’t even bothered to find it out. Now that
young’in you got there? She ain’t a bad girl, but what’s in her,
that’s a whole other matter. That’s a dark evil that’s got hold of
that child, and ifin ya’ll don’t get rid of it, then your gonna
have more trouble than ya can shake a stick at. Now I cain’t be
sure how long it’s had her, but I can tell ya that its deadly, and
what it knows, them others knows, I know ya’ll want me to tell ya
how to fix what’s about to come, but I think there’s some telling
that your side needs to do afor I can help with that.”

Outraged, Athena was the first to come to
Jenna’s defense, “That child has been nothing but sweet and good.
What you’re saying is impossible!”

Brogan chucked and replied, “Impossible is
it? Ya’ll searchin’ for traitors, ain’t ya? Ya’ll looked and looked
and cain’t find nary a one? Ain’t no dark magic been used up there
in that ole castle, huh?”

Minerva spoke up, her eyes as cold as ice and
her voice steely, “I can assure you that no dark magic has been
used at the castle since we moved in.
We
would have sensed
it immediately, no witch of mine would dream of using dark
magic!”

“Now I didn’t say twer a witch that used it,
did I? Tis that child ya’ll speak so highly of that has use of dark
magic. Ain’t ya never worried about how she come about knowing what
she knows?”

They all looked at each other with one
thought on their minds,
how did Jenna learn to use time
portals?
According to Brogan, it was going back in time that
changed this present and made things worse. Who are the voices that
spoke to the girl? Cass had explained it as raw, natural, physic
talent, but what if it was more?

Liz leaned forward, her voice sincere as she
spoke from her heart. “Sir, we all love that girl. If there
is
something that can help her, then I would like to know.
If there is something possessing her, then how did it get into her,
and how do we get it out?” Brogan squinted and peered at Liz.

He watched her long enough that she became
uncomfortable. Then he smiled and winked at her and said, “It’s
‘bout time you spoke up, girl. Ya ain’t gonna make much of a Queen,
ifin ya cain’t learn to say your piece.”

Michael burst out laughing, throwing his
hands up in the air. “Well that settles it. The man is completely
off his rocker.”

Liz exploded from her seat. “Are you crazy?”
Then turning to the others there asked, “Are you seriously going to
listen to this guy? Can’t you see he’s crazy?”

“Oh, I can see it.” Michael answered through
his laughter.

Gregorio smiled and shook his head. “Well
now. I think we’ve probably covered the appropriate issues. Thank
you for having us. We appreciate your…umm, hospitality.”

Minerva and Athena appeared to be deep in
thought. Neither woman said a word, both sets of eyes rested on
Liz.

“Well I don’t know about the rest of you, but
I’ve had enough of this crap. Michael?” She said holding out her
hand.

“Absolutely, my love.” He said as he took her
offered hand and stood. Another wave of amusement hit him sending
quakes throughout his body.

Shaking her head, and grinning, Liz gave him
a gentle shove. “Seriously?”

Brogan reached out to her from across the
fire.

Her smile vanished as her body reacted of its
own accord, and turned to face him.

“The stars don’t lie, child. They says what
they says, and ifin that other what put his nose where it don’t
belong, hadn’t done what he done, you’d been queen by now.”

Then looking around at the others still
gathered there, he said, “Ain’t you been a wondering how this here
girl achieved what did so quick like? Ain’t it seemed to ya’ll like
she musta been born to be what she is now? It’s her birthright.”
His eyes settled on Minerva as he repeated softly, “It’s been hers
from the moment she were born, and you know it.”

Minerva nervously shifted her feet while
meeting Brogan’s gaze. Although no one answered his questions
aloud, each of them knew that they had wondered just that, but all
of them had decided that it must be the witch in her blood that
allowed her to do so.

“The stars cannot lie, child. You are what
you were meant to be. The universe has wondrous things in store for
you. What you have become and what you will grow to be, is your
destiny.” With his last declaration, every bit of accent was gone.
His voice had taken on the quality, not of some cantankerous old
man, but of an ancient one filled with wisdom.

Chapter Twenty-One

The Magnificent Unveiling Of Brogan The Great

Brogan brought his arms out to his sides.
“Close your minds. Let no one enter and let nothing out.” His body
became straight and tall. A pale mist floated above his skin. The
mist lifted higher, pulling away the facade of the withered old
man. He grew taller and thinner, his hair grew longer and whiter,
the scraggly beard on his face became full, white as snow, and grew
down almost to the waistband of his long black robes. In his left
hand, he held a staff that was as tall as he was. Black as night,
it shimmered as if covered in diamond dust. The man standing before
them now looked nothing like the crazy old man he had been, there
was a majestic air about him now, like some great king from a long
forgotten past.

Gregorio was the first to stand. He walked
over to the new image of the man with a broad smile across his
face. “Greetings and salutations, dear friend. I was beginning to
wonder what new mess we‘d brought to our doorstep.”

Brogan smiled apologetically and replied, “It
could not see me in my natural form. It must not know I am here.
Already, it sits in your castle and wonders who the crazy old man
is, and how I know of it. The child does not know it exists. It
consumes her more each day, in a short time now, it will own her
completely. There will be no hope for her then.”

“Father, what is going on? How do you know
this magician?”

Gregorio sighed and began to explain, “This
is the Great Brogan, last and most powerful of the Druid Wizards.
We have known each for a thousand years or more. Many a battle we
have fought side by side.” Then looking askance at Brogan, he said,
“I heard of your death five hundred years ago, knowing this ‘new’
Brogan I had assumed he was named after you.”

“How does it know you?” asked Liz.

“It has been my enemy for centuries.” Brogan
answered. He raised his hand to rest on Gregorio’s shoulder. “I
need to know which among you are closest to the girl.”

“That would be Angie.” Athena answered.

“What change has occurred to Angie’s
personality since dealing with the child?”

“Nothing.” Liz jumped to her feet. “First,
you want us to go after Jenna, now you think something’s wrong with
Angie. She is perfectly sweet and wonderful, there is nothing at
all wrong with her.”

“Not nothing, Liz.” Athena said softly.

Ignoring Liz’s outburst, Brogan stretched out
his hand to Athena. She grasped it in hers and stood facing
him.

“Tell me.”

“She is still my daughter, Brogan, but she
has taken on a viciousness that she did not have previously. She
seems smarter and more capable now than any of us had ever given
her credit for. She has become a deadly fighter and killer.”

“But she did so well in training. She worked
hard to learn everything Michael tried to teach us.” Liz
pleaded.

“She did not do
well
, Liz, she was
satisfactory and that is all. You know how shocked we all were when
she managed to kill Sekhmet.” Michael’s reply seemed unfeeling and
harsh to Liz, but she had to admit he was right. Everyone had been
completely astonished that little Angie had managed to kill the
ancient beast.

“I imagine that was when it fully entered the
girl. Upon Sekhmet’s death, the thing left her body and entered
into the child. But it was at work long before that day I’d
wager.”

Minerva, head hung low, told Brogan how Cass
had explained to them that Sekhmet had targeted the child for
turning, almost as soon as Cass had met her. She told him of the
plans the old beast had for the girl, and of the girl’s magical
training, and her discovery of time portals.

Brogan listened quietly to Minerva’s tale,
when she finished he asked about how the child had come to be with
them. This time it was Athena that explained how they had found her
in the clearing crying, her arrival to the farmhouse and what had
happened there.

“This type of evil leaves a taint on the
soul. Angie is in danger just being near her, she has been chosen
to be its protector. I imagine it happened that first day.” Brogan
explained.

Liz spoke thoughtfully, “She left my arms
that day. I'd been holding her and she jumped out of my lap and
went over to Angie. Angie had been so terribly sad that we could
not find her mother, and wasn't speaking to anyone. Jenna put her
hand on Angie’s knee and they looked into each other’s eyes for a
short time, then she crawled up into Angie’s lap. Angie started
coming back to herself then and acting more normal, except that
from that time on, she wouldn’t let hardly any of us near Jenna. We
all thought she was just protecting her.”

“She was protecting her, Elizabeth, but more
importantly she was protecting the thing inside her. Someone in
pain, especially someone with a broken heart, is easily wooed by
this creature.” Brogan answered.

“What is this creature you speak of?” Michael
asked.

“Its name is Baael. He’s a powerful demon.
His main endeavor, for thousands of years, has been to gain
dominion over the vampire nation. Sekhmet was the most powerful of
her time, but it made a grave error in judgment when it settled in
her. The demon did not recognize her weak and slothful nature. It
did not know she would go into hiding. All this time, it has
searched, through her, for a better host. There are probably others
among you that it is controlling even as we speak. It has to be
destroyed. Its plan is to make the child the new vampire queen.
Your coming has long been prophesied among my people, Elizabeth. It
was foretold, that when you finally came to power, the wickedness
that created Nosferatu would be put to rest. A new era in vampire
history will be recorded, and for the first time, the mortal world
will live in safety from those of your kind. This is what it is
trying to stop. It hates everyone and everything, but of all God’s
creatures, it hates mortals the most.” Brogan sighed and without
warning, took on the appearance of the withered old man again.

Gregorio began pacing in thought, while the
others remained still and quiet.

Brogan seated himself again and pulled out
his notebook.

Gregorio stopped in front of Brogan and
asked, “If it is a demon, then a priest must perform an exorcism.
Regardless of your prophecy, we still live in darkness and are
damned. We cannot have a priest here.”

The old man looked up at his massive friend
and laughed, “I’m not speakin’ of takin’ it out. I said we needs to
kill it.”

Motioning for everyone to take a seat again,
Brogan began to spill out his plan. None of them were to let on
that he was anything other than a crazy old man. When they returned
to the castle, they were to act angry and unsettled. Athena was to
take Angie aside during the next day, and enter her mind and shut
it down. The connection between Angie and Jenna was mental only, so
when her mind was shut, the other could not enter. Then she was to
be sent away.

The first thing that Baael would try to do is
to enter the mind of another, it had great need of a protector. It
needed the child to itself to complete its control of her. Whoever
was to become the child’s guardian must have absolute control of
their mind.

The child must be isolated, far away from the
castle. When Brogan began the process of killing the demon, it
would undeniably reach out for help from others it had already been
working on.

While this was going on, Liz was to take a
time portal and go back in time and make sure the child was not
taught magic, and most importantly, to see to it that time portals
were not discovered. They were going to be discovered, but not by
her.

Much of what Brogan told them seemed cryptic.
Knowing exactly what the future held was impossible. Every action
from every person in the world changed the outcome of the future
every day. The only thing he could be certain of was that Jenna
would seize power of the vampire nation through force, and with the
help of the renegade army. If that were to happen, the entire world
would eventually be destroyed. Although the mortal world rarely
gave them much thought, except for storybooks and movies, it was
their responsibility to see to it that no immortal gained power
over the mortal world.

It was nearing dawn when the group returned
to the Citadel. Angie waited for them at the front gate. Jenna had
been asleep for hours, but Angie was still furious at the old man
for scaring her, and still considered killing him for it.

The group walked in grumbling about the crazy
old man and his wild ideas. Angie listened quietly, walking beside
her mother. She stopped and stared at Athena in amazement.

“Mother? Your mind is closed to me. What has
happened?”

“Come with us to our room child, there is
much to tell that should not be said in hallways and
corridors.”

For a moment, Angie shied away as if the idea
of being alone with her mother was repulsive to her, then she
shrugged and resumed walking. Gregorio and the others kept moving
ahead of Athena and the girl. Not once did they react as if
anything unusual was going on. Liz and Michael left them when they
arrived at their hall, while Gregorio, Athena, and Minerva
continued on with Angie, steps echoing through the empty
corridors.