Birthrights (21 page)

"Jax" Caislyn interrupted. "Go to the gallery. Go get
your bonus. Go get some clothes. Get whatever you need, please! All
your chattering and pacing is driving me crazy. Apparently you are
picking up on my tension and restlessness and its adding to your
own. So go, just be careful."

Jaxon smiled. "I really have been cooped up too long,
I think. I'm gonna grab my purse and I'll be back later! If you
need me, you have my cell number. Don't hesitate to call me
okay?"

Just like that Jaxon was out the door and headed down
the street. Caislyn breathed deeply again. "Ah, peace and quiet!"
Caislyn went back to her research now that she was able to
concentrate. There was something to be said for quiet, but when
your eyes were tired from hours of looking at page after page, the
quiet was not always the best thing. Caislyn's eyelids began to dip
as she began nodding off over the books she was researching. Before
long her head was on a book and she was out cold.

****

Jaxon walked briskly towards the gallery watching her
step on the broken sidewalk. It had been several days since she had
been at the gallery and she had missed being there. It seemed like
forever since she had been out of the apartment for reasons other
than dealing with supernatural creatures or finding Caislyn's
parents, so Jaxon was enjoying the fresh air and the afternoon sun.
The gallery would provide her a great distraction and possibly take
care of some of this restless energy she had.

The front door chimed as she entered and Stacey
looked up from behind the front counter. "Jax! Where have you been?
Is everything okay? Ronald said that Seth told him that you needed
a few days off, but its been like a month since I've seen you!"

Jaxon smiled at her co-worker. Stacey was a tall
blond with a smile that lit up a room. Her blue eyes were full of
concern at the moment and Jaxon felt the warmth of friendship. "I'm
fine Stacey. And it hasn't been a month - its not even been a week!
I just needed a few days of rest and relaxation after the last
show, ya know? How's everything been here at the gallery?"

Stacey relaxed immediately once she realized Jaxon
was okay. "Oh good. I was worried about you! Well, there's a new
load of stuff from some estate somewhere that needs to be assessed,
priced, and loaded into the system. Ronald has it all stacked up in
the back. Good luck finding it though.” She lowered her voice to a
whisper, “he has no organization skills!" Stacey rolled her eyes as
she went back to her station at the counter and Jaxon headed
towards her office.

As Stacey had warned, it had taken Jax several hours
to find all the pieces that Ronald had acquired from the estate. He
had stacked them where ever he found room. Jaxon took the time to
assessed, and value each one. She was only part way through
entering the lot into the database when she started having trouble
focusing on the computer screen. 

"Crap" she said as she looked at her watch and then
glanced out the window seeing that darkness had set in. Jaxon
thought about the sale she had so obviously missed as well as the
dinner that she should have taken a break for and decided it was
time to head back to the apartment. “I wonder what Caislyn's up
to," she thought aloud as she turned off the computer and gathered
her purse to leave.

Stacey had left a couple of hours ago and Jaxon was
alone in the gallery. She walked around checking the back door and
making sure everything was turned off and closed up for the night.
She got a weird tingly feeling as she began locking up her office
door. Just then the front door chimes went off, signaling that
someone had entered.

****

The door flew open and the winds began whipping
through the book store tossing papers and causing the chimes
throughout the store to tinkle in their wake. Caislyn stood in the
middle of it all hands out to her side, head tilted back in
complete reverence for what was happening. She began twirling in
circles as she used to do as a girl with the butterflies from the
fields around their country cottage. Suddenly, without any other
prompting than her thoughts, the butterflies were there, inside the
store dancing with her. Caislyn's feet shuffled through puddles of
pages that had become dislodged and were blowing across the floor.
It was then that she noticed she was barefoot and that the floor of
the store had become more like the floor of a forest, green grasses
and mosses were being squished between her toes as she continued
twirling about with her butterfly friends. The joy of her childhood
came rushing back to her as she let herself go and be at peace in
the forest that now surrounded her. Laughter broke the spell she
was under. She turned to see where it had come from and caught
sight of a figure standing behind a tree. The figure was draped in
cloaks of earthen colors, but even those cloaks couldn't hide the
radiance that was trying to shine from underneath. 'A glowing man'
Caislyn thought to herself. Then she thought how she needed to see
this person up close and before she could blink he stood before
her, that shinning energy waiting to burst forth from his
cloaks. 

"Don't be afraid little one," her father said to her
as he pulled the cloak away from himself, revealing the luminescent
glow she had always associated with the Fey. "You found my
earring?"

"Is it really you?" Caislyn asked as she reached out
a hand toward her father's face.

"Yes, but we haven't a lot of time." He looked around
as if someone would pop out of the forest and drag him away if he
were to say another word.

"Dad, are you okay?" 

"Yes, sweet girl, I am fine, but you have to seek the
truth in what you've found." Mac grew a little fuzzy around the
edges as Caislyn looked at him. "Find the answers, you will find
..." his voice trailed off before he could finish what he was
saying. The last thing to go was a faint glow where he had just
been standing.

"Daddy, wait..."

****

"Sorry, but we are closed," Jaxon yelled out from
just down the hall. She started walking towards the front to greet
the customer when suddenly there was a bulky man standing in front
of her. "Oh, you startled me," she said taking a step back to put
distance between them. Every instinct went on alert as she took a
good look at the late visitor. He was about 5'8" with scruffy brown
hair and pale skin. His dark eyes oozed nothing but determination
and Jaxon realized that she was face to face with an unhappy
vampire. "I'm sorry but we are closed. I'm sure if you come back
tomorrow, someone will be able to help you." She said as she tried
to step around and get closer to the door.

"I don't want anything from here. I want information.
And you're gonna give it to me" the vampire stated. 

Jaxon sighed. This had not been on her agenda and she
was tired of watching her step everywhere she went. All these
supernatural creatures and their demands were really beginning to
get on her nerves. "Fine. I'll talk with you for a moment," she
replied trying to sound as sweet and vulnerable as she could while
she walked over to the counter to put down her things. At least
that's what she wanted the vampire to think. She was actually
putting herself in a better fighting position and allowing herself
to have both hands free. She needed to be able to grab the dagger
she had hidden in her boot if the situation required it.

The vampire watched her closely as she turned back to
face him. He decided that this woman was intimidated by him and
she'd cooperate nicely. If not, he would just rough her up a bit
and scare her into staying away from Seth. "What's going on between
you and Seth?"

Jaxon put her hands on her hips and just looked at
the vampire. Her eyes were ablaze with irritation. "That figures.
Its always Seth that ruins my day! I have a great day and get away
from all the supernatural crap that’s been going on and you have to
come in here and just piss me off."

The vampire paused a moment, obviously taken off
guard with Jaxon's change of mood. "Don't make me force you to
answer, woman." He remarked trying to control of the situation
again. 

Jaxon crossed her arms in front of her and leaned
against the counter. The vampire took a step closer. "You are going
to explain to me why Seth has taken such an interest in you. I know
he's hiding something about you, and I want to know what that is
and so does my employer."

Jaxon raised her eyebrow and just looked at the
vampire. She was more irritated that this was about Seth than that
an actual vampire was trying to intimidate her.

She stood up straight and looked at the vamp. "You
know, I'm really, really tired of having supernatural creatures
think they can push me around. Caislyn and I have been trying to
mind our own business and all of your little critter pals keep
dragging us in the middle of your crap. Well I'm sick and tired of
it." All the frustration from the last few weeks was starting to
rise in Jaxon. All the stress and tension she had been feeling from
Caislyn and that of her own concerns melded together inside of her
and felt like it was about to explode.

"I don't give a damn what you think. I want answers,
bitch." The vampire reached out, grabbing Jaxon's arm and threw her
down on the floor.

Jaxon laid on the floor a moment, hoping the vampire
would think he had hurt her a little and come closer. She could
feel something inside her shift again. It was the same feeling she
had when she fought Rick. She closed her eyes and allowed that
feeling to take over.

The vampire reached down to grab Jaxon again. "I have
ways of making you talk,” he was saying as he pulled her up. Before
he could attempt to toss her around again, she grabbed the hand he
was holding her arm with. He looked at it and then up at Jaxon's
eyes. "Oh shit," he said as she pulled his hand off her arm and
pushed him with all her might. He went flying across the room and
into the wall with a thud.

In a blink, she was before him pulling him up at the
scruff of his collar. He tried to fight back but she was stronger
than he'd thought. He threw a punch and she caught it in her hand,
wrapping his arm around his back and turned him. Jaxon threw him at
the front door and the vampire went sliding on the floor stopping
right before he hit it.

The door opened and Seth stood at the threshold
looking down at the vampire. Then he looked up at Jaxon. Her eyes
were completely black, and she was standing perfectly still, too
still for a human. "Frank,” he said looking down at the vampire on
the floor, “I think you've pissed her off" Seth looked back up at
Jaxon who had cocked her head slightly towards him as he continued
talking. "I suggest you get out of here before I let her finish
you."

****

He jumped up from the lake, running out of the water
like a startled buck, as Caislyn looked on curiously from the
water's edge. "What on Earth were you doing in there?" 

"I was looking for you, this is just where I ended
up. It doesn't always work perfectly." Her dad came to sit beside
her as she lounged amongst the flowers growing by the shore.
"Zinnias?" He questioned, "you and your mom used to grow them out
by the cottage. She said they were the easiest to grow, so you
wouldn't have to be disappointed because some would always
bloom."

Caislyn smiled as she remembered how she and her mom
used to plant the flowers every year. "Yes," she said, "How is mom?
Is she with you?"

"Not anymore. They separated us. I still talk to her
in her dreams though, like I am with you."

"Why now? Why not before, in the beginning?" Caislyn
could not hide the hurt look on her face as she wondered why her
father hadn't come to her sooner.

"You had to find the earring to trigger it. If you
ever take it off our connection will be broken and I won't be able
to find your dreams." 

The flowers around them began to turn brown and wilt
as the news hit home. Caislyn could not lose her father again. As
her emotions began to run high he started fading away again. "Dad,
no, please, you have to stay." 

"I'm trying baby. You have to find the truth, so you
can understand." He laid a book in her lap. It was one she
recognized from the book store. When she looked back up from the
book her father was gone. Before she could get up to head to the
book store the book had dissolved too.

****

Frank scurried out of the door so fast he was nothing
more than a blur of movement. 

"Now, why the hell did you do that?" Jaxon said
returning to her normal self. She took a moment longer to close her
eyes and practice breathing again. “I was just about to beat some
information out of him, but apparently you already know the
answers. So, who is Frank?” She looked at Seth who was still just
watching her and not answering anything. “More importantly, how do
you know him? He seemed very concerned with what you and I were
doing together. I wonder why that is?”

Seth had been watching her, but he wasn't really
paying attention to what she was saying. "Jaxon, do you realize
what you just did?"

"I realize that I just kicked a vampire's butt and
you apparently know him. He wanted to know what you were talking to
me about." Jaxon replied and walked back towards the counter to
collect her purse.

Seth blinked. "What did you tell him?" 

"What do you mean, what did I tell him?" Jaxon
scoffed as she stepped past Seth and out of the gallery. "Did it
look like I was telling him anything?"

Seth stepped out onto the street and closed the door,
allowing Jaxon access to lock it and set the alarm. 

"Seriously Seth you tell your friends not to bug me
at work. That isn't the place to handle social calls. You of all
people should know that." Jaxon walked past him on her way back to
the apartment, flinging her hair over her shoulder as she went. It
was a dismissive act, Jaxon was done trying to figure Seth out and
his motives, well, he wouldn't have them anymore if she stopped
allowing him into her life.