Ritual Magic (4 page)

Leo nodded sharply before turning his full
attention back on me. "What is this about a 'dad'?"

Cora giggled brightly and it was instantly
clear that we were in for a very long night.
Huh, this is going
to be
interesting.

When Cora finally released Solomon from the
sleep spell, we had all been sitting on the couch conversing
happily. The only sign she gave that she was doing anything was
that she flicked her hand towards the master bedroom during one
point in the conversation, keeping her eyes fixed on Leo as if she
was simply speaking with her hands.

A rumble of activity immediately sounded
from behind the door and Solomon burst into the room, ready for
anything. Well, not
anything
. His hard body was poised for
battle, but his expression held the true mixture of his
feelings—confusion, fear, anger, distrust and concern.

I smiled up at him and waved towards the
side of the couch that Cora had vacated to make room for him—it was
the side closest to me. I guessed she figured that he needed as
much moral support as possible for the impending conversation.

Solomon's eyes cut toward Cora and Leo as
they chatted and patted each other's hands lovingly. Shaking his
head at me, he paced the room and checked all of the windows and
doors before turning to observe them one more time with a look of
deep suspicion. Finally, after contemplating almost every corner of
the room, Solomon came to stand near me. He was actually nowhere
near my side but a little to the side and a step behind. He was in
guard mode.

Solomon eyed Leo with danger in his eyes as
he spoke his first words. "What...is
he
doing
here
?!"

"Solomon," I worked to keep my voice gentle
and calm, "please sit down. We have much to discuss now that our
special guest has arrived." I waved towards Cora.

Cora looked up from her conversation with
Leo and practically beamed at Solomon. "Hi, Dad." She smiled
brightly at him. Standing slowly from her spot on the couch, Cora
walked deliberately towards him with a slow pace. All of her
cautious, sinewy steps looked choreographed and well planned. Her
firm body looked like a tigress slinking through the jungle on a
leisurely stroll and it was obvious that she knew not to rush him
or make any sudden moves. Everything about her body language
illustrated that she knew how to deal with Solomon...like a wild
animal. And like a wild animal, Solomon could dart away—just as
fast as any buck, but much more lethal.

Placing her hands out in front of her, she
made the motion to grasp his hands. Because of her slow actions,
she was allowed close proximity to his person although he was
gauging all of her moves and possible motives.

Just as Cora rested her hands on top of
Solomon's outstretched hands, Solomon's eyes darted to mine and I
nodded reassuringly. Cora allowed her touch to drift away as the
shaking in Solomon's body became a tiny tremor that only the most
trained eye would be able to see.

"Who
are
you?" His voice rumbled in
his chest.

She smiled at him kindly, clearly wanting to
reassure him yet again. "I'm Cora Elena Ravenwood, and I'm your
daughter."

"Not possible. I am a vampire and I am
unable to father a child. No vampire can father a child in the
literal sense of the word." He stared down at her with contempt in
his eyes, "You are playing with fire, little girl."

Leo chuckled in the background, "I believe
it is
you
that is playing with fire, my friend." He said
underneath his breath, "Be careful what you say to the woman—she
can match you blow for blow. I'm very sure."

Solomon bristled at the words 'blow for
blow' as he eyed Cora closely. Had he seen the reflection of his
blue-green in her eyes yet? I wasn't sure what was going to happen
and what was going to pass between the two. Cora knew how to work
Leo like a pro, but Solomon... Well, that was another story
altogether.

"Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed
as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.
Remember, Dad? Sun Tzu. Your favorite book." She beamed at him—they
were bonding as far as she was concerned.
What in the world is
she talking about?
I couldn't help but be impressed that she
sounded so good while making no sense to me at all.

Solomon looked down at her, turning his head
slowly left and then right as in a painfully slow shake of the
head. He was looking at her...truly looking at her. "
The Art Of War
, my favorite book." He nodded sharply,
"But how would you
know
my favorite book? How would you know
that at all?"

Turning to Cora, I heard myself say the
words without thinking them, "Show him." I then turned to Solomon
and gave him a warning glance. "Do not react or you could hurt more
than just yourself and one little girl."

Solomon's eyebrow shot upward at the
comment. He obviously didn't think that he was going to be in any
danger. Well, he was going to be shocked.

Cora nodded at me seriously, snapping her
head back as she closed her eyes, probably imagining all of the
ways she could push Solomon's buttons. A part of me glowed as I
considered exactly what she was going to do. I was going to get to
see my little weapon in action.
A weapon.
Fear crept into my
heart and I was suddenly overwhelmed by the deepest sadness I had
ever experienced, my body washing over in a harsh pang of guilt. My
daughter...was a weapon.

Just then Cora's eyes snapped open and she
flashed her fangs—longer than they were the first time she shared
them with us when it was just Leo and me. She didn't whip out her
frightening demon claws, but her hands glowed and the ring of steel
could be heard vibrating throughout the room. Her sabers were now
in her hands once again and she began to inch around him slowly,
taking deliberate step after deliberate step. She didn't make a
move towards him...she just held her sabers out so that he could
see both the sabers and her stance.

"You gave me these blades, Dad. In fact,
besides all of the automatic weapons that Babbo gave me and trained
me to utilize, you provided me with every single metal weapon that
I own." She smiled deviously. Her hands flickered and she was then
holding a long, feminine Celtic-etched sword, glistening from hilt
to tip, engraved with intricate and delicate designs. It glistened
in the light of the room, adding an eerie beauty to it.

"A maiden sword." She smiled broadly and
arched it over her head as if she was getting ready to spar. She
straightened out of her stance, smiling openly at Solomon's
expression as her hands glowed again and the sword disappeared in a
blink. In her hands were two sharp and delicate knives. "Knives are
my specialty, Dad. You have worked long and hard to teach me to be
both aggressive as well as deadly with the knives because it often
comes down to hand-to-hand more than anything. You always scoffed
at Babbo's automatic weapons, but they have their place too. Don't
you think?" Her head quirked to the side as her fangs glistened,
perfectly accentuating her amazing smile.

My child has fangs! EEEEK!

Solomon shivered slightly.

Cora didn't seem to grasp that she was
frightening Solomon. He didn't know what to think or do, and it was
evident in his rigid posture and the way that his eyes followed her
every move. It was obvious that all he wanted was to protect me,
and he didn't know what he was supposed to protect me from. His own
'
child'
?

"Dad!" Her hands glowed again and two
traditional sai were sitting in the palms of her hands. She spun
them on her palms like she was might spin basketball. "The Sai! You
think I'm pretty darned good with them." She nodded at him,
eagerly. "I'm actually pretty proud of..."

"ENOUGH!" Solomon's voice was a slamming
door on Cora's enthusiasm. Her shoulders dropped slightly as if he
had just punished her, but she kept her loving smile on her
lips.

"Just because you quote Sun Tzu and you have
quite the little armory at your '
fingertips
' does not mean
that you are
my child
." He rocked back on his heels and
crossed his arms in a sign of hostility.

Cora straightened up and tapped her chin
with one sai. I couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking
about. Looking at Solomon as if he were a puzzle she was about to
conquer, she smiled so broadly that her eyes twinkled, "That's
right—'swift as the wind.'"

In a flash she was gone, rushing away from
us and our location in the living room, all of our eyes following
her flash of movement. The air in the room seemed to follow her as
she swiftly darted away in such a blur that it didn't even look
like she had moved. As the air shifted back into place she was
holding in her hand two books, tapping them on the palm of her hand
with a knowing smile.

My eyes strained to see the spines or catch
a glimpse of the titles, but Cora's hands were wrapped around them
so that I couldn't see anything but a black paperback and an old
leather hardcover book. They were two books from two very different
eras.

Laughing, Cora held up the antique book with
delicate leather binding, "
The Art of
War
." She nodded slowly as her grin was plastered from side
to side. "Oh! And my favorite...
Breaking
Dawn
from the
Twilight
series!" She
held up the black paperback that glistened in the reflected light,
waving it around the room for all to see, including Leo who was
lounging back against the cushions of the overstuffed chair across
from the loveseat.

A giggle escaped my lips as Solomon growled
slowly under his breath. He was not happy about Cora riffling
through his stuff, I could tell, because he clearly did not like me
knowing that he had that fictional series about vampires in the
house. Who knew that he would even have that book, much less be
interested
in it?!

Solomon straightened his back and looked at
me swiftly with fierce embarrassment. "I had that in the house in
case you wanted to read it. You had read the other three and I
thought..." He shrugged and shook his head slowly, finally
registering that something definitive had just taken place. "What
just happened?" His head snapped back to face Cora and she tilted
her forehead forward and looked up at him through her long,
feathered lashes.

Leo finally uncrossed his legs in his chair,
drawing attention back to himself and his perfectly tailored suit.
"It appears that our sweetling has just proven that she is,
indeed
, your child." He didn't look happy about it and I
figured that I would hear something about it in the future. As if
he had any say at all. "Interesting..." Leo's eyes began to glow as
he clasped his hands together in a subtle gesture of
discomfort.

Solomon finally took a long look a Cora, his
eyes softening as his forehead furrowed with concern and even more
questions. He paused for a moment to fill his lungs to capacity as
his eyes shut tightly; clearly tasting the air for any hint of
hidden information that only his sense of smell could share with
him. What was it that he was able to smell? What was it that he
could strip away with that one swift taste of air? Could he tell
that Cora was his own child? Could he tell that I was her mother?
What was there that he could share with me that my troubled mind
hadn't even conceived of thinking?

A tiny part of my own mind began to wobble
as I watched his lungs fill. I wanted so badly to be privy to the
secrets that he was learning from that breath. Was it true? Was she
our child? Had I fallen victim to my heart believing that this
beautiful woman was my child when she truly hadn't provided much
evidence to prove that to be the fact? Was I being a fool? No. My
heart assured me that I wasn't a fool—Cora was mine...and theirs as
well.

My eyes scanned Solomon's face as his eyes
flew open and his face changed its expression. He now wore the
expression of a man that had just found out he had long lost family
that were deeply submerged in problems he couldn't save them from.
His shoulders slumped and his body shook as he turned to look down
at me.

"So...we have a daughter?" His voice cracked
and shook as his helpless eyes questioned me.
Guess that
answered that question.

"So it would seem." Leo replied for me from
the other side of the room, his voice sounding a little annoyed. "A
daughter from the future..." He ran a firm hand across his
slicked-back hair as if he was ensuring that any stray hairs were
coaxed back into place. There was no reason for it, though, because
his hair knew better than to pop out in any random direction.
"Mostly demons
can
travel through time, but we are bound by
the laws of time and space. We have sworn a blood pact to never
travel into the past to change the future or manipulate it for our
own benefits. It is not done—it is not honorable." His eyes
twitched over to Cora again, scanning her face as his eyes narrowed
to zero in on her face. "What have you
done
my child? Why
are you even here?"

Cora began to fidget with her shirt again
and walked over to the couch to flop down loudly, just like a
teenager after a long day of school.

"I know it looks bad, Babbo, but I promise
you that
you
were one of the people that decided that I must
journey into the past. You were actually there when I left." Her
shoulders fell forward and she hunched over slightly as she seemed
to be giving in to the scrutiny that the room provided for her. She
cast her eyes around the room as if she were pleading with us to
allow her to go to the prom with a boy we didn't approve of. She
needed our forgiveness and our support to allow her to function. "I
had
to come. It has been...foretold." She hung her head as
if she were defeated, sighing deeply enough to cause her shoulders
to slump forward a fraction of an inch deeper.