He was splashing water and playing as he answered, "Okay, Mommy."
Kate left and headed outside to find Shade on the patio, smoking. She approached him and slid her arms around his waist. "Please tell me all your words of re-assurance weren’t just to calm him down. Is he going to be okay?"
"I will not lie to him, Kate. What I said is true, but I left out a few details. Some of them startling even to me. This is a rare gift, and it does not usually manifest until the child is around the age of seven or eight years. Lorenzo is so damn young for this to be happening. I don’t know if that means his gift will be extraordinary, or if it is the combination of our blood together. He inherits traits of us both, and I had hoped he would dream-walk, but that is not the case. Fire-thrower is a tricky thing to teach them to control, and I am worried, I won’t lie. He is our son, and if your visions of our future children are correct, he is the only son we will have. So, his existence for our coven is vital. When he threw that ball, I could not believe my eyes."
"Lover, I couldn't even understand what I was seeing. And clearly, neither did he. At least that explains the mystery about the fire in the stables. Do you know how to teach him to control it?"
"I know some. I have seen other immortals with it, but it is not common. All vampires have met at least one fire-thrower in their lifetime. Now I am not claiming to be an expert, I will have to call in some help and do some research on this one. But managing the gift is much like managing dream-walking. He must visualize what he wants to happen, focus his energy and concentration, and his gift will appear. It is a lethal gift, mi amore, very lethal. He will be an extremely dangerous vampire. He can wreak havoc with fire. His enemies will fear him for the damage he can do to them and their covens. We have to approach this carefully."
Kate looked at him and had a vision of her son as a man. She knew already he’d look much like his father, and he’d have Shade's skills as a warrior, but add fire-thrower to his list of powers, and she knew he’d be formidable. She felt concern, but also pride. She knew this was a gift that Lorenzo would master. "We’ll find the right people to help him, and he’ll be legendary."
Taking her in his arms, he hugged her tight, laying his head atop her fiery crimson. "Legendary. I just want him to love his life, love his coven. I want him to feel the happiness I now feel, because there is so much love in my life now. Let’s go upstairs, he is probably driving Theresa mad with his shenanigans. And then I think Daddy should tuck Mommy in."
22
The discovery of Lorenzo's fire-throwing gift had spread through the camp like wildfire, and everyone at Bel Rosso knew about it. The night following the discovery, Shade called all the warriors together in the gym. A hush lay over the room as the warriors stood about, looking a bit nervous. Marcello gave a loud whistle and all eyes turned to Shade as he made his way to the front of the room to address them. Marcello, Aislynn, Theo and Skelk all joined him.
"First, welcome to the new warriors. We will have periodic meetings whenever I feel there are circumstances of which you all need to be aware. Just listen, then you will be given a chance to ask questions."
Pacing back and forth, arms crossed over his chest, his eyes scanned both the new recruits as well as his tenured warriors, all representing the future of Medici. His son would lead some of these warriors someday.
"Your Prince had quite an evening last night. He discovered a second gift which has been bestowed upon him. I know you all know what I refer to. This rumor has spread like a disease at Bel Rosso, and if you haven’t heard it, you have been living under a rock. Lorenzo is a day-walker and also a fire-thrower. He possesses two gifts, just like your Queen. Fire-thrower is a rare gift, and I suspect, with the average age of the warriors in this room, most of you have never seen one. Your Prince can produce fire with his hands, and with time, will be able to throw fire at any target. This gift can be deadly, it can kill immortals instantly. I have little experience with it myself. I have witnessed it several times in my travels, but none of my warriors ever held the gift.
“Lorenzo spends much time here in the camp. Therefore, I suggest we keep a careful eye on his progress. He has no control of his gift as yet, and this scares him. We all understand now the source of the stable fire. So, I ask that you help him as best you can as he learns to control his deadliest weapon. I will seek out the help of Council, but we will not speak of his gift to others. The Battle of Bel Rosso was won with the element of surprise of your Queen’s rare gift, and surprise is a valuable asset to have.”
Shade stopped pacing as he looked out over the crowd and saw heads bobbing up and down in recognition of his words.
"Any questions?"
No one responded and Shade chuckled, as the new recruits still looked a bit intimidated by him. Turning to his leaders, he spoke directly to Marcello. "Any other business we need to discuss?"
Marcello shook his head to the negative.
"Well, that is a damn first. If we have nothing else, you are dismissed. Go to your assigned stations and get your asses to work."
Walking back to the small office Marcello used to hold the files on the warriors, Shade rummaged through the papers.
Skelk pushed through the crowd of warriors moving back to the training field, working his way toward Shade. He stood in the doorway and cleared his throat.
Shade looked up at him. "Need something?"
Skelk shook his head, shuffled his feet, and slung the crossbow over his shoulder. "Master, it has been some time, but I worked with a warrior who was a fire-thrower. He was young, had to learn to manage this gift on his own. I would practice with him and helped him hone his skill. I’m no expert, but I would be happy to help the prince master this skill. I worked with my lady on crossbow and she said I was a patient instructor."
Shade suppressed a smile. Skelk was one damn good warrior, but a loner, and patience wasn’t a virtue he was known for. But Kate had gotten along with him immensely, spoke highly of him, and he had honed her crossbow skills to perfection. Shade sat down on the edge of the desk. "Skelk, I have to be honest, I can use all the help I can get. I have seen it in action, but I need to tell you, when he threw that ball and it came at me like a fucking firebomb, you could have knocked me over with a feather. I have tried to explain to him what it is, but he is frightened of it now. The accident in the stables happened without provocation. Lorenzo is an even-tempered boy, but once he gets older and gets pissed off, he could burn the damn house down. Are you sure you want to tackle this? Lorenzo will drive you mad with his endless curiosity."
Skelk looked at the floor. He’d seen Lorenzo in the camp and playing at Bel Rosso, and the kid was one ball of non-stop energy. Skelk had lived a life of solitude, isolating himself even from the other warriors, and he’d never admit he looked on with envy at the life his master led, with a mate and a child. He had lived his life as a mercenary, never intending to pledge allegiance to any one coven, until he met the Medici. Now he called Bel Rosso home, and even though he didn’t socialize with them, he called these warriors his brothers. He’d watched the relationship between Lorenzo and Marcello blossom, as well as the bond Lorenzo had with Luca, and secretly, he’d love to be included in that inner circle, but it was a desire he’d never give voice to. "If you and my lady will trust me, I promise I can work with him."