Inherited Magic (12 page)

“Still think Ursula’s such a good
person?”

“Just because she doesn’t like me
doesn’t mean that she isn’t a good person. She has every reason to dislike me.
She’s not lying. I was in the BC and I wasn’t around when you were growing up.
I know that was a mistake, seeing you now. I had already lost Maria. I didn’t
want to lose you too.”

Allison did not think anyone could
fake the regret and misery that filled his eyes. She was torn between pity and
the anger that had grown her entire life. Allison did not want to be having
this conversation.

“Either way, she could have kept
that to herself. We have other things to focus on right now,” she said before
turning away.

Allison climbed the basement
stairs, Cain not far behind. There was a stout man with white hair and leathery
skin. He was older, probably around Ruby’s age.

“Allison. Ruby has shown me pictures
over the years, but seeing you in person, they don’t do you justice. You and
your mother were both lucky to inherit your grandmother’s good looks.”

“Thanks,” she said, at a rare loss
for words.

She glanced over at Ruby, whose
cheeks had more color than usual.

“I’m Walter, by the way.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“Did you know that Ursula and Maria
used to be best friends?”

“No, I didn’t know that,” she said,
surprised.

All these people, all these facts
about her family history were kept from her. It was as if she had learned more
about her own past and more about her own mother in one week than she had in
sixteen years. As fascinating as it all was, it was also overwhelming and
frustrating.

“Oh yes, the two of them were
inseparable,” Walter said.

Everyone settled into the rooster
living room and Ruby began discussing the purpose of their visit. Walter’s
concern was apparent, as the lines in his forehead grew more defined.

“Maybe we should go fight with you.
After all, our families have been close for centuries. We can’t just let you
handle this on your own,” Walter said.

“I couldn’t ask you to do that,”
Ruby said.

“She’s right. You know your health
is bad, and what if I died? Who would be here to take care of you?” Ursula
asked.

Allison looked at Ursula. She was
beginning to think that she did not like her very much.

“Ursula’s right. We only came for
supplies and a place to make some charms and potions. We need to be as prepared
as possible. It was never our intention for either of you to be put into harm’s
way.”

Walter shook his head, a pleading
look in his eyes, though he did not say anything else.

“Why don’t you all rest up today,
and we can start on the potion making first thing in the morning?” Ursula
asked.

“Because we don’t have time to
waste, people’s lives are at stake,” Allison said.

Ursula looked at Allison, as if
appraising her, before turning back to Ruby. “She has Maria’s patience.”

“I think she may even be a little
worse,” Ruby said.

“Well, let’s get started then,”
Ursula said.

The more they talked, the more
Allison’s head hurt.

“This bramble wood should work,
though it is not as strong as I would like. I am going to bring some home when
we go visit the family. They grow some strong black bramble wood in the forest
behind their house.”

Ruby nodded, “This should work just
fine if we double up on the Ava root and let it congeal a few hours longer than
normal.”

“Congeal? I’m not eating anything
that has to congeal,” Allison said.

Walter laughed.

“You don’t eat it. Can you imagine
how bad that would taste?” Ruby said.

“Well, by the time you add the
crushed up stink beetles, pretty bad,” Vinnie said.

“How do you know that?” Allison
asked.

“They just said it five minutes
ago.”

“I need some air,” Allison said,
before leaving to go outside.

She did not see why Vinnie was so
fascinated by all of this. To her, she might as well be taking some awful
combination of chemistry and cooking all spoken in Polish. She sat on the porch
and shut her eyes, thinking of Sam. She must be terrified. What if something
happened before they had the chance to make things right? Maybe she could see
something. Allison took deep breaths, working to clear her mind.

In just a few moments, she could
see Sam and Jane. They were in the woods, tied to the same tree. She scanned
the area, but did not see anything familiar. There were so many wooded places
in Mason Springs. Her frustration disrupted the vision, making it dissipate.
Allison opened her eyes. She was not sure where they were, but at least they
were still alive. That was something.

“What’s the news?” Cain asked,
stepping out from behind her.

“They’re alive, somewhere in the
woods.”

“You know it’ll be an ambush.”

Allison shrugged, “That’s why we
have to be smart. That’s why we’re here.”

“You’re visions seem to be coming
to you easier.”

“Yeah, and the nosebleeds don’t
happen as often. I feel like I’m gaining control.”

“That’s good. You’re going to be
amazing when you have full use of your magic. You should go back in there,
though. You need to learn about potion making too.”

Allison felt a surge of anger. She
still did not like Cain to tell her anything, even if it was just a simple
suggestion. It did not matter if that suggestion was reasonable and for her own
good. He had not earned the right to tell her anything. She kept herself from
speaking; any words would be too harsh. She just stared up at the sky instead.
The sky was dotted with stars and the moon was bright and full. Cain and
Allison sat together in silence until a thought occurred to Allison.

“You grew up in The BC, so don’t
you have powerful magical abilities too?”

Cain sighed, “None of the BC
inherits natural magic, we are not gifted.  Even after centuries of stealing it
from others, our children, except you, are born powerless. There’s an old legend
that in the beginning of time, gods walked among the Earth. They say the entire
Earth was full of magic; it was in the animals, trees, water, and the forests.
Everywhere you looked, there was magic. The gods lived among mankind who, in
turn, coveted the god’s abilities. The gods obliged the humans and manifested
certain gifts in them. This arrangement was fine until some humans with
darkness in their hearts, used these abilities against other people for their
own gain. The worst offenders were said to be the original members of the BC.
The gods found out and not only stripped them of all powers, but they set a
curse upon their offspring so that no member should ever have magic to abuse
again. As time went on and humans began covering the Earth, the gods went away.
Many of the humans who had been given these abilities forgot about them. They
were too wrapped up in life, work and family. Their children were born and the
gifts were not nourished and therefore died out or remained untapped. A few
families, yours among them, continued in the old ways. These few groups
bothered to remember which roots and plants held special properties. They
continued practicing magic. The BC watched in envy until someone had the idea
to abduct those with abilities. They tortured them, stole all their magical
secrets and even learned how to steal the magic. They found a way around the
god’s ban. They can practice all types of charms and spells, taken from others
hundreds of years ago, but not one member has been born with magic abilities. I
think that is why Jackson is so interested in you. You’re my child, yet you
have incredible magic.”

 Allison cringed when he said the
words ‘my child’ but she ignored it, “You believe all that?”

“It is what I learned growing up,
and I think it has to be at least partially founded in truth. They do gain
magic by killing others. No one I know of was ever born with any natural
ability. I think you were born gifted because by that time, I had already
turned my back on the BC, but there’s no way to know for sure.”

“So, you don’t have any magic
then?”

“Just magic that was stolen.”

“Stolen? You killed people?”
Allison knew that people in The BC did that, but she never considered that Cain
had murdered innocent people.

Cain looked down, “It was the way
we were raised. I had to.”

“You didn’t have a brain? Couldn’t
think for yourself?”

“It was our culture. You have to
understand that before I met your mother, I was in line with the BC. That was
my family and how I thought things were supposed to go. It wasn’t until I fell
in love that things changed.”

Allison shook her head, “So, how
many innocent lives did you take?”

Cain did not speak.

“How many?” she asked again.

“Two. A mother and her son.”

“You just left a poor grieving
father or siblings?”

“No. She was a single mother with
no other children. She and her son both had strong natural gifts.”

She stared at Cain. He seemed to
look twenty years older, his face riddled with guilt and lines that had not
been visible moments before.

“How could you do that?” she asked,
in a quiet voice.

“I ask myself that every day. I was
doing it to impress my father, to earn my place in the family. Children have
their first kill around 15, like a rite of passage. Lucky for me, after I
killed the mother and son they didn’t require anything else until I turned 17.
That’s when I met your mother.”

“How old was the boy?”

“I’m not sure. I think he was in
his early teens.”

“So you still have their magic?”

“I did gain some of their
abilities, but I never use them. It seems disrespectful to use something I
stole from them. Allison, if I could change it,” his voice broke off.

She could see that his eyes were
filled with tears, but she had no pity. He killed two people.  Cain should cry
every single day. No amount of remorse could change what he did, what Allison
just realized he was capable of doing. She could not stand the sight of him any
longer.

I need to go see how things are
coming along in the basement,” she said, and left without another word.

In the morning, the supplies and
potions were all ready. The concoctions that needed time to set had been able
to do so overnight.

Ursula and Ruby prepared quite a
meal for breakfast. Allison had to admit that it was a nice change from canned
soups, ravioli and ramen. She ate her food in silence, avoiding eye contact
with Cain. Allison had nothing to say, and more than anything wanted to go
home, rescue Sam, and get rid of Cain for good.

She examined Ruby and Walter. They
seemed extra friendly. Allison’s grandfather passed away long before she was
born and she had never known of Ruby having a boyfriend, but there did seem to
be something between Walter and Ruby. Allison thought they would make a cute
couple but it was odd to see her grandmother flirting. Allison and Vinnie exchanged
glances and a smile slid across his face. She was sure he was just as amused by
their behavior as she was. 

After breakfast, they went into the
living room and discussed possible plans of attack. 

“We should begin with the blinding
potion,” Walter said.

Allison remembered this one. Every
person had to put a single strand of his or her hair into the mix. When the
vial is broken on the ground, a thick smoke is supposed to rise, blinding
anyone except those who put in a hair.

“We? I thought we discussed this,
Dad,” said Ursula.

“Yes, we. If not, why else did we
put in our own hair among the rest?”

Allison was thinking the same
thing.

“In case a vial was knocked off or
broken on accident. I would rather not be stumbling around here blind. You know
we can’t go.”

That feeling of dislike was coming
back. Allison realized that it was asking a lot, but they needed all the help
they could find. Two more people, people experienced in magic, could be the
difference between life and death. Ursula was supposed to be her mother’s best
friend. She would like to think that if Vinnie or Sam’s child came to her, in
need of help against a force like this, that she would be more than willing to
give it. Allison stood up to go outside. She needed to leave before she said anything
rude.

“I’m taking a walk. You want to
come Vinnie?” she asked.

Since Monday, when they had left in
the RV, she had not had much alone time with Vinnie, which was unusual.

“Yeah,” he said, but he didn’t have
a chance to stand up.

There was a loud crash and glass
went everywhere. Allison felt a piece graze her, cutting across her forehead.
She felt the warmth on her face but it did not hurt. Her adrenaline was too
high to feel pain.

In the floor, a few feet beyond the
broken window, was a brick that had been used to bust it out. Allison’s mind
was trying to understand, to make sense of what was happening. There were loud
bangs on the front door and a man was climbing through the broken window. She
grabbed a short, rooster shaped lamp from an end table. After ripping it out of
the socket, she hit the man in the head with the base. She did not know what
else to do.

Allison felt arms around her
shoulders and turned to realize only she and Cain remained in the living room.

He was yelling at her, “Get to the basement!
Come on!”

She didn’t argue, following Cain to
the basement. When they were both in, Cain shut the door behind them and locked
it from the inside. That was when she realized that the door seemed more secure
than the doors in most homes. It was made of some type of strong steel or lead.
Though it was a standard size door, it looked like something a bank would have.

“That should hold for a while,”
Walter said, glancing over at Ursula’s pale face, “I guess we’re fighting after
all.”