21

Lorenzo found his ball in the front yard and returned to the back yard to join his parents. He tossed the ball to Shade who tossed it back to him as Kate curled up in a comfy lounge chair on the patio.

Shade called out to her, "Are you bailing on the ball game already?"

Luca and Shannon emerged from the house and Lorenzo came running, grabbing Luca around the knees.

"Uncle Luca! Come play with us."

Luca picked him up, as Lorenzo squealed. "And what are we playing tonight, little warrior?”

Lorenzo held up his hand with the ball. "Mommy and Daddy are playing ball with me. We can all play!"

Kate felt a momentary sadness as she realized her child had never known the joy of playing with other children. His world was populated, and highly protected, by adults. She ran her hand over the small swell of her tummy, glad that soon he’d have a playmate.

Luca turned Lorenzo upside down, holding him by his ankles as Lorenzo squealed with laughter. Shannon looked at Luca with surprise. "That's not how you hold kids."

Luca laughed as he swung Lorenzo, making him laugh even harder. Kate just shook her head, knowing Lorenzo loved the rough-housing play with the warriors. Luca finally set him down, and Lorenzo retrieved the dropped ball, grabbed his father's hand and headed for the open back yard.

"Come on, Mommy. Come on, Uncle Luca and Aunt Shannon. Come play!"

The adults followed him into the yard, lit by spotlights mounted in the trees. They formed a small circle in the grass, standing close enough to allow for Lorenzo to throw to them.

Shade directed him. "Lorenzo, throw the ball to each person in this circle, have them throw it back. Let’s see your skills."

Lorenzo immediately threw the ball to Shade, and he returned it. The child proceeded to throw the ball to each person several times, going around the circle. Shannon missed it the second time and Shade laughed at her.

"Do we need to send you to warrior camp, Shannon?"

She threw the ball hard at Shade. He caught it in one hand and rolled it back to Lorenzo. Finally, after they had done this exercise a while, Shade wanted to test Lorenzo’s strength.

"Little warrior, let’s see how far you can throw this ball. I am going to back up and you throw it as hard as you can at me. Show me what you got!"

Running backwards out in the yard, Shade watched as Lorenzo prepared to throw. Lorenzo scrunched up his face, concentrating hard, as he threw the ball to his father hard, easily reaching the distance. Kate clapped for him. "Good job!"

Shade tossed the ball back under-hand, sending the ball in an arc that was easy for Lorenzo to catch. "Again, little warrior! Daddy wants to see that again."

Lorenzo beamed at him, confident now he could throw the ball hard enough to reach his father. He used a side arm throw his Uncle Luca had taught him, the ball picking up speed. Shade caught the ball and felt the mild sting in his hands from the speed.

Damn, kid has an arm on him. Shade wondered how he learned that technique and rolled his eyes to Luca who just stood there, arms crossed over his chest, grinning. Tossing the ball back to Lorenzo, he caught it easily. Shade held up his hand for him to stop.

"That throw made my hand sting, little warrior, so let’s see if you can throw it even further." Backing up another five yards or so, he squatted down with his hands on his knees. "Put some heat on that ball, warrior!"

Kate watched her child. He was only three, but his mental development was closer to six or seven, and his physical skills were still being discovered. He was stronger than a mortal child, but it wasn’t something they had encouraged him to explore. His face was a study in concentration as he judged his father's distance from him, watching as Shade backed farther away. Kate was wondering if he could throw that far, and from the furrowed eyebrows on Lorenzo, it looked like he might be wondering the same thing.

Luca cheered him on, “Come on, warrior. You've got this!"

Lorenzo focused all his attention on the ball, and stepped into the pitch, throwing hard. As the ball left his hand it seemed to glow slightly, and Kate looked puzzled as the ball burst into flames, hurling at a rapid rate of speed in Shade's direction.

Lorenzo shouted, “No!"

Shade saw the ball leave his son’s hand as it came straight at him, when it burst into flames. He was wondering what the hell was going on and before he knew it, the ball of heat was coming at his head and he dropped and rolled away from it. The ball landed on the ground, igniting the grass around it. Luca ran to the small fire and started stomping it out, as Shade ran for Lorenzo.

Shade picked him up, holding the boy to his chest, frantically checking his hands to see if he was hurt. Shade could feel the boy’s fear as Lorenzo started to cry.

Shannon and Kate had both run to him, surrounding him, and grasping at Lorenzo.

Shade waved them away. "Stop, he is fine. Just let him calm down please. Daddy has you, little warrior. It is okay. We are both okay."

Lorenzo burrowed into his father’s chest, his hands clinging to him, trying to crawl into his father’s skin. He was confused and fearful of what he’d done. "I didn't mean to, Daddy. It just happens sometimes. Like the stables. I'm sorry, Daddy."

Lorenzo sobbed quietly on his father's shoulder as Kate stroked his back, trying to calm him, but her heart was pounding in her chest.

Shannon shouted, “What the fuck was that?"

Kate shook her head, and looked at Shade with a question, and mouthed, "What was that?"

Shade stroked Lorenzo’s hair as Kate rubbed his back, the child’s fear building. Shade soothed him, understanding his son’s confusion and fear. His son would be a fire-thrower. They hadn’t looked for a second gift once he displayed his gift for day-walking. But like his mother, he’d have two gifts. Fire-throwers were a rare breed, and made powerful warriors, but it would take a lot of training to help him master this skill.

"You do not need to be sorry, little warrior. Daddy is not mad, so calm down. I will explain it to you, but I think we need to settle down first."

Looking at bel, he could see her confusion, and he spoke to her telepathically, “It is another gift. He is a fire-thrower. He can make fire appear with the sheer thought of it from his own hands. It is somewhat rare, but this scares the fuck out of me that it has manifested so soon.”

Shade saw the fear in her face, as Lorenzo clawed at his shoulders, trying to get closer. He sank his fangs into his father’s neck and started feeding, seeking comfort and reassurance. He was troubled, and Shade completely understood.

"Mi amore, we need to go inside. We need to talk to him alone."

Kate nodded. Talk to him alone? Who’s going to talk to me? Now he has two gifts, like me? A fire-thrower? I’ve never even heard of that. Her head was spinning with questions. Luca was with Shannon, he nodded to Shade and steered Shannon back indoors and to their suite. Kate could hear Shannon peppering Luca with questions. The same questions were swimming in her head. She fought to maintain her calm, so as not to further upset Lorenzo.

"It's okay, Lorenzo. Don't cry, my beautiful boy. You did nothing wrong."

Lorenzo fed heavily from his father’s neck as they walked back into the house, his body relaxing, his mind settling. Getting inside, they took him straight up to his room and Shade sat in the rocker with Lorenzo in his arms, still feeding.

"Little warrior, do not gorge your belly. Unlatch, easily."

Lorenzo did as he was asked and looked at his father. Shade kissed him softly on the cheek, as Kate sat on the floor next to them.

"It is okay. Tell Daddy how you feel. Tell me everything about the fire. The fire is your gift, Lorenzo. It is normal. We just have to learn to control it."

Lorenzo slid his thumb in his mouth as he curled against his father's chest, pondering the question. "I don't know, Daddy. I just think real hard and it happens. I wasn’t trying to make the fire happen. I didn't do it on purpose, I promise."

"I know you did not do it on purpose. It is your gift, Lorenzo. All vampires have a gift, something special they can do. Your mommy has two gifts, and it appears you do as well. Your mommy is a day-walker, like you. And she can communicate with the animals. Daddy only has one gift. I am a dream-walker. I can walk into your dreams. Make them good or bad. You have two gifts, Lorenzo, day-walker and fire-thrower. That is what you just experienced. If you concentrate very hard, you can start a fire with your own two hands. But it is very dangerous. It is designed to be used as a weapon. So, we need to practice and build your skills, so you do not get hurt, and you don’t hurt innocent people. Do you know what happens when people get near fire?"

Lorenzo nodded. "I know it’s bad, Daddy. I know it scared the horses."

"Si, little warrior, fire is a very scary thing, it can damage many things. For all vampires, the fire will burn us, destroy us, and turn us to ash. Only the fire-thrower is immune to the flames. So, you must understand what you have is very dangerous. I do not want you to be scared but we have to be careful of this gift until we can control it, and I will help you."

Lorenzo started to sob, clinging to his father's chest. "I don't want to hurt you, Daddy. Can you take it away? I don't want to be a fire-thrower."

His heart broke for his son. The gifts were both a blessing and a curse. Pulling Lorenzo to his shoulder, hugging him tight, Shade wished he could take his son’s pain and anguish from him.

"You did not hurt me, Lorenzo. But I need you to understand how dangerous it is, and why both of us need to help each other to learn to control your gift. I can’t make it go away, but I can teach you to master it. We are Medici men, so we will always control our gifts for the good of our coven, si."

Lorenzo sniffed hard as he tried to get his tears under control. He nodded his head. “I’ll work hard, Daddy. Can I still be a warrior?"

Smiling down at his sweet face, Shade nodded. "You will be a great warrior. This Warrior King needs his Prince by his side. Nothing will ever hold you back from being a warrior, Lorenzo, you were born to be one, just like me."

Still holding him, Shade stood from the rocker. "Now, I think we need to get Theresa in here to get you a bath, and Mommy and I are going to talk a while. When you are ready to be tucked in, we will come kiss you good night, si."

Lorenzo wiped his nose on the sleeve of his shirt. "Si. I got snot on your shirt, Daddy."

"I can see that, but it is a good thing. This means Mommy will have to do laundry again." Looking at Kate, he grinned and gave her a wink. Setting Lorenzo down on his feet, Shade crouched down in front of him, taking his face in his hands. "Will you be a good warrior and do something for Daddy?"

Lorenzo nodded his head.

"Mommy is upset too, so you need to give her big hugs and kisses, tell her you are okay."

Standing, he spoke to Kate telepathically, "I will be outside having a smoke. Once Theresa gets his bath underway, come back outside, we need to talk."

Kate picked up her child as his small arms encircled her neck, and he clung tight. “Come on, my beautiful boy. Let's go find Theresa."

She carried him to the bathroom where Theresa was running a bath. The news had already traveled through the household that their son was a fire-thrower.

Theresa smiled at her and said, "Don’t worry, my lady. He’s not the first."

Theresa helped her undress Lorenzo and lifted him into the tub. Lorenzo was grabbing at his toy boats, and already seemed oblivious to the startling news that was about to change their lives. Kate smiled at him and kissed the top of his head. "Be good for Theresa, and I’ll be back soon."

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."