Blood Prophecy: Kallen's Tale (12 page)

Her father is more concerned
with Xandra’s well-being at the moment, though.  “Tell us what happened,” he
demands gently.  “You were physically here but your mind was gone for several
minutes.”  He glares at her grandmother, “I don’t like this.”

Xandra does not seem worried
at all about what just happened.  “I’m fine, Dad.” 

This has yet to make any
sense to me at all.  “Where did you come upon them?”

“They were in an airport.
Apparently, they’re on their way.”

The slamming of something
onto the counter draws our eyes to the Angel.  “I knew he was lying to me,” she
says.  Really.  After seventeen years of estrangement, and having already tried
to kill his own grandchild, she is surprised by a
lie
from this Witch? 
That is so ludicrous, it does not even merit a response.

Xandra is kinder than I am. 
“I didn’t actually see Grandpa there.  Only Beren and Maeva.”  The Angel looks
unconvinced and I still do not care how she feels on the subject.

“I don’t understand how you
intercepted them at an airport.  You were right here the whole time.”  Her
father is baffled. 

“I think the protection
spell brought me – or my spirit, or something – there.  It was Beren trying to
scry for me that was causing the shocks, I think, and the spell brought me to
him.  And only Maeva and he could see me.”  Xandra then explains about s rope
of light coming from her navel and stretching to this Beren.  Her story is
getting more farfetched by the second.  I am about to say something when the
Angel gasps. 

“Mother?” the Witch spirit
prompts.

Her French toast has once
again become all absorbing.  After a moment, and without looking at anyone, she
says, “I had no idea there would be such a strong connection.  Xandra must be
very powerful.”  In other words, she completely underestimated Xandra’s magic
and things are likely to get much worse.  I knew I was going to end up killing
someone in this realm.  I never would have guessed it would be an Angel.

I believe Xandra’s father is
having similar thoughts.  “Is there something you’re not telling us, Athear?”

She looks up briefly.  “Don’t
be silly.  What would I be keeping from you?”

I am disappointed when the
phone rings.  I am sure I would have enjoyed the words about to roll off his
tongue.  Instead, he answers the phone.

“Where is Athear?” an angry
voice demands through the speaker phone.  “What has that horrible daughter of
yours done to her?”  The Witch is so dramatic.  Perhaps he has spent too many
hours watching that television stuff and has lost the ability to act normal. 

“Sveargith, quit being
foolish.  Your granddaughter has done nothing to me except welcome me into her
home.”  After a while, anyway.  No, come to think of it, Xandra never really
did welcome her.  This Angel throws lies about as if she does not care where
she ends up after this life of hers is over.

“Beren called me from the
airport.  He said he can’t scry for you – all he gets is a blank wall when he
tries.  And he said that girl showed up.” 

The Angel gets a satisfied
smile on her face.  “How wonderful to know the spell worked so well.  You
should be very proud of your granddaughter for being able to wield such
powerful magic at such a young age!”  Regardless of how stupid and
irresponsible it was to have her do the spell.

“Proud of her?  She almost
killed Beren when she came to him and Maeva.”

Xandra has heard enough.  “Wow,
is that your lie or theirs?  I didn’t even touch him.” 

“The only lies that are
being told, young lady, are yours.”

She turns to her father.  “I
know I’m supposed to respect my elders, but would you mind terribly if I told
Grandpa to go suck a rotten egg?” 

Her father shakes his head. 
“Nope, you go right ahead.  Why don’t you tell him that for me, as well.” 

I cannot help a chuckle. 
The Witch, on the other hand, is not as amused.  “Of all the impertinence!  Do
you know who you’re talking to, young man?”  I laugh harder.  He is so full of
himself.  It will be entertaining to watch him fall.

“Sveargith, I believe you’ve
lost all hope of having anyone here garner any respect for you,” the Angel
tells him. 

The other end of the line is
quiet for a moment.  Finally, his now desperate sounding voice can be heard
again.  “Athear, please, you have to understand.  You know why this has to be
done.”

Apparently, she has no
idea.  She says to the voice activated phone, “Hang up.”  The Wicked Witch is
gone.  Okay, I read that line as I was flipping through books in the classroom.

Chapter 10

The next hour is uneventful. 
Breakfast is eaten.  A much better breakfast than frozen discs, I might add. 
Then, her mother and grandmother do their best to get Xandra interested in the
magical paraphernalia they worked on all night.  It is not working.

“Xandra, what on earth is
wrong with you?  You aren’t listening to a thing we’re saying.”  Not
surprising.  I was bored an hour ago.

Xandra goes on the
defensive.  “I am too.  You just said that’s a Witch’s ladder like the bracelet
you gave me before.  If you untie the knots, you let loose the magic.”

“That was five amulets ago,”
her mother says.  “This one prevents love spells.”

Distaste rushes onto
Xandra’s face.  “Love spells?  Why would we need that?”

The Angel answers.  “Because
Maeva is not above using something so underhanded.  Not to mention Midar.”

Distaste has turned to
disgust.  “One of them might try to make me fall in love with them?  I think I
can fight that off without an amulet.”

That is my cue to join the
conversation.  I wink at her and say, “Just think about me if you get hit with
one of those.  No one else will seem attractive to you.”  I love the blush that
follows the smile on her face.  For a minute, our eyes lock and everything else
falls away.  I believe we would both be difficult to be controlled with a love
spell.

Finally, she says, “What if
I’m not the target of the love spell, you are?”

That is easy.  “Can’t
happen.  A Witch can’t make a Fairy fall in love with her with magic.”

Doubt clouds her eyes.  She
turns to her grandmother, “Is that true?”

“In a way.  You need to have
some aspect of the person who is the target of the spell.  A piece of hair,
something.  Since none of these Witches has ever met Kallen, they wouldn’t have
anything to draw on.  And it is very difficult to work a love spell on a Fairy.” 
I give Xandra a simpering grin and she sticks her tongue out at me, making me
laugh.

Turning her attention back
to her grandmother, she says, “But I’ve never met them, either.  How could they
do a spell on me?”

She sighs.  “Because your
grandfather may have retrieved something while he was here.  It only takes one
hair to work a love spell, not to mention many other spells.  He could have
taken some from a hairbrush, or even gotten some on his clothes while he was in
the house with you.” 

Poor Xandra.  She is
constantly being amazed at her family’s repugnant behavior.  “He’s that
sneaky?  I thought he originally came here to help?”

Her mother is embarrassed as
the truth sinks into her brain.  She knows her father stole some sort of
personal effect.  Still, she says, “I’m not sure.  My father is a much
different man than I remember.  He may have had ulterior motives.”  Or, he is a
horrible Witch who does not deserve to walk this realm freely.

Xandra shakes her head.  “And
they’re worried about me?  They’re the ones who are scary.”  I believe she is
about to say something else, when she goes completely still.  Not again.  I
glare at the Angel who will not meet my eyes. 

At least this time, we are
all reasonably sure that she is going to snap out of it.  It does take a few
extra minutes, though.  And each of those minutes I spend plotting the demise
of everyone responsible.  I have never been homicidal before.  I could not even
fathom the emotion.  Now, I am pretty comfortable with the idea.  Throw in some
torture and it will be a party.

A doll has suddenly appeared
in Xandra’s hands.  An ugly little wax figure that is supposed to be a crude
representation of her, I assume.  I hate cowardly Witches.

“Where on earth did you get
that?” her mother asks.

“From Grandpa.  It’s a
little present from Annika.  I don’t think it looks anything like me.”

Now, that is just begging to
be teased.  “It is much prettier than you are,” I say and she throws the doll
at me.  Laughing, I catch it.  It truly is an ugly little thing.

Turning back to her mother,
Xandra says, “He stole a picture of me while he was here.  Grandma was right;
he is a sneaky old man.”  And, according to her, he is right outside.

I am pretty sure her father
has a leg up on me as far as homicidal thoughts.  “He’s here?  Now?”

Xandra nods.  “Yup, he’s
down the road a little bit.  I’m thinking he can sense the protection spell. 
He’s probably trying to figure out how to get around it.”

I look up from the doll.  “You
talked to him?” I am back in the homicidal race again.

“Yeah.  He tried to bend my
will to him using that thing.”

King of the Witches
resorting to cowardly magic.  What a fine leader he must be.  Still, Xandra
deserves credit for dealing with him at all.  “Obviously, with no success.” 

She grins.  “Do I get a gold
star?”

Oh, I would like to do more
than give her a gold star.  “Perhaps,” I say as vivid images flash in my mind. 
My thoughts must show on my face, because Xandra is blushing furiously. 

The next few minutes are
spent trying to convince her father that he cannot confront the Witch,
regardless of how badly he wants to.  Magical or not, if he was corporeal, I
believe he would find a way to hurt his ill-fated father-in-law.  I admire
that.

The ringing of the phone
interrupts the argument between Xandra’s parents.  Her father answers.  “What
do you want, Sveargith?”

A collective sigh sounds
around the room when a confused female voice comes over the line.  It is
Xandra’s aunt checking in.  I do not pay much attention to the conversation
until I hear her aunt say, “Oh, honey, it’s so good to hear your voice!  How
did things go with that awful young man?”

Me?  Awful?  Nah, she cannot
be speaking of me.  Though, the snickers coming from Xandra’s parents as they
look between us have me concerned.  I raise my brows in Xandra’s direction.  I
am curious how she is going to respond. 

“Um, turns out he wasn’t so
bad,” she says.  I did not know my brows could go this high.  Belatedly, she
adds, “Actually, I kind of like him.”  It would be more believable if she was
not stuttering.

“You do?  Well, I guess
that’s not too surprising.  He was a handsome young man.”  I find myself
smiling once again.

“Uh, Aunt Barb, he’s right
here.”

“Oh, Xandra!  Why didn’t you
tell me that?”  I chuckle at her embarrassment.

“Sorry, Aunt Barb.  Things
are a little crazy around here with Grandpa wanting to kill me and all.”  That
comment leads into Xandra and her parents explaining the situation to her.  It
is decided that she is to stay put down the mountain with Xandra’s little
brother.  After ringing off, the feel of the room is much more somber. 

Xandra is the first to break
the uncomfortable silence.  “Grandma, is it the spell or me that’s making it so
their magic doesn’t work on me?”

I snort.  Like she knows. 
She does pretend to ponder the question for a moment, though.  “Honestly, I
don’t know.  I would suspect that the protection spell is doing most of that,
but you are a powerful being.  You may have some natural defenses against their
magic.”

The phone rings again.  Reluctantly,
her father answers.  We all know who it must be this time.  “Athear, are you
there?”

The Angel just glares at the
phone, so Xandra responds.  “She’s here but she doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“I demand she come to phone
so I can be sure you haven’t harmed her.”  What a crazy old guy.  What does he
think he is going to be able to do all by himself?

Xandra’s father agrees.  “You
aren’t in a position to demand anything.” 

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,
Sveargith, I’m right here,” the Angel huffs.

“Are you alright?”

“Better than I’ve been in
eighteen years.”  Okay, that earns her a little chuckle.

And then the theater
performance is laid on even thicker.  “I’ve tried everything in my power to
make you happy these last years, even when I finally admitted staying out of
your life was really what you wanted.  But I still care about you and I’m
worried for your safety.”

“I’m sure you’ve had plenty
of company to keep you from worrying too much about caring for me.”  Awkward. 
I suddenly want to be anywhere but here listening to this.

“I have been faithful to you
for forty years.” 

Okay, I have heard enough to
churn my stomach.  “Perhaps this is a conversation best had in private.” 

The Angel turns beet red.  “He’s
right.  This is not the time or place for this conversation.  We’ve had it a
thousand times already.  Unless you are willing to come to a peaceful
understanding, there is nothing left to say.”

“Please remember, Athear. 
You forced my hand.”  The Witch utters a curse and then hangs up.

“Um, what do you think he
meant by that?” Xandra asks.  I would like to know the same thing.

The Angel shakes her head
wearily.  “I don’t know.  Your grandfather is a skilled Witch; it would be
difficult to guess what he will try.”

“Is he skilled enough to get
through the protection circles?”

Suddenly, Xandra is ripped
from her chair and hurled backwards.  I have never moved so quickly in my life
as I jump down from the counter and try to keep her from smashing into the
wall.  But, I am too late.  She hits the wall with a sickening smack.  I drop
to my knees next to her just as blood bubbles over her bottom lip.  Her eyes
are glazed over and she is going into shock.

“Xandra, what happened?”  She
is coughing up more blood and she is trying to double over, holding her stomach
tightly. 

“I don’t know,” she gasps
and the sight of even more blood spilling from her mouth hits my heart like an
ice cold dagger.  She is dying.  She is dying and I do not even know what is
killing her.  Her skin is so pale, she now resembles her parents.  Her
beautiful green eyes, her Fairy eyes, have lost their luster, as her life runs
out before me.

The Angel is on her knees
next to me now.  She has the same clay that Xandra used to mark trees earlier. 
She draws some out and rubs it on Xandra’s forehead.  “Xandra,” she says, and
the panic in her voice mirrors mine.  “You have to repeat after me – ‘I am your
chalice, you are my shield, Divine power only you wield, please take from me
the pain I feel, with Divine mercy my fate you seal.’”

The prayer of the Angels. 
Spoken through the blood and the tears, Xandra forces each painful word out,
each bringing with it more blood.  Until the very last.  That brings with it a
scream so deafening and a light so blinding, the Angel and I must cover our
ears and close our eyes. 

When I sense the light is
gone, I open my eyes to find Xandra sitting still against the wall.  For a
moment, I do not know if she is dead or alive, until a small smile touches her
lips.  I want to grab her in my arms and hold her tight, but I have no idea if
she is still in pain.  Instead, I turn on the Angel.  “What just happened to
her?  What have you done?”

The Angel is green.  And
frightened.  I do not know how much of that fear is from what happened to
Xandra and how much is from the knowledge that I am seconds away from causing
her great physical harm.

She stammers as she says, “I
have never seen a bond like this before.  She is physically connected to the
protection circle.”

“What does that mean?” I
growl. 

Xandra’s mother yanks my
attention away from the Angel.  “I think it means she was just hit by a car.”

Xandra’s father is as
confused as I am.  “Julienne, what are you talking about?”

“My father drove his car
into the protection circle.  If Xandra is physically attached to the spell,
then it’s as if she was hit by his car.”  I have no words to respond to that. 
I have seen evil in my life, evil I thought was unthinkable even in the lowest
life forms, but this is beyond any of that.

The Angel gasps.  “No,” she
whispers in denial.  “He wouldn’t.”

Xandra’s father has words. 
Loud, angry words that are directed at the Angel.  “Was that your plan,
Athear?  Connect my daughter to this spell so your husband could kill her
easier?” 

She shakes her head, still
in shock.  Well, she had better get over that shock pretty damn quickly.  “I
swear to you, this is a mistake.  I didn’t know that she’d become so ensconced
in the spell.  This is unprecedented.”

“How do we fix this?” I
snarl and I did not realize my hand had followed my words and was about to
throttle her until Xandra pulls it back.   

“I-I don’t know.” 

Xandra’s father dives in
front of her and she has to lean back to prevent his cold essence from
permeating her skin.  “You’re a liar!  Fix this, or so help me, I will spend
the rest of my time on this plane making your life as miserable as you’re
making my daughter’s.”