True of Blood (Witch Fairy Series) (24 page)

He sighs.  “As much as I do not want to keep you from knowing anything else, telling you about a path that has already been altered seems moot.”

“I like to hear about moot things.  Then I can feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside knowing they’re not going to happen.”

He runs his hand through his silky black hair nervously which for just a quick second makes me think about me doing that instead of what I’m asking him to do but I force my mind away from his numerous physical attributes.  Lots of time to dwell on those later.  I hope.  I think I hope.  I still don’t know where I want this to go.

Kallen pulls me out of my mental conversation with myself by finally speaking.  “She saw you forcing the gateway to the Fae realm open.”

“Oh.”  I thought he was going to say that she saw me die a horrendous death by Kallen’s hand.  The thought that I would deliberately open the gateway so Fairies could come through and wreak havoc on this realm somehow seems worse.  “She specifically saw me choosing to do this, not being forced?”

He nods and puts his hands on my waist as if he thinks that I’m going to collapse.  “She even knew the color of your aura.”

Oh, yeah.  I forgot that my aura becomes visible when I’m using my magic.  My clashing aura.

“Where is the passage way to the Fae realm?”

“It can be in many different places.  When the two realms were open to each other, a Fairy could enter this realm through anywhere there was a light.”

I gasp as I completely lose track of the conversation for a second.  “That explains my name!”

He chuckles.  “Defending men from light, it was rather clever on your mother’s part.”

“Which light did you use to get here?”

“Over the years, King Dagda continued to come through to this realm during the spring equinox and he would use those three days to hunt for your mother.  She must not have used much magic in the first few years because he would come back angry and frustrated and even more determined.  As you got older and were not discovered, your mother must have felt that she could begin using her magic again and the last few of your years, he was able to detect her magic.”

“Because he could taste it?” I asked recalling him telling me this when we first met.  Was that really just a matter of days ago?

“In a manner of speaking, yes.  Last year, he was able to track her magic to the base of the mountain you live on so that is where he sent Maurelle and Olwyn through, and where I followed them.  It took them several days to locate you but as your mother is the only Witch using magic in this area, she made finding you inevitable.”

Poor Mom, it really was her fault.  “So, when do you want to meet them?”  My confidence in his plan hasn’t really grown any but Kallen’s right, I don’t want to keep running and hiding.

“Do you still want a day to rest and prepare?”

I laugh but without humor.  “Not really much to prepare.  My magic has two settings, dormant and destructive.”

“If you are ready, then I will call to them now.  It may take them some time to find us as I cannot give them exact directions.”

Now?  Oh boy, am I really ready for this?  My heart starts racing and I’m suddenly too warm by the fire.  I stand up moving out of Kallen’s embrace and start pacing the cabin.  In a matter of minutes or hours, I could be facing two Pooka warriors on the theory that I am better with my magic than they are.  It’s kind of like having a pop quiz on something you haven’t bothered to learn and instead of failing someone could wind up dead.  I miss my schoolwork.  I would take a pop quiz on physics rather than this any day.

“It’s done,” Kallen says quietly behind me.

I bite my bottom lip as I turn to look at him.  “How do you know they got the message?”

He smiles half-heartedly.  “I just know.”

I wish I could know things with his level of certainty.  The only thing I know right now is that I am scared out of my mind.  “Okay.”

 
Chapter 19

Kallen covers the distance between us in two steps.  He cups my cheeks in his hands and he leans down to give me a light kiss and then he leans his forehead against mine.  “This is going to work,” he says confidently but I’m not sure if he’s trying to convince me or himself.  Probably both.

I nod and wrap my arms around his waist and he folds me into his and we stand like that for a long time without saying anything.  It’s not even noon yet and it already feels like the longest day of my life.  Or the last day.  The thought hits me that if I said that out loud Kallen would probably tell me to stop being so dramatic as he had last night.  I can’t help but smile as I remember how sweet he was then compared to many of our other conversations.  As he’s opened up more, I understand his behavior better but the thought still hasn’t left my mind that I am his only option of keeping a connection to the Fae.  How did I go from never having had a date as of last week to now being involved in one of the world’s most complicated relationships?  When life makes you a dichotomy wrapped up into an enigma you gotta embrace the drama, I guess.

With that thought in mind, I move my arms from his waist to his shoulders and stand on my tippy toes as I pull him towards me so I can kiss him.  He meets my lips hungrily and we both put all of our unspoken fears and hopes into this kiss.  The world seems to have collapsed around us and we are the only two in the universe as we explore each other’s mouths.  With a swoop, Kallen picks me up and carries me to the cot without ever taking his lips from mine.  He lays me down and he pulls back just long enough to study my face looking for any sign of hesitancy.  He finds none.

Covering my body with his, he brings his lips back to mine.  I tug on his shirt and he makes it disappear and I savor the feel of his taut muscles under my hands.  “Mine, too,” I whisper in his ear and a groan starting deep in his throat escapes him as he magically makes my shirt disappear.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispers against my mouth as his hands explore my body.  “I hate the thought of never seeing you again after today.  It’s driving me mad.”

“I never said I don’t want to see you again,” I gasp as his mouth finds the sensitive spot behind my ear.

“Maybe not in those words but it comes through loud and clear in everything else you say,” he says throwing my own words back at me.

Tearing my hands from his gorgeous body, it’s my turn to cup his face in my hands.  His eyes are dark green with desire when he looks down at me.  “I know I’ve been kind of wishy-washy on this whole topic, but I can’t imagine any more not having you in my life.  You’ve become too important to me, even if you are the world’s biggest jerk sometimes.”  As soon as the words leave my mouth, I know they’re true.  I don’t know that we’ll get married some day and live happily ever after, but I do know that I am beginning to care for him very much.  His lips are on mine again and he lets me know how my words affected him.  Apparently in a really good way.

I don’t know how far we would have gone as we lost ourselves in each other.  Some clothes are still on, others aren’t.  But everything comes to an abrupt halt when Kallen becomes stock still and lifts his mouth from mine.  His eyes are suddenly glowing with a combination of passion, anger and something that almost resembles fear.  “They’re coming,” he says and once again I feel like a cold shower of sleet has been dumped on me.

Rising from the cot, Kallen uses his magic and is completely dressed instantly.  It’s a little slower going for me as I pull the turtle neck I was wearing over my head.  I probably could have asked Kallen to magic me new clothes, but even after what we were doing that seems too personal.

Pulling on my coat and boots with fingers that are going numb with stress, I have about a million thoughts running through my mind at once of the past, the present, and of the future.  I wonder if this is what people who have near death experiences feel right before they die?  Looking up at Kallen, I ask, “How long?”

“If they keep on the path they are on, it should only be a few minutes.  They must have been following our trail already when I called to them.”  His face is grim but his eyes are flashing with confidence and anger.

Standing up, I walk into his arms.  Who knew I’d be this touchy feely when I finally got a boyfriend?  That is, if Kallen is my boyfriend.  I guess we haven’t really discussed the details.  Dragging my mind back to the more pressing matter of the Pooka warriors who want my dying blood, I ask against his chest, “Are you sure I can do this?”

His answer is strong and immediate.  “Positive.”

I smile at his conviction.  “You have been known to be wrong before, you know.”

“Very rarely and never more than once a year so I’ve filled my quota already,” he says teasingly and I appreciate that we are both trying to ease each other’s fears.

Dropping his arms from around me, he steps back with his hands on my shoulders.  “Are you ready?”

No.  Nope.  Never.  Not in this lifetime.  Not going to do it.  “Yes.”

He holds his hand out to me and I place mine in it.  He squeezes gently and then leads me outside.  I don’t even notice the cold as I stare at the trees where Kallen is staring and wait what feels like a thousand lifetimes for Maurelle and Olwyn to come walking through them towards us.

A big part of me is relieved that they are actually in clothes this time as they approach us.  Their nakedness has always been a bit disconcerting for my prudish sensibilities.  When they are close enough for us to hear them, Maurelle looks pointedly at our hands that are still clasped together and then up at me with her trademark sneer.  “I see you prefer being the lion’s toy rather than seeking safety with the lambs.”

I can’t help but snort.  “Yeah, because you’re so harmless.”

“Your hair is quite mussed.  I wonder what you two have been up to?” she says with a wicked grin.  “Are you going to hide behind your Fairy lover like you did last time?”

“I did nothing to you the last we met,” Kallen says in a voice of steel.

Now it’s Maurelle’s turn to snort.  “As if a half-breed Fairy so young could hold that much magic.”

Kallen shrugs.  “I made the mistake of assuming that myself and it almost got me killed.  I forgot that she is a Witch Fairy, not a weak Cowan Fairy such as yourself.  Just how much do you know about the power of a Witch Fairy, Maurelle?”

Her confidence seems to falter for a moment but she recovers quickly.  “Intimidation with lies isn’t going to work, Kallen.”

He shrugs again.  “Suit yourself but I have warned you.”

I have no idea what I should be doing.  Kallen and I didn’t discuss when I should, for lack of a better word, attack them.  I try to inconspicuously look up at him to see if I can get some sort of hint from his face but it doesn’t go unnoticed by Maurelle.  “Oh, the little Witch Fairy is scared, how cute is that,” she laughs.  “Do not worry, little one, we only want to bring you home to Daddy.”

My grip on Kallen’s hand grows tighter as I listen to her lies.  “So Daddy can kill me and use my dying blood to open the gateway.”

“Oh my, the cat is out of the bag now, is it?” Maurelle purrs.  “Very naughty of you, Kallen, sharing all of our little secrets with the Princess.  You will have a lot to atone for when King Dagda returns to this realm and finds you.”

“Atonement can only occur when one is repentant,” Kallen says apparently unconcerned about the reaction of the king.  For a second, Maurelle’s eyes flash with anger at his lackluster response to her threat but again, she recovers quickly.

Maurelle shakes her head from side to side as if in pity.  “Kallen, Kallen, Kallen, you are too proud for your own good.  I wonder how your grandmother will feel about your lack of atonement when she is made to pay for your sins as well.”

Kallen’s hand tightens around mine a fraction, but that’s the only outward sign that he’s affected by her words.  Evenly, he says, “My grandmother is the strongest Sheehogue Fairy alive; she cannot be brought down by a Pooka.”

Maurelle makes a face at him.  “You are just no fun to play with,” she says acerbically.  She turns to me.  “I bet you are much more fun to play with.  Do you know where we were before we came looking for you?”

I shrug.  “I don’t know.  Shopping?”

She smiles in what she probably thinks is an attempt at condescension.  She misses the mark by a long shot compared to Kallen’s mastery of it.  “We paid a little visit to that awful family of yours.  I must say, you should be grateful that your features are those of the Fae because their mousy hair and blue eyes are just not attractive at all.”

“My mom had protection spells around the house; you couldn’t have gotten to them.”  Please, please let that be true.  Kallen must have sensed my growing panic because he gives my hand a quick squeeze in support.

“Tsk, tsk, did Kallen not explain to you how easy it is to absorb a Witch’s magic?  Your mother tried to repel us but without Kallen there to provide assistance, she was not able to muster up enough power in her spirit form.  It was a simple matter to relieve her of her Cowan Witch child.”

I feel my face pale.  “What did you do to Zac?”

“Do?  Why nothing yet.  We simply lured him away from the house with a song, much like the fable of the pied piper.”  She simpers towards Kallen.  “A Pooka magic you did not know we possessed.”

Through a clenched jaw, Kallen says, “You do not possess that power; a spell must have been created for you.”

Maurelle laughs.  “Oh, you are always the clever one.  Alright, I admit that we did have assistance with the spell but that really does not change the outcome, now does it?”

I feel my blood start to boil as anger builds inside of me.  “Where is my brother?” I demand.

Maurelle raises her eyebrows as she looks at me.  “Losing your temper, are you?  Now that’s not going to get your brother home safe and sound is it?”

It’s happening just like Kallen said it would before.  This is a stupid, stupid plan that’s going to get me and probably my entire family killed.  “Did you hurt him?” I ask and even I can hear the desperation in my voice.

What could pass for a smile on a snake touches her lips.  “Not yet.  You get to decide if we hurt him or not.  But if anything happens to us, you won’t ever be able to find him.”

There it goes.  Our entire plan derailed by one sentence.  It would be like trying to find a dust mote in a hay stack if they hid him in the mountains.  If he is even still alive.  But I can’t take the risk that he’s not.  I have to believe that they left him alive.  Please let them have kept him alive.  “What do you want me to do?” I say defeated.

Kallen looks at me in shock.  “Xandra, you cannot give up.  It is more likely than not that she is telling you lies!”

I shake my head.  “I can’t take that chance.”

His eyes are pleading with me.  “By saving your brother’s life, you will be dooming the lives of this entire realm.”

I look up at him sadly.  “He’s my brother, Kallen.  I can’t let him pay with his life when I can do it with mine.  Your grandmother was right; I am going to willingly open the realms.”

Maurelle’s face is the picture of sadistic pleasure.  “I knew you would see it my way.  All you have to do is come with us and your brother’s life will be spared above all others.”