Free Inherited Magic by Jennifer Mccullah

said.
    As soon as the door shut behind
Adam, Ruby locked it. When she turned to Allison and Vinnie, her face was
strange. Her expression was one of worry, and her eyes were wild.
    “Go pack your things, just the
essentials,” she said.
    Allison and Vinnie looked at each
other and then back at Ruby.
    “What are you talking about?”
Allison asked.
    “I’ll explain everything later,
just trust me. Go pack.”
    Vinnie stood up and walked to his
bedroom. Though he was confused, he began gathering his things. About the time
Allison stood to go to her room, Ruby noticed the charcoal drawing on the
coffee table.
    “Have you seen this man?” Ruby
asked.
    “He was in a nightmare I had. His
look is so unusual that I couldn’t stop picturing him. That’s why I decided to
draw his image. I thought it might be like a song that you can’t get out of
your head until you listen to it.”
    “It’s worse than I thought. He must
be close.”
    Fear ran through Allison. Either
the man was real and Ruby knew him, or her grandmother was losing her grip on
reality. Neither option was one that Allison wanted to be true.
    “Who do you think this is a picture
of?” Allison asked.
    “No one you ever want to meet. Now
go pack.”
    Her next question was interrupted
by banging on the door. It was so loud and forceful, both Ruby and Allison
jumped. The banging continued.
    “Ruby! Allison!” yelled a man from
the other side of the door.
    “What if it’s him?” Allison
whispered, realizing how crazy she sounded.
    Ruby shook her head, “They don’t
knock.”
    She looked through the peephole.
    “That son of a,” she said, while
pulling the door open.
    A man with olive skin and dark hair
walked through the doorway looking frantic.
    “We have a problem,” he told Ruby.
    “We don’t have anything. You have
some nerve showing up here. You…you…MURDERER, you sorry piece-” Ruby trailed
off when she glanced over at a confused looking Allison.
    The man sighed, “Murderer? That’s a
little harsh; you know I didn’t kill Maria. I loved her.”
    “I know you didn’t kill her, but
you caused it to happen. That makes you responsible. If you would have just
stayed out of our lives, my daughter would still be here,” Ruby said.
    “True, but then you wouldn’t have
Allison. I wish I had done more to protect Maria, I think about it every single
day.”
    “Wait,” Allison said, “Are you-”
    “Yes. I’m your father.”
    “I wasn’t going to ask that. A
father raises his children; you are no father. I was going to ask if you’re
Cain Taylor.”
    He looked away, “I’m sorry for the
presumption. Yes, I am Cain.” 
    “Why are you here?”
    “I came because the BC is close. I
think they know where you are, and they will be coming. I had to warn you.”
    “The BC?”
    “The Blood Coven.”
    “Did you escape from a mental
institution?”
    He looked at Ruby with wide eyes
and raised eyebrows. “She doesn’t know about The BC?”
    “No,” Ruby said, her cheeks turning
pink.
    “Her gifts?”
    “No. I was hoping they wouldn’t
develop, so that she would be safe. I thought, with your genes she may not be
gifted, but she has too much of her mother in her.”
    “What gifts? Are you both crazy?”
Allison asked.
    Cain’s face was full of disbelief
and anger. “She doesn’t even realize the danger she’s in.”
    “It was for her own good,” Ruby
said.
    “Yeah, a lot of good. She’s
completely untrained, unprepared and unaware of the people who want to kill
her.”
    “Hey,” Allison said, “I don’t know
what’s going on, but I can tell you this, my grandmother loves me. If she kept
anything from me, she had her reasons. You’re going to come into our home and
question her? At least she was in my life.”
    Cain took a deep breath, “You’re
right, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re coming.”
    “I’m afraid one’s already been
here,” Ruby said.
    “Who?” Allison asked.
    “Adam.”
    “No,