Shadow Blood: Kallen's Tale (Witch Fairy #4.5) (17 page)

He gets an eye roll.  “Stop saying that.”

He chuckles and answers her question.  “It says there is a way to send these soul fragments back to hell.”

“What’s the catch?” she asks.

Dagda has no idea what she means.  “Catch?”

“Yeah, what horrible thing do I have to do to work this magic?  There’s always a catch.  Especially if it’s magic that hasn’t been used in a long time – like the kind that’s written on scrolls instead of paper.”  I try to school my face so I do not laugh.  Her track record with magic has shown a pattern of ‘catches’.

“Have you always been this cynical?” Dagda asks.

She shrugs.  “No, it pretty much started on my seventeenth birthday.”  I have to cover my mouth to keep from laughing out loud now.  Dagda throws a severe look my way which helps but Tabitha still laughs out loud.

“The ‘catch,’ as you say, is that blood is required from the same type of beings that the soul is from.”

Xandra looks at him like he is insane.  “And we’re supposed to waltz up to Aunt Barb and demand that she tell us where the soul barnacles she’s carrying are from?  I’m sure they’ll let her spout the list right off.”

Dagda goes into King mode.  Or, I should say, madman mode.  “There are ways to extract information from someone.”

That was not a smart thing to say to Xandra.  “I’m not going to torture my aunt.”

“I do not believe he meant torture,” Tabitha says, surprisingly coming to Dagda’s defense.  “Did you?”  The tone of her voice makes it clear he had better say no.

Dagda inclines his head in her direction.  “You are correct; I was not speaking of torture.”  To Xandra, he says, “There are potions that can be used to draw information from an unwilling source.”

“Like truth serum?” Xandra asks.

“Yes.”

“Oh, that’ll be okay then.”

Dagda smiles.  “Then all we need to do is convince the best potion maker in this realm to whip us up a batch.”  Obviously, he means Tabitha.

She does not buy his sucking up for a moment.  She narrows her eyes and says stiffly, “I will make it for Xandra, not you.”  She rises from the counter and begins opening cupboards to find the ingredients she needs.

“Can I see the scroll?” Xandra asks.

“Certainly.”  Dagda turns it so that we can both read it.  Well, so I can read it.  Xandra is not quite up on her other languages yet.  “It is written in Latin,” I explain.  Scanning through it, I look up at Dagda.  “You believe this can be modified to be as specific as it needs to be?”

Dagda nods.  “If we change this part,” he points to a spot on the scroll.  “And here, it should work.”

Xandra puts her hands on her hips.  “Are either of you planning to tell me what is says anytime soon?”

“Sorry, I forgot you don’t know Latin.”  I did not.  I simply forgot to read it to her.

“I’ll put it on my to-do list,” she says in her best snarky voice.  “But, in the meantime, will you please tell me what it says?”

“This is ancient magic, from some of the earliest known records.  It seems that it was once used to banish one’s enemies by forcing their soul from their body.  Once banished, it could never be brought back.”

“Because it goes to the Shadow realm?” 

“That is unclear,” Dagda says.

“So, they could just hang around and be ghosts or something?” 

I shrug.  I do not have the answer she is looking for.  “It does not say.”

Doubt rings in her voice.  “This sounds awfully risky.  Are you sure you want to take the chance of letting evil loose in your realm?” Xandra asks.

“You have not told her everything,” Tabitha says.  “This is a black magic spell.  Because practitioners of black magic do not like all of their secrets to be shared, written records of their spells are not always accurate.”

Xandra’s mouth drops open.  “You mean, I could do this spell and nothing may happen?”

“Or, you could do this spell and send everyone to hell.”  Tabitha, ever the optimist.

Xandra’s eyes are gleaming with anxiety.  “You guys really want me to do a spell that could possibly kill everyone in this realm?”

Dagda says the words that I was about to say.  “I have confidence in you.”

Her internal struggles only lasts a minute.  I know where she will end up on this.  She will take the risk to save her aunt.  “Okay, I guess.”

The kitchen door opens again, and Grandmother comes in.  “Is that the spell?” she asks, not bothering with pleasantries.  Dagda pushes it down the counter so she can read it. 

“We will need to change a couple of details, but it seems to be the best way,” I say.

“Agreed.”  Turning to Xandra, she says, “It will take some time to gather the necessary items and create a safe place for the magic to be performed.  Perhaps you and Kallen can take a walk on the beach to mentally prepare yourself.  This spell is going to require a great deal of strength and magic.”  In other words, she wants us to leave her and Tabitha in peace to get ready.

“Okay.” 

“How long do you believe it will take?” I ask.

“Perhaps an hour.”

“I should let me parents know,” Xandra says but Grandmother shakes her head.  “I will discuss this with them before we proceed.” 

 “We will return in an hour.”  Taking Xandra’s hand before she can argue, I pull her out of the kitchen. 

Chapter 25

There is a serenity to the shoreline that Xandra is missing completely.  “Why are none of you telling me what I have to do?” 

I sigh.  I know this will not get me out of telling her but it is worth a try.  “I believe Grandmother will explain it the best when we return.”

She gives me a ‘did you really think that was going to work’ face.  “Kallen, tell me or I’m going back to the house right now to make Dagda tell me.” 

Fine.  But how do I say this without scaring the hell out of her.  “Using that much magic in such a short period of time is dangerous for the practitioner.”

“Are you telling me I could die?” 

If I thought that, I would have said so already and argued against her doing it.  “Do you really believe that I would willingly let you perform magic that could kill you?”

She smiles.  It is a weak one but I will take it. “No, I guess not.”

I feign shock.  “You guess not?  I appreciate your overwhelming faith in my love.”

She laughs this time.  “Fine.  No, I do not believe you would do that.”

I nod in satisfaction.  “Much better.”

“Then what did you mean by dangerous?”

“You may lose your magic.”  Which all around may not be such a bad thing.  Our lives would be much calmer.  But I know she would lose a big piece of herself if that happened and I for one like her just the way she is. 

Xandra stops walking.  “Excuse me?” 

I stop as well and run a hand through my hair, stalling for time.  “I am unsure if you will be affected as any other Fairy would be, but a Fairy who performs magic that black would be purified of magic.  It may be temporary, or it may be forever.”  It is not a risk I would take myself but I do not believe she will react the way a typical Fairy would.  She does not with anything else.

Suspicion creeps into her eyes.  “And Isla was going to tell me this right before I did the spell?” 

I am not sure that she was going to mention it at all.  Pushing a strand of hair from her cheek and leaving my hand on her silky skin, I try deflection.  “Are you willing to risk your magic to save your aunt’s life?”

I already know her answer.  She takes a long, deep breath and says, “Yes.” 

Well played shift in the conversation on my part.  I grin in satisfaction.  “I knew you would.”  To prevent her from replying, I pull her into my arms and kiss her.  She does not seem to mind.

After a few minutes, I end the kiss slowly.  Taking a step back from her, I grab her hand.  “I want to show you something.  Something Kegan and I made when we were young.”  She does not know a lot about my childhood.  There has been very little time to discuss such things.  I hope to change that.

She smiles a real smile.  “Okay.”

I lead us to the forest edge.  “Kegan and I knew every inch of this beach and forest when we were young.  Grandmother and Kegan’s parents rarely saw us when we were not attending our lessons.”

A few steps into the woods and I hear voices.  Apparently, I am not the only one sharing childhood places with someone.  Xandra looks up at me with a question on her face when I pull her to a stop.  “Wha…”

I put my finger to my lips and she stops talking.  Kegan’s voice is carried through the silence of the trees.  Her eyes travel to the sound and get big and round when she sees the fort Kegan and I made as children.  It is quite large.

“Alita, you know how much I care for you,” we hear Kegan say.  Frustration punctuating every word.

“We can never be, Kegan.  It is pointless to discuss this further.”  Ah, their age old argument.  Alita is one stubborn Fairy.  “I was hoping your interest in Xandra meant that you have finally moved on.”  The way her voice cracks belies the truth in that statement.

“Damn it, Alita, you know my ‘interest,’ as you say, in Xandra is no more than foolish rivalry with my cousin.”  Foolish indeed.  “It is you that I love.”

“Kegan, please stop.” 

Damn it.  He made her cry again speaking of his reckless foolishness.  She will never run with him.  The guilt over him losing his father would kill her.  My gentle push this morning did not budge her at all.  But Kegan keeps pushing, making her cry harder.  I should walk in there and punch him for her.  I believe Xandra is about to do just that so I grab her arm and gently pull her to me so I can whisper, “Let them be.  This is their problem to solve.”  After a moment, she nods reluctantly.

We listen for a few more uncomfortable minutes.  If we move, they will surely hear us and then Alita will feel even worse.  It does not take long for Kegan to come storming out of the fort.  He stops short when he sees us, his silence carrying his anger and hurt like a cloak.  He does not say anything to us when he starts walking again towards the beach.

 “I should talk to Alita,” Xandra says.

And I should speak with my cousin.  “I will talk to Kegan.  I was not aware that his feelings were still that of our childhood.  He has done an excellent job of hiding them.”  Not that that has helped.  Everyone who has known him his whole life still knows he loves her.  Everyone except his father.

I have to trot down the beach to catch up with him.  His anger has turned his walk into a half run.  “Hey, wait up,” I say.

He hesitates but then says over his shoulder, “Eavesdropping was not enough, now you want to what, play healer to my soul?”

“If there was a competition for who could be the biggest jackass, you would lose.”

That got his attention.  He stops and turns around, confusion crawling all over his face.  “As insults go, that was very weak.”

“You cannot be a jackass when you already hold the station of biggest dumbass in the realm.  There are overlapping characteristics but one is just so much more pitiful than the other.”  I am smart enough to stop outside of punching range.

“I am a dumbass because I love a Fairy who refuses to be with me?”

I shake my head.  “No, you are a dumbass because you are trying to convince the wrong person.”

“So I am supposed to walk into my father’s office and say, ‘Dad, I am going to enter into a hand-fasting with Alita.  You know, the Cowan Fairy you told me never to bring in the house again?’”

Glad Xandra was not here to hear that.  She would already be on her way to Kegan’s house.  “Something along those lines, yes.  You may want be a tad less snarky and petulant though.”

His eyes narrow and he takes a step towards me.  I ready myself to block any punches he may throw.  “You know, it was not that long ago that you agreed with my father.  Before you went to the Cowan realm, you would have been right there with him telling me how it would taint the bloodlines and how any children we may have would be useless, weak creatures without magic.”

There is a loud ringing in my ear that I want to turn off.  Unfortunately, it is the ringing of truth.  He is more right than I care to admit.  “I never suggested you should not be with Alita.”

His brows practically shoot off his forehead they raise so fast and so high.  “Really?  You can honestly stand there and say that you have not been trying to steer me in the direction of true blooded Fairies all of our lives?  You may not have said her name, but you never had to.  We both knew what you meant.”

I struggle to figure out how to respond to that.  I suppose his truths must be met with my own.  “I apologize that I was not supportive of you being with the Fairy you love.  I would now be proud to see you and Alita hand-fasted and welcome her into our family as more than just friend.”

He snorts and shakes his head.  “It never ceases to amaze me how big your ego is.  Suddenly it is okay to not be with true blooded Fairies because you are not with one.  Are all of your basic tenets you spouted for years so easily tossed aside when it suits you?”