Chapter 9

The plan is simple. Mr. Thomas will take the fall.

Maybe revealing the plan is a bit too early. What Jasmine learned of completely blew her mind, and it is probably why her father told her it after he fucked her again.

As they lay in the bed, her father strokes the side of her face. It is the face he has looked at all her life, from the time she was born until now. He didn’t show interest in any sexual manner until she began her advances on him. It was before she received her special gift. But the attempts on her part didn’t stop until after. He wanted to give in so bad. He had spent many nights masturbating with thought of Jasmine in his head. He even took to watching her on occasion when she dressed or showered. But Adelice, his wife, would never allow such a thing to happen.

“Let me tell you a story,” he says soothingly to his daughter, shifting a little so that he is looking down on her. “Your mother has always had a thing for her brother Markus, but his wife, your Aunt Miriam, has always been in the way. Like your mother, Miriam was an elder on the council.”

“Wait a minute,” Jasmine says, interrupting. “Are you saying Mom is like me?”

Bryce chuckles a little. “How much do you know about the council?”

“Not too much. Uncle Markus told me a little bit,” she admits. “He told me how to research some, and I have learned a little but not much.”

“That’s not too surprising,” he says with a frown. “Records are housed in one particular place and any information outside of that can really only be found in fairytales or are just plainly disregarded.”

“Where is the place?”

Bryce shakes his head at her. “I have no idea. I’m not one of them, one of you.”

“Was Mom one before I was born?” she questions.

“Yes, she was,” he answers. “And so was Miriam.”

“So why wasn’t I born with this gift?”

Bryce smiles lovingly at her, before snatching a quick kiss from her. “I guess it doesn’t work that way. I think the only way is to be scratched b a female or...”

“Yeah, Uncle Markus told me the same thing already,” she says interrupting. That is old news, things she already knows. She craves new knowledge and this new revelation intrigues her. “Is that why Mom has been treating me differently?”

With a deep sigh he says, “Yes.” He has seen it, but it has been something that he has denied to himself to the point of not believing it, until recently. “She always intended this for you, but when you were older.”

“But why then? Why not now?” Jasmine asks, pushing her father back a bit so that she can rise up and roll onto her side to look at him more equally.

“Because she wants to control you,” he answers solemnly. “She wants to have another ally on her side; one that she knows will be completely loyal to her.”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to do that to me as a child?” she reasons.

“Maybe. But the council has rules against that, especially because puberty can make things worse,” he explains.

“Are you one of them?” she asks, and when he shakes his head. “Then how do you know so much?”

“Well,” he begins with a smile. “When you are part of a world like this and married to someone belonging to that world, it’s best to make it a priority to learn everything about it that you can. Your mother offered me to join that world completely, but I chose not to.”

“Why?” The question is quick like a snapping of a whip right off the tip of her tongue.

“I have my reasons, none of which are important right now.” His answer is firm with the unspoken words for her to not ask any more about it.

Instead, Jasmine continues her line of questioning from before. “So why is she treating me this way if she wants me on her side?”

“Because it was Markus that turned you,” he answers. “The moment Markus chose Miriam over your mother, Adelice began her campaign to destroy them.”

“But if Markus is her brother then why?” Jasmine asks, not fully understanding.

Bryce chuckles. “One thing I have always loved about you is your inquisitiveness,” he says, smiling lovingly. “To answer your question, your mother and Markus were in love with each other. The two were inseparable and most thought they were just as close as to siblings could get.”

“Then Aunt Miriam came around and stole him away,” Jasmine surmises. “Aunt Miriam must have been a fiery woman to content with Mom. I wish I could have met her.”

“Well you did meet her,” her father says. “But you were only a baby.”

“So what happened to her?” she asks. “I mean Uncle Markus didn’t really say much on what happened to her.”

“Your mother wanted her dead and she made that possible,” Bryce continues the story. “Markus was told that because she changed him without permission, Miriam was executed. But that was a lie.”

“So Mom had her killed without a reason?” Jasmine asks, feeling disgusted by the thought.

Her father’s smile curls into a devious grin. “That was the idea.”

“Come on, Dad,” she meows. “Stop messing with me.”

He laughs. “Okay. So your mother had a little more than half the council on her side and your aunt, the rest. So Miriam had friends. She was warned about the assassination attempt and was able to fake her death.”

“Did Uncle Markus know?” she asks, her tone changing to something more hopeful.

“No,” Bryce says, shaking his head. “I didn’t find out until a few years after, but Miriam made me promise to keep it secret. Markus found out shortly after he changed you. Once your mother found out, she repeated history and sought to assassinate him as well.”

“And he faked his death too?” she asks, eyes as round as saucers.

“Yes, Miriam and I helped do it,” he reveals. “Needless to say, Markus is happier than he has been in years.”

“Why didn’t she tell him before?” Jasmine wonders.

“Well, if she did we wouldn’t be here like this. Your mother would eventually turn you and...” he begins to ramble on.

“Daddy!” she snaps, effectively cutting him off. “That’s not answering my question.”