The Progeny (The Progeny Series) (31 page)

Aggie motioned Shauna to the clearing.
“There’s no reason to be afraid.”

“I’m not afraid
,” Shauna replied.

Shauna and Aggie sat together, their legs crossed and hands joined.

“Mother Mias, we come here today as your humbled daughters seeking your blessings. We come together of our own free will to become blood sisters. We pray that this ritual will bind us rightly, in your eyes. Shauna has faced several challenges in her journey to seek your everlasting favor. The sisters I am bound to do not approve of this joining. I don’t hold grievance against them, but wish that you help me to do your will and do right by my new sister.”

They opened their eyes.

“Shauna, do you come here of your own free will?”

“I do.”

“Will you keep the covenants of the witch sacred and close to your heart?”

“I will.”

“Are you ready to become one with your sister?”

“I am.”

“Godly mother we ask that you give us a sign that our binding is your wish.”

They sat still
and a warm breeze gusted around them. Her permission. The breeze blew harder as the soft whisper of a woman’s gentle voice rose from the zephyr. Aggie and Shauna’s breaths labored then caught, as a blinding light appeared before them.

The soft image of a beautiful woman in a long, flowing
, white gown materialized in front of them, a crown of wildflowers accenting her golden hair. “You’ve done well my children, and I am pleased. Worry not about the transgressions of the others against you. Continue to do my will and teach others about the ways of my love. Another is seeking answers to her questions. You’ll find her in Langley Park. Her name is Brandilynne. She’s young and has much to learn, but you will teach her, Agatha.”

The two blood-sisters sat very still as the ethereal woman in white instructed them.

“The time to break away from your first coven has come, Agatha. They’re not a fit for you anymore. Their intentions are not yours. Battles are coming for all of you, but you’ll face them together. You will form a new coven consisting of the two of you, Brandilynne, and a fourth, whom you’ll discover soon. Continue on your paths my children. Worry not about what the others say. I am pleased. Blessed be...” A smile lit the apparition’s face as her image dissipated.

Their path
s were clear and their Godly mother’s words affirmed her will. They were now satisfied—Mother’s Mias’s appearance was her blessing. Aggie and Shauna each pricked their fingers, letting the blood drip into the ruby encrusted silver goblet, before pouring in wine.

Aggie handed Shauna the cup first.
“Remember the prayer I taught you.”

“I drink the blood of my sister in the hopes that it will bind us together for eternity. I ask that you give me the vision to be purposeful in my life, slow in my tongue and
make me swift in the helping of others. I pray your blessing over me and all that I love.” Shauna recited the prayer from memory, drank from the cup and handed it to Aggie.

Aggie
recited her own prayer then drank the last of the wine. “I have something for you.” She handed Shauna a black box.

“I didn’t know we were supposed to get gifts.”

“We aren’t, but I wanted you to have this. Open it.”

“A moonstone,” Shauna gasped
while the sun flickered off the glittery nugget.

“It belonged to my mother. This stone is that of the goddess Diane. It will strengthen your intuition, help your inner growth and protect you on land and sea.” She glanced at Ascher, giving him a stern look. “I’m assuming
you
can protect her in the air.”

H
e chuckled and nodded his head in agreement.

“What about the other
sisters?” Shauna asked.

“The minute they rejected you, they turned their backs on me. I’m not sure what will happen
, but I’ll not let your path become uncertain while they decide what to do. Your enlightenment is so much more important. Now, you two have other things to do besides sit in a field full of weeds with me. Go and enjoy the day. Don’t be worrying about me. I’ll probably do a couple of spells tonight, read some leaves and then go to bed. I’m very glad that Katy is better. She has potential, I can feel it, but I need to spend more time with her to see what her talents are. Now off with you two, all of this love is messing with my internal rhythms.”

They all laughed.

Aggie gave her a big hug and whispered, “I love you, sister. Blessed be.”

Shauna gave her a huge squeeze back. “I love you, too. Blessed be.”

* * * *

The night was cloudless, crisp, and beautiful. They sat high atop Laurel Pointe, their eyes gazing at Sheridan in the distance.
Ascher's arms wrapped around her while his face pressed into her hair. As long as she was with him, his world was complete and nothing could be wrong.

He wrapped the blanket tighter around her. She was silent, her mind reflecting on so many different things that it was hard
for him to pinpoint one single thought. Her hair blew in tiny wisps around his face. Under normal circumstances, the silence wouldn’t bother him. In light of the last few weeks, he rather preferred to keep her talking. Communicating her feelings was important to her mental health. He sighed as he contemplated the best way to break the silence. “Are you cold?”

“No, I’m quite warm, thank you.”

“I’m a real jerk.”

She turned, giving him a surprised glare.
“What are you talking about, Ascher?”

Ascher
realized that his outburst was random, considering the silence that preceded it. “I’ve been imposing
my
beliefs,
my
history, and
my
family’s traditions on you. Not once, did I ask what
you
wanted. So now, I’m asking—what do
you
want Shauna?”

Sh
auna snuggled herself closer to him. “I have everything that I need right here with me.”

“That’s nice to know, but I’m talking about the sealing. I never asked you if you wanted a wedding.”

“No way, I don’t mesh well with weddings. The sealing will be fine by me.”

“Are you sure you don’t want a diamond?”

“This ring is just fine. I love
this
ring. It means more to me than any diamond ever could.” Pointing to the two baguettes on either side of the round bloodstone, she said, “Besides, I do have diamonds.”

“You’re so amazing
.” He kissed her, letting his lips linger on hers as he whispered, “Tu es mon autre moitie.” He gave her a speculative glance before uttering, “Are you sure you don’t want something small? I hear destination weddings are all the rage these days.”

“Ugh, cheesy sand beaches and vows by the seashore
,” Shauna groaned.

A light chuckle escaped his lips. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot. You’re human. You’ll seal to me for eternity. Wouldn’t you like to be married, as well?”

“I thought you didn’t believe in the whole institution of marriage.”

“I don’t, but we
could
do something non-denominational. Seeing you in that white dress today made me think about it. You’ve brought me unbelievably close to being completely human. These days, I'm thinking more like one. Weddings are very human, and I don’t want you to miss out on things because of me.”

“We can seal by a sea shore. Would that work?”

“Maybe we could seal and marry by a sea shore,” he replied.

She frowned.

“I’m sorry, am I upsetting you?”

“No
, I was just thinking about Katy.”

“I know it’s hard for you
, but you have a house full of doctors, who don’t sleep, caring for her. They’re giving her a serum infusion tomorrow morning. Quinn seems to think it’ll help.”

“Will that turn her?”

“No. Father and Gabriel finally completed the serum. Gabe brought the last piece of the puzzle back with him. They removed the venom and since it’s what initiates the change, she’ll be fine. She’s only getting the medicinal part. They’ve tested it twice.”

“What is this mystery ingredient?”

“There’s a rare flower that can only be found along the hillside of the castle. It’s called the Krakta. Those with the dark gift use it for medicinal purposes. Clive figured out that it was the missing ingredient to finalize the serum. Gabe brought plenty home with him. Ursula may have mistakenly snatched Katy, but they soon realized that she was special. Like you, Katy has gifts. Being in the dark for weeks brought them to the surface, so they planned to change her and use her against us.”

“Aggie said that she had potential.”

“It doesn’t surprise me that Gabe and I got ourselves a pair of gorgeous witch sisters for mates.”

She grinned
slightly, but he could sense that she was still upset about something.

“What’s
really
wrong, Shauna?”

“I can’t help but feel that all of this is my fault.”

He swept the hair away from her face. “None of this is your fault. You can place the blame squarely upon my shoulders.”

“There’s nothing ordinary about me, Ascher. I’m a freak of nature. The ship for an ordinary life sailed for me long ago. If you were my destiny
, then it wouldn't have mattered where I was, you would’ve found me. My home is wherever you are—my heartbeat is yours. We’ve made love and we’ve made life. If the higher power deems it right, we’ll make more life.” She traced her hand down along his pale face. “All I want is you, your love and an eternity to share it.”

“I’m still not sure what you’ll be when you’re changed
—”

She silenced him with a kiss.
“That doesn’t matter. I’ll still love
you
no matter
what
I am. There is plenty of time to think about that, but please, not tonight. I just want to sit here with you, watch the stars and make plans that may or may not ever come true.”

Ascher
gave her a speculative glance before loosely pressing his lips to hers.

She
steadied herself for a kiss, puckering her lips in anticipation.

“Close your eyes. I’m curious about something.”

* * * *

Sh
auna nodded as they sat still and quiet. Whirling wind and the rustling of the trees were the only sounds around them. His lips kissed hers in soft flutters as her body melted into him. At first, it was a whisper so soft that it floated on the wind. It grew louder as it repeated, coaxing her ears, stirring her emotions with its deep message.
I love you Shauna. I’ll always love you.

“I love yo
u, too,” she whispered.

“I thought so.” A warm hand trailed across her face as he murmured, “Open your eyes.”

Shauna opened her eyes to find Ascher gazing at her, a strange intensity glimmering in his stare. His lips remained closed, but a slight smirk turned up at the edges of his mouth.
I love you Shauna. I’ll always love you.
She heard it again. Only this time, she realized he was speaking to her, but not with his mouth. “How did you—?”

“You’re a blooded witch now. When Aggie and I were in high school, we
’d sit in class and hold whole conversations without ever opening our mouths. I suspected you’d be able to hear me now, and I just wanted to check.”

“Wow, that’s pretty amazing.”

“I have something that I want you to hear.”

She nodded.

“I’ve noticed that you’re partial to love poems. While I’m not into contemporaries, I thought that you might like this one. It’s called Blessed Eternity.” He gazed steadily at her, while reciting the poem from memory.

“
I never thought I’d ever hear
you
reciting poetry. What a beautiful poem.”

“I love poetry
. I’m just not crazy about the contemporaries. I have to admit that I really like that one. I think it sums up our predicament, perfectly. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Sh
auna didn’t say another word. Stunned, she simply stared into his eyes with wild curiosity.

* * * *

Though he might never find redemption for
what
he was, maybe he might grow to be happy with
who
he was. While Ascher stared back at her, he saw the only light in his cursed existence. Conflict burned in him as he thought of silencing her light, by asking her to join him in the darkness. Looking into her face, he swept her mind for a small sign that what he was doing was the right thing. Her mind was loud and positive—not a spot of doubt existed. As her thoughts echoed, he soaked it in and felt at peace with his decision. Her brain reverberated
I love you Ascher Rousseau, now and for eternity.

Epilogue- Blessed Eternity

Envelop me in the sweet darkness of your burning light

Spin me into a web of your eternal delight

Make me yours for all to see

Cover me in kisses sweet with sinful pleasure

Transform me so that I may be yours forever

Make me yours for all to see

I am not longed for the duties of this world

Nor do I wish to be just an ordinary girl

Make me yours for all to see

One day with you is worth a thousand forevers

If this is the only way for us to be together

My soul is a mere formality

Meet me when the shadows replace the light

In the sweet darkness of the eternal night

Give me blessed eternity

THE END