Blood Prophecy (Witch Fairy) (16 page)

Chapter 13

Did I mention how disconcerting it is to pass out one place and wake up another?  I think I’m on the couch this time and I’m seriously debating whether or not I want to open my eyes.  I don’t want to know what I did to the house this time.  Plus, keeping my eyes closed allows me to eavesdrop on the hushed conversation Kallen and Grandma seem to be having.

“This shouldn’t be happening.” 

“Whether it should be or not, it is.  How do we make it stop?”

“I don’t know.  In all my years, this has never happened.  We knew that when we fell that our connection wouldn’t be as strong.  It should be a protection circle, nothing more.”

“But she has not fallen.  Therein may lay the problem.”

“No, it shouldn’t make a difference.  Her blood should be weakened regardless.”

“Has there ever been such a magical mixing of blood?”

I crack my eyes open just a tiny bit because Grandma doesn’t answer him right away.  The two of them are in the corner of the room with their heads together, which looks odd because Kallen is a foot taller than she is so his shoulders are stooped way over.  I wonder what the chances are they’ll keep talking when they find out I’m awake?

Which I find out right away, because Kallen turns his head before I have a chance to close my eyes.  I never was very sneaky.  It only takes him two strides to get to the couch and he kneels down next to me.  “Do you think you could manage to go a little longer between attempts to drive us out of our minds with worry?”  He smiles but the worry lines on his forehead tell me just how concerned he has been.

“Sorry, I have to meet my quota.  If I don’t do it at least three times a day, they’ll revoke my magic license.”

His eyebrows rise skeptically.  “And who, exactly, would give
you
a license to practice magic?”

“I have connections in high places.  I am related to kings, you know.”

His smile is a little brighter now and inclines his head.  “Yet you deign to be in the company of a lowly peasant such as myself.  How fortunate I am.”

“I hate to interrupt,” Grandma says softly over Kallen’s shoulder, “but how are you feeling, dear?”

“Other than a bit of a headache, I feel fine.  How long have I been out?”

Kallen pushes a strand of hair behind my ear.  “Only an hour this time.  Just long enough for me to reverse your wild magic.”

I groan.  “What did I do this time?” 

Grandma gives him a dirty look.  “Nothing that couldn’t be fixed.”  Turning back to me, she says, “The important thing is figuring out what happened to you.”

I sit up slowly and put a hand to my aching head.  “I went to Denver.”

A vein on the side of Kallen’s head starts to throb as his face contorts in anger.  “Did they scry for you again with a stronger spell?”

I shake my head but that makes it hurt more so I immediately stop.  “No, apparently, I can go without them doing that.”

He shoots Grandma a questioning look and she shrugs her shoulders.  Apparently, she didn’t know that I could do that, either.  Maybe Grandma should have looked into this whole protection spell thing a little bit more before having me start marking trees with my blood.

“So, any chance you two want to tell me what you were whispering about?”

Kallen’s face immediately becomes blank.  Grandma tries for the same look but it’s those worry lines around the eyes that give her a way.  My own face sets like stone.  “Uh huh, that’s what I thought.”  I push off the couch to make a dramatic exit.  And, of course, I fall right back against the cushions which makes my head hurt even more.  If Kallen let’s that smirk he’s fighting against surface, I swear I’m going to kick him in the shins.

“Perhaps you should lie down for a few more minutes,” Grandma says.  She looks relieved to have something come up to change the subject. 

“Fine.”  But I’m not happy about it.  “Where are Mom and Dad?”

“Your mother is looking for any sign of your Grandfather or the Witan.  We figured they must be close if they scried for you again.”

“No, they were all in Denver going after Zac and Aunt Barb.  How do you think they found them?”

Grandma’s lips slam together in a grim line for a moment before she answers.  “Because they do not really entirely on their magic to find some people.  They also use high tech gadgets such as phone bugs.  Your grandfather planted one while he was here.”

My face can’t even begin to contort in a way that would show exactly how shocked and angry I am.  “And you waited until
now
to bring this up?  Don’t you think we should have known they did things like this
before
we let them listen in on our phone calls?  You put Aunt Barb and Zac in danger!”  I didn’t even realize that I had stood up and stalked Grandma across the room until her back hit the wall.  I flinch when Kallen puts his hands on my shoulders to keep me from getting closer to her.

“Xandra, your father has already been through this with your grandmother,” he says gently pulling me back into him and putting his arms around my waist.  I’m not sure if it’s a sign of affection or restraint.  Probably both considering how volatile I’ve been the last two days.

“I am so sorry.  It never even dawned on me that they would use anything other than magic.  I’m afraid I’ve kept myself too ignorant of the methods they use to track errant Witches.”

I can’t help asking, “What, exactly,
have
you paid attention to over the last eighteen years?”

She looks like her spirit has left her as her shoulders sag and the weight of all her years show on her face like a treasure map of tragedy.  “Hardly anything,” she says just above a whisper.

Well, how can I stay mad at her now that she looks so pathetic?  I growl in frustration and walk out of Kallen’s arms.  I keep walking until I reach the bathroom and I go in and slam the door.  I turn the water in the sink on and lean my hands on the counter and my forehead against the cool of the mirror.  Several deep breaths later and I can start pushing the magic that had rushed into me back into the earth.

It doesn’t take long for there to be a knock on the door.  “Go away,” I growl.  I don’t know if it is Kallen or Grandma, and the moment, I don’t care.  I need a couple of minutes alone.  Whoever it is doesn’t knock again.

I’m not even sure why I’m crying.  I thought I had come to terms with this whole mess.  Apparently not.

An icy cold hand touches my back.  “Honey, are you alright?” 

I push back so I’m standing up straight and wipe my eyes before meeting Mom’s in the mirror.  I’m always amazed that she has a reflection since most light goes right through her instead of being reflected.  “Yeah, I’m okay.  I just kinda lost it for a minute.”

“Considering what you’ve been through recently, I’ve been impressed by how you’ve stood up under the pressure.  But I’m also concerned that you feel like you have to be stoical all the time.  It’s okay to let your feelings out like this.  You don’t have to keep it all bottled up.”

“I know.”  I wipe the last of the tears away and try to smile.

Mom lays her chilly hand on my cheek and it feels good.  “Do you think you could tell us what happened?  Are Aunt Barb and Zac okay?”

That’s right, I haven’t told them anything yet.  “Yes, they’re fine.  They’re on their way here.  But Mom, can I have just a few minutes before I sit down with everyone?”

“Certainly.  Now that I know your brother is okay, I can wait a few minutes for the details.  You have Kallen awfully worried, though.  I think he’s going to wear holes in the floor if he keeps pacing as he has been.  But, I am impressed by how much he seems to care about you.”

A real smile touches my lips.  “I told you he’s a nice guy.”

Mom chuckles.  “Let’s just say he has his moments and leave it at that.  I’m going to let your father know that Zac and his sister are fine.  You come out when you’re ready.”  She floats back through the door leaving me to collect myself.

I splash some cold water on my face and brush my teeth again.  Everything feels better if you have clean teeth.  With a last deep breath and look in the mirror to make sure my eyes aren’t too puffy, I open the door to face the rest of the day.

Chapter 14

Mom’s right, Kallen is going to pace a hole through the floor.  It takes him a moment before he realizes I’m in the room and when he does, he comes to a halt.  “How are you?” he asks.

Somehow, I’m able to muster a real smile and he visibly relaxes.  “Ready for the next fight.”

“How about you fill in the details of the last one before starting on the next,” Dad says from the counter near the stove.  Grandma made coffee and he’s soaking in the scent.  Dad really misses food.

“Okay.”  Grabbing a banana off the counter first, I sit down at the table and fill them in on my trip to Denver. 

Dad’s the first one to speak.  “So, you can project your consciousness wherever you want?”

I shrug.  “I don’t know.  I haven’t tried to go anywhere else unless the Witan scried for me.”

He looks at Grandma.  “Did you know she’d be able to do this?”

She shakes her head.  “I have no idea why she is capable of any of this.  It’s not how it’s supposed to work.”

Dad sets his mouth in a grim line.  I suspect he’s already told her what he thinks about her lack of knowledge.  Probably several times.

Wanting to steer the conversation back to something less volatile, I ask, “What did I do to the kitchen?”  Okay, Dad’s glaring even harder at Grandma now.  Maybe this isn’t a less volatile subject. 

The room is suddenly quiet.  Too quiet.  Kallen looks at the other three people in the room as if to see if they’re going to leave it to him to tell me.  Yup, they sure are.  With a resigned look, he turns back to me.  “You blinded us.”

No way.  “What are you talking about?  You can all see, can’t you?”

“Yes, we can
now
,” he says as if I’m a toddler.  “An hour ago, it was a different story.”

I still don’t believe him.  “How on earth could I have blinded all of you?”

Now that the hard part is out of the way, Grandma joins the conversation.  “It was as if your magic became pure light and we were not prepared to shield against it.”

“It caused flash blindness,” Dad explains.  “It burned our retinas.  My guess would be, considering the effect on your grandmother and Kallen, the intensity was around that of a nuclear explosion.  It even affected your mother and me.”

“If Kallen hadn’t immediately harnessed his magic to create another protection circle here in the kitchen, the effect could have been permanent,” Mom says quietly.  I think she’s afraid she’s going to upset me again.

But she doesn’t.  I can’t change what happened so there’s nothing to do but move forward.  “See, another reason it’s good that he stayed here,” I say with a smile in his direction. 

Mom chuckles now that she knows the news isn’t going to permanently damage my psyche.  “Yes, I suppose it is.” 

Kallen’s quiet, but he has a smile of his own.  At least, until he tells me the next part of the bad news.  “Yes, the blindness was temporary but there’s more.  Before your aunt and brother arrive, we have to let down our protection circles.” 

“What?”  I am positive I didn’t hear him correctly.

“Before your aunt and brother arrive, we have to let down our protection circles,” he says as if I didn’t hear him the first time.

I roll my eyes.  “I heard you.  Why?”

“Because your circle creates a physical barrier they will not be able to cross and my protection circle sits between realms and cannot be seen from either.  To them, it would appear as if the house is not here and they would not be able to find it.”

Stupid protection circles.  They’re becoming a lot more of a hassle than they’re supposed to be.  I can handle this.  I just need to breathe.  A lot.  Well, not this much.  I might hyperventilate.  “Okay,” I say slowly.  “What do we do if the Witan attack while the circles are down?”

“Hopefully, we will be able to hold them off.”

“Hopefully.  That’s comforting,” I mumble.

“I’ve called Barb and they’re only about fifteen minutes away,” Dad says.  “Whatever we’re going to do, we need to hurry.”

“You guys do realize that Grandpa and the Witan could be right behind them, right?  My magic that was keeping them asleep retracted when I left Aunt Barb’s apartment.”

Grandma nods glumly.  “Yes, we’re assuming that they are.”

Great.  Fantastic.  This isn’t going to be ugly at all.  But, I’m not going to let it get me down.  I’m going to move forward.  “What do I have to do to lower the protection circle?” I ask Grandma.

“It’s very simple.  You need to mix your blood with the clay again and draw a line through the pentacle.”

Wonderful, more of my blood going into a spell.  Maybe I should create my own blood bank.  “Let’s do it then.  I don’t want Aunt Barb driving into it.”

I get up from the table and walk to the door where I left my boots earlier.  I slip them on but I don’t bother with a coat.  If all I have to do is draw a line, I’m not going to be out there long.  Pulling the door open, I go outside.  I assume Grandma’s following with her slimy clay.

When I’m next to the elder, I take Mom’s athame from Grandma and poke my finger.  I let the blood drip into the clay and then I use my finger to stir it a little.  This stuff is so nasty.  And I know I’m never going to get it all out from under my fingernails.

With a glob of clay on my finger, I draw a line through the pentacle.  As I do, a rush of magic hits me so hard and fast that I’m flung about twenty feet back towards the house.  Thank god there weren’t any trees in the way.  I’ve already had a broken rib from being slammed into a tree by magic.

As I lay in the snow wishing I had worn my coat, the magic seems to hover over me instead of rushing back to the earth.  I try willing it back but it won’t go.  That’s not a good sign.

Kallen must be thinking the same thing.  “Xandra, are you going to let that go?” he asks from the elder tree.  I don’t blame him for not wanting to get closer with this much magic hanging around.  Literally.

“I’m trying,” I say.  The snow under me is making my clothes uncomfortably wet, making me even colder, but I don’t think I can get up.  I try to move to a sitting position but nope, can’t budge. “Um, anyone have any suggestions about how I can get this magic off me?”

“Magic is not an elephant.  It cannot sit on you and hold you down.”

I glare up at him.  “Well, apparently mine is because it won’t budge.” 

Mom puts her hand over her face to hide her smile.  “It’s not funny,” I tell her including her in my glare as well.

“Have you tried simply returning the magic to the earth?” Kallen asks in that lovely condescending voice of his. 

“Was I just saying that it was good you stayed?  I’m seriously reconsidering that opinion at the moment.”

“Be that as it may, but you are the only one who can return this magic to the earth.”

“Really?  Because I thought little elves came along and did it for me.”  Me, sarcastic?  Nah.  And then another thought hits me.  “Isn’t this the same magic that knocked me out cold for almost a day?  What if I take it all back through me and it does the same thing again?”

Huh, I seem to have stumped him on that one.  Not even the tiniest of condescension on his face now.  Mom’s not laughing anymore, either.

Grandma’s the first to respond.  She looks thoughtful as she says, “It very well could be that your mind and body are refusing to process the magic for that reason.”

“Mother, I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Mom admonishes gently.  I don’t know, it seems plausible to me.

Grandma shrugs and shakes her head.  “Your daughter is an enigma, Julienne.  Who is to say that it doesn’t work that way for
her
.”  Now Mom looks stumped, too. 

“Hey, can we have the philosophical debate later and right now figure out what I’m supposed to do?  I think my back is getting frostbitten.”

“You are literally pinned down by your magic?” Kallen asks as if he still doesn’t believe it.  Well, that’s annoying.

“Yes, I am literally pinned down.  As in, I can’t get up.  As in, there is a large amount of magic hovering over me like a giant elephant butt about to sit on me.  Would you like me to paint a better picture of it or is it pretty clear now that I’m being pinned down by my magic?”

He narrows his eyes at me and says dryly, “Yes, the mental image is perfectly clear now, thank you.”

I’m about to say something else, maybe apologize for being so snippy, when there’s the unmistakable sound of tires on gravel and snow.  Please let that be Aunt Barb and not the Witan.  Is it possible to get that lucky while I’m being held captive by my magic?  That’s a no brainer.  Of course not.  The car slows as it approaches the driveway and then stops. 

“Oh my god,” Mom whispers.  “It’s Fatin.”

They can see the driveway from where they’re standing but I can’t from where I’m lying.  I need to get up.  Now if I can only get this magic to understand that.  I roll over onto my side, just barely and with much effort, and then flop onto my belly.  But I still can’t get up.  All I managed to do was get the other side of my clothes snowy and cold.

“Quillian, Athear, you know what needs to be done,” a smooth, deep voice says.  “Please don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

Why do the bad guys always say that?  Do they really think people are just going to roll over and let them do exactly what they want to do?  Okay, well, I guess that’s a bad analogy, because in this case, the only thing I can do right now is roll over.  But that’s not the point.

“Stay here,” Grandma says quietly to Mom and Dad.  Mom looks like she’s about to refuse until she glances over at Dad.  Then she nods.  Her face is filled with fear – I’m assuming at the thought of him being exorcised.  Ultimately, she lets Grandma and Kallen walk towards Fatin without her.

“This is the Fairy I’ve heard so much about?  He is a tall one, isn’t he?”  There’s not a hint of distress in Fatin’s voice.  “Athear, you know how this is going to play out. I’m going to threaten your daughter and her husband, and then you and the Fairy are going to try to stop me, and things are going to get tedious from there.  I was hoping to avoid all of this, which is why I haven’t made my presence known until now.  But, alas, here I am, and we both know, Athear, the Witan never loses.  Are you willing to lose both the daughter you have mourned for the last eighteen years as well as this sin against nature we seek?”

“The only sins against nature are you lot who have abused your power over the years.  Xandra has committed no crime.  You have no business here and as queen, I demand that you leave.”  Grandma’s voice is even but there is definitely an underlying threat in it. 

Which Fatin ignores.  “You haven’t really served as our queen for these past eighteen years, now have you, Athear.  Nor are you a member of the Witan, so you don’t actually get a vote.  You may offer your opinion, which you have done on several occasions, and it was taken into consideration.  Then we voted to disregard it.”

“The Witan seem to disregard any opinions other than their own, Fatin.  You’re not exactly what could be called a fair and impartial jury, now are you,” Grandma says in the same patronizing tone Fatin had used.

“We keep the world safe from those who would cause harm, Athear.  Nothing more than that.”

The distinctive sound of tires on gravel and snow can be heard again, cutting off whatever Grandma is about to say.  Okay, this is crazy; I really need to stand up.  I push my hands against the snow covered ground but it’s no good.  I’m still trapped.

“Ah, finally,” Fatin says.  “I knew they couldn’t be too far behind.”