Blood Prophecy (Witch Fairy) (5 page)

He closes his eyes as he runs his hand through his black hair, leaving it deliciously messy.  But not delicious enough for me to lose track of the conversation.  “Well?”  My arms are now crossed over my chest and I’m tapping my foot impatiently.  Wow, I think I just moved one step closer to turning into my mother.

Opening up his now pleading eyes, he says, “Xandra, I need you to trust me.  Please.  Your grandmother is not going to hurt you.  She cannot.”

I growl in frustration.  “So now we’re back to the blind faith thing.”

He crosses his own arms across his chest now.  “Have I given you reason not to trust me?”

Hmm, that’s a trick question.  He didn’t exactly tell me his true purpose for coming to this realm when we first met, but he didn’t really lie to me either.  But it was an awfully thin line between the two.  But, technically, no, he didn’t lie to me and he did have my best interest at heart, as well as his own.  I look up at his bright green eyes that are so vibrant and beautiful – I don’t think there’s a color in nature that could compete.  Right or wrong, I’m going to put my faith in him.  I’ve trusted him with my life before; I guess I’m going to have to do it again.  “Is she really bound by the blood oath?”

Relief washes over Kallen’s face as he realizes that I’m acquiescing.  “Yes, she is.  Her intentions can only be pure.  She would suffer greatly if not.”

What is that supposed to mean?  I doubt that I’m going to get an answer, so I don’t even bother to ask.  “Fine, but you’re carrying her suitcases.”

His lips curl up into a sexy smile. “Of course.  I am always a slave to your desires.”  I roll my eyes but I can’t help smiling.  That’s just not playing fair.  He’s hard to stay mad at when he decides to be charming.

Sobering again, I ask, “You’re absolutely sure that Grandma’s on our side?”

“I am.”

I look at him for a long moment until he raises his eyebrows in question.  In my heart, I know that Kallen wouldn’t say it if he didn’t believe it.  If Grandma’s not on our side, then she has Kallen fooled.  But he’s pretty sharp when it comes to anything magical, so he’d be awfully hard to fool.  Sighing, I say, “Then I believe it, too.” 

He puts his hands on my waist and pulls me towards him.  “Thank you for trusting me.”  As I snake my arms up and around his neck, he lowers his lips to mine in a mind blowing kiss that tells me just how glad he is that I decided to put my faith in him.  But in the back of my mind, the thought that Grandma’s still hiding something takes root, and I intend to find out what it is.

Chapter 3

“And you wonder why I follow you two around.” 

I groan as Kallen quickly ends the kiss and takes a step back, dropping his hands from my waist.  I turn around to look at Dad, expecting the same reaction from this morning; but to my surprise, he looks more amused than mad.  Maybe he really has decided he likes Kallen.  That doesn’t change the fact that he’s still interrupting our kisses, though.

“We were just coming back in,” I grumble. 

“It might be difficult to carry the bags and walk to the door with your lips locked like that.” 

“Dad, really?”  My face turns what I am sure is magenta or maybe even maroon.  This is not my life.  It’s not bad enough that I have people trying to kill me, but I have to have my dad making bad jokes about me kissing my boyfriend, as well?  I’ve only been up for an hour, but I’m ready to go back to bed now.  Maybe it’s not too late to wake up from this nightmare.  “Aren’t you supposed to be talking to Mom and Grandma?”

The smile washes off his face and the grim set of his jaw tells me he didn’t like how that conversation went.  “I don’t believe this is a good idea.  I’m worried about letting that woman into your life.”

I nod glumly.  “Yeah, me too.  But it doesn’t seem like we have much of a choice.”  I glance at Kallen out of the corner of my eye to see if he takes that comment as lack of trust in him.  I think right now he’s focusing more on his own embarrassment about having Dad catch us kissing again.  His cheeks seem a little redder than normal, too.  At least I’m not the only one.

“That may be true, but I still think it’s wise to take precautions.”  Dad has always been a pragmatist.  “If trusting Athear turns out to be a mistake, I don’t know that your mother has it in her to stand against her own mother.  She has always clung to the belief that her mother had not agreed with your grandfather and his lackeys, and Athear played right into that.  But even if your mother could stand against her, I’m afraid that she doesn’t have enough power to hold both of us in this plane, and still wield enough magic to fend off an attack by a Witch who she believes is more powerful than she ever was.”

Well, at least my parents are telling me the truth now, whether I want to hear it or not.  They kept a lot of secrets from me over the years.  Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing, after all.  “That’s not very comforting, Dad.”

He shrugs in a helpless gesture.  “I know.” Then his eyes move to Kallen.  “That’s where you come in.”

Kallen raises his brows in question but doesn’t say anything.  Dad clears his throat before talking again.  He’s a ghost; I’m assuming he doesn’t have phlegm, so it must be a stalling thing.  Finally, he says, “If someone had told me an hour ago that I was going to say this, I would have pronounced them insane right on the spot.”  Dad was a doctor before he was a ghost.  He could have done that.  “I want you to be glued to Xandra’s side.  Every minute of the day.”

It takes a moment for that to sink in.  “Every minute?”

Dad’s expression hardens and it seems to take some effort for him to smooth it back out.  “Yes, every minute.”

“Oh, okay.”  Is he serious?

“I heard what you said this morning.  You said that your grandfather’s magic didn’t even show up as a blip on your radar when you forced him to leave the house.  But, you said that Kallen’s magic is strong enough to at least give you a challenge.  If he’s truly that powerful, then he just became your own personal bodyguard.”

My brows come together.  As much as I like the part about Kallen sticking to my side, I don’t think I like the part where Dad thinks I need a bodyguard.

Dad must see that on my face.  “Humor me, kiddo.  I’m worried about you and it would make me feel better knowing someone powerful is watching your back.”

Guess I can’t really argue with that.  It makes me feel better that Kallen is watching my back, too.  “Okay, I get it.”

Kallen has been remarkably quiet while Dad and I have gone back and forth.  I’m surprised; he usually has an opinion about everything.  Dad turns back to him and there’s an amused smile on his face now.  “I’m assuming this is okay with you?”

Kallen inclines his head in agreement and I’m pretty sure there’s a smile trying really hard to form on his lips but he’s trying to look solemn.  Until Dad says the next thing.  “And I expect you to be a gentleman.”

Okay, now I’m pretty sure Kallen’s biting his tongue.  Literally.  Really hard.  To say that he’s offended is an understatement.  Obviously, Dad doesn’t know how seriously the Fae take sex.  I wonder if that’s a Fairy thing or just a Sheehogue Fairy thing.  I haven’t asked.  But, it doesn’t seem like the Pooka have morals about anything, so I’m guessing it’s a Sheehogue thing.  My list of questions just keeps getting bigger and bigger.  I think I’m going to need to carry a notebook and start writing them down.

“Do I have your word?” Dad pushes.

I don’t know how Kallen says it through a jaw clenched as tightly as his is, but he manages to say, “Yes.” 

Dad nods once and chooses to ignore the fact that he obviously insulted Kallen.  “Alright then.  I’ll see the two of you inside.”  He turns and starts floating towards the house.  When he’s about fifteen feet away, he says over his shoulder, “Kissing is fine.  Just not when I’m around, please.”  I’m pretty sure he’s chuckling when he floats through the front door because his shoulders are moving up and down.

I refuse to acknowledge the flush of red to my face because of Dad’s parting words.  Instead, I turn back to Kallen.  “I’m impressed you were so quiet after he said that.  I almost expected to feel you pulling magic any second there.”

Visibly trying to relax his facial muscles, he says, “Even though I have never been accused of being anything other than gentlemanly, I thought it best to let your father have his say.  I am a guest in his house.”

“Are you really the same guy who showed up naked in the woods last week?  Cause you’re certainly not acting like him.  I think I liked that surly, sarcastic, not afraid to say what’s on his mind, guy better.  This guy,” I move my hands up and down to indicate all of him, “is kind of dull.”

He gives me a sharp look until he sees the twinkle of teasing in my eyes.  “Is that so?”

I sigh and nod my head wearily.  “I’m afraid so.”

In a blink of the eye, he growls as he puts his arms around my waist, and I squeal a little as he picks me up off the ground with my arms pressed against his chest.  He plants his delicious lips on mine.  Okay, maybe this Kallen isn’t so boring after all.  As our tongues dance in perfectly choreographed movement, the rest of the world falls away.  For a few glorious moments, my mind is free of everything except this kiss.

He ends the kiss slowly and then slides me down his body until my feet can touch the ground again.  “Still prefer the surly, sarcastic guy?  Because I can bring him back.”

I smile and shake my head slowly.  “He had his moments, but I guess I don’t miss him as much as I thought I did.”

Kallen grins as he picks up Grandma’s bags – a large suitcase, a vanity case and a garment bag.  She sure packed a lot for a spur of the moment trip.  “I am not the biggest catch for hand-fasting in the Fae realm for nothing.  No one can resist my charm.”  Then he strides towards the front door on his long legs, leaving me marveling at his self-assurance.  The worst part?  He actually has reason to be that cocky.  As a powerful, gorgeous, and full-blooded Fairy, he was considered the biggest catch in the Fae realm. 

Okay, now I’m not marveling, I’m jealous.  Why I’m jealous of Fairy girls he may have dated before, and forgot all about when he chose to stay here with me, I don’t know.  I just am.

Pulling my attention away from watching Kallen’s lean muscular body move gracefully, like a large cat, as he walks back to the house, my eyes are drawn to the large picture window in the living room.  Grandma is standing there staring at me.  She looks worried.  I assume she’s wondering if Kallen told me her secret, so she’ll be happy to find out he didn’t, I’m sure.

Chapter 4

When I follow Kallen into the house, Grandma is already unzipping her suitcase. Geez, you’d think she’d at least wait until she was in the guest room.  But then it starts to make more sense when I see what she’s pulling out.  Apparently, it wasn’t just clothes that she packed.

“What is all this?” I ask as I look over the things she has set on the coffee table.

Grandma looks up from what she’s doing.  “I’m sure you are familiar with some of these items, and I’ll explain the others…”

I hold up my hand to cut her off.  “Before you start making assumptions about what I know and what I don’t, you should just assume that I don’t know it.  I didn’t even know magic existed until last week, and the only magic I’ve used has been my Fairy magic.”

Grandma’s eyes are as big as platters.  “You didn’t know that magic exists?”  She turns her dumbfounded expression towards Mom, and if ghosts could blush from embarrassment, Mom would be.

“I thought I was keeping her safe from the magical world.  I had no idea that as soon as she turned seventeen, the Fairies would come looking for her.”  And then grudgingly, she adds, “If Kallen hadn’t taught her to use her Fairy magic, she may not have survived.”

Whoa, Mom used Kallen’s name.  She must be ready to trust him if she’s not worrying about saying his name anymore.  If we survive the next few days, maybe everything will work out between him and my parents.  That’s a big if on the surviving part.

Grandma moves her eyes to Kallen.  “You must have taken quite a risk coming here to fight against your own kind.”

“It was the Pooka who came to this realm to do harm.  They are neither my kin nor my
kind
,” Kallen replies evenly.

Grandma has the decency to look at least a little embarrassed by her insult.  Inclining her head, she says, “Of course.  I apologize for not distinguishing between you being a Sheehogue Fairy rather than a Pooka.” 

Returning to the conversation about my magical ignorance, she asks me, “You have not used any type of spell?”

I shake my head.  “No.”  But then I remember the healing spell that Mom and I did for Kallen.  “Unless you count combining my saka with Mom to make a mana.”  I stumble over the unfamiliar words.  “But Mom worked the actual spell and had Aunt Barb mix the plants for the salve.”

Grandma smiles.  “I believe you mean using your mana to create a saka.”

Okay, so I’m not going to pass the pop quiz on magical terms.  “Can we just call it magic like the Fairies do?  It’s a lot less confusing that way.”

Grandma nods and says kindly, “That is an excellent suggestion.”

“When we combined our mana…I mean magic,” Mom corrects herself, “to heal Kallen from a wound created by iron, I was not a strong enough vessel to channel her magic.  Once it was focused on his wound, I had to let go.”

Grandma looks confused.  “What do you mean by not a strong enough vessel?”

“Her magic burns hot and fast,” Kallen explains.  “And she draws more magic than any other magical being I have come across.  It can’t be channeled by another without causing physical harm; it feels like being burned from the inside out.  And it is impossible to contain it if she loses control.”  He glances sideways at me.  I’m pretty sure he’s vividly remembering all the times he tried to contain my magic.  I give him my best ‘I’m sorry’ look.

Mom nods in agreement.  “She healed his wound almost instantly.”

Grandma looks stunned as her eyes float back to me.  “Healed?  Completely?  I’ve never heard of such a thing; iron does massive internal damage to a Fairy.  How is that possible?”

I shrug.  “I just did what Mom told me to do.  I visualized his wound healing.  And then it healed.”

Grandma shakes her head.  “Unbelievable.  You are certainly a remarkable young woman.”  She pats the spot next to her on the couch.  “Please, join me and I will explain what I’ve brought with me.”

I hesitate.  I’m still not feeling warm and fuzzy about her; and the idea of sitting next to her on the couch is not thrilling.  What if one of those things is a Witch Bottle like Mom has planted all over?  Who knows what god awful things this stuff could do to me.  I glance at Kallen who is now leaning one shoulder against the far wall with his arms crossed over his chest and his feet crossed at the ankles.

“It’s all defensive magic,” he says as if he was reading my mind.

“Xandra, give your grandmother a chance, please,” Mom rebukes gently.

“Fine, it’s just my life we’re playing with,” I grumble under my breath as I walk to the couch.

“And I have every intention of keeping you alive,” Grandma says with what I would probably think was a nice smile if I wasn’t so on edge.  She’s not going to win me over with a smile.  She doesn’t seem to realize that, though, because she’s still smiling even though I’m sure that it’s written all over my face that I don’t trust her.  But, I sit down next to her anyway.  Well, I sit at the other end of the couch, so there’s at least two feet between us, but at least I’m on the same piece of furniture as she is.

“Why don’t we start with something simple,” Grandma says as she picks up a small leather pouch.  “We’ll make a mojo bag for you to wear.  It will help protect your person from magic which causes a physical attack, deflecting the attack back towards the Witch responsible.”

My brow scrunches.  “You mean like Witches’ bottles?”

Grandma nods.  “Yes, if a Witch bottle explodes around you while you are wearing the mojo bag, it will flare to life and cause a, for lack of a better word, a force field around you, sending the spell back to the one who used it.  But, it may only be used once so you will need several of them.”

“Okay,” I say taking the leather pouch that she’s holding out to me.  “I’m supposed to put stuff in it?”  Kallen smirks and I shoot him a dirty look.  He takes great amusement in my magical ignorance.

Grandma doesn’t make fun of me, though.  Okay, that’s one brownie point for her.  “Yes, you will put an assortment of items in it that are known for their protective properties.  Then you will say a spell that binds their collective power and holds it until needed.  This is considered low magic – magic that invokes an item’s natural power.  It’s also called Earth magic.” 

Hmm, and I thought Kallen was a walking encyclopedia of Witch magic.  She’s explaining things nicer than he usually does, but she’s still making me feel like I’m in school.  I hope the entire day doesn’t go like this.  I’m better at learning by trial and error rather than learning by rote.  Though, my trial and error with magic has led to some pretty disastrous consequences.  Maybe I should just shut up and pay attention.

Looking at the assortment of herbs, stones, jewelry, and other things I can’t name, I ask in an attempt to speed this along, “What first?”

“You will need to use several herbs and stones.  The first will be yarrow.  It’ll provide protection as well as boost your self-confidence.”

“She is definitely not lacking self-confidence.  You may want to start with something that will lessen her self-confidence,” Kallen teases from his position against the wall.

Other than me throwing him a quick dirty look, Grandma and I both choose to ignore him.  “The yarrow is the feathery looking leaves right there.”  I pick up the leaf she’s pointing at and put it in the bag.  She then has me put in nettle and vervain leaves, whatever those are, and a small onyx stone.  The last item is a pinch of salt.  I hope that doesn’t mean I’m going to have to eat this stuff.

“Now, cinch the bag closed and you’ll recite the protection spell.”  Turning to Mom, she asks, “Where might I find your grimoire?”

My face turns bright red when Mom says, “I no longer have it.”

Grandma’s face is shocked, to say the least.  Apparently, a Witch is naked without her grimoire.  “Did you lose it in your travels?”

“No, I did.”  I confess.  “I caused an avalanche and it got buried in the cave Kallen and I were staying in at the time.

Now Grandma looks really confused.  “Avalanche?  Cave?”

“The details aren’t really important, are they?” Dad asks impatiently.  “Can’t you just write the spell down for her?”

“Of course.”  Trying to recover her composure, Grandma searches her purse for a pen and a small pad of paper and begins to write.  When she’s done, she hands it to me.  “Now, just hold the bag close to you and while saying the spell, imagine a defensive wall coming up around you.”

“Okay,” I say as I take the paper and look it over skeptically.  Not like I’d know whether or not it’s the real deal.

I open my mouth to begin but Kallen interrupts me.  “You may want to move away from her,” Kallen says to Grandma.  His mouth is upturned in an amused smirk again.  I really want to stick my tongue out at him, but I refrain.  I don’t even comment back like I normally would.  I let my eyes do the talking.

Grandma looks at him impatiently.  “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”  Turning back to me, she says, “Go ahead, dear.”

It seems appropriate for me to stand up because I feel like I’m giving a formal presentation, or an audition, since all eyes are riveted on me.  Taking a deep breath, I imagine a cinderblock wall all around me and begin to read, “Herb and stone, heart and mind, with my will may all combine.  Protect my body, my life, my soul, from forces dark who strike first blow.  Evil magic based in sin, sent back before it can begin.  Those in my heart will be unharmed, by this Witch’s protective charm.”  And then there’s a loud explosion.

Grandma is suddenly across the room in a heap.  Right under where there used to be a picture window.  And next to where there used to be a door but is now a couch embedded in the wall.  The coffee table must have gone out the window because it just isn’t around anymore.   The recliner is sticking out of the fireplace.  And I’m taking all this in through the haze of a transparent cinderblock wall that forms a six foot perimeter around me and goes up to the ten foot ceiling.  My eyes search for Kallen, hoping I haven’t hurt him, but he’s standing in the same spot with a smug smile on his face. 

“Guess that answers that question,” he says triumphantly.

It takes my befuddled brain a minute for that to make sense.  Those in my heart will be unharmed.  Blood rushes to my face as I realize my subconscious just told us both how I feel about him.  Instead of acknowledging that, I ask, “What happened?  It wasn’t supposed to do this, right?”  Okay, I know that’s a really stupid question, but my mind is a little fuzzy right now.

Kallen chuckles as he pushes off from the wall.  “No, it was not.” 

I turn to Mom to ask her what I did wrong and her mouth is in a perfect o.  I don’t think she knows what happened, either.  Dad looks really freaked out.  Kallen seems to be the only one who isn’t in shock, or unconscious.  “What went wrong?” I ask.

He walks towards me, still laughing and shaking his head, and puts his hands on my shoulders.  “Nothing went wrong, my little Witch Fairy.  You did everything correctly.”

I look around at the destruction that used to be our living room.  “Then why does the house look like a tornado stormed through it?”  I should probably go and check on Grandma, but I’m a little scared to go near her after tossing her across the room.  So, I’m going to assume from afar that she’s fine.  She seems to be breathing okay.

Kallen chuckles again.  “How aptly put.  You are a tornado personified.”

The shock is wearing off and now I’m getting annoyed.  “Will you please just answer my question?”

“This,” he sweeps his hand out to encompass the room, “is what happens when what should have been a gentle summer breeze is replaced by a tornado.”

I still don’t get it.  I’m probably being obtuse, but good lord, I just blew up the living room!  I’m a little bit overwhelmed right now.  Narrowing my green eyes, I look into his.  “If you don’t stop laughing at me and answer my question, I’m going to blow you up next.”