by Bonnie Lamer
She has gone too far, now. Anger is seething out of every word, as I say, “I would sooner see you dead myself than let those monsters get their hands on you. If they bothered to keep you alive at all, they would keep you in a mindless stasis for the rest of your days. You would cease to be, either way.”
Her eyes are open wide. “Wow, tell me how you really feel about it.”
I scowl. Sometimes, she makes no sense. “I did...”
Holding up a hand, she cuts me off. “I was being facetious.” Okay, maybe I won’t have to kill her myself. I take a deep, calming breath as she continues. “I get that you really don’t want me to have the Witan bind my powers. It’s just a little overwhelming that there are always going to be people who want me dead.”
I know how she feels. It overwhelms me, as well. If anything ever happens to her, I know it will make me insane. I slide an arm around her waist and pull her closer. “Then maybe you should spend more time thinking about people who very much want you alive.”
She smiles and touches my lips lightly with hers. “Seriously, my life is always going to be one battle after another, isn’t it?”
I want to tell her no. Or at the very least that I will protect her from anything that comes her way. But neither of those things is true. I can protect her from some things, but I cannot be prepared for every possibility every moment of the day, and neither can she. Yes, there will always be danger lurking around corners in her life. I try to come up with the most positive answer I can, but I do not believe I sell it well. “Hopefully, once you have proven yourself stronger than the Witan, you will be left alone.”
She laughs, but she is not amused. “Do things really work that way in the land of the Fae? Because they don’t work that way here. In this realm, there’s always someone who wants to prove that they’re stronger or meaner or better than you. I might as well hang a sign on the door that says ‘challengers welcome.’ It’s dangerous for anyone to be around me.”
So much for me thinking she is too naïve to know the truth. Pushing a strand of hair back behind her ear, I stroke her cheek with my thumb. Suddenly, my entire body is aware of her lying so close to me. Just from that simple touch. “Your life may be difficult, yes. But that does not mean that you give up. You have a generous and courageous heart and you are surrounded by people who love you – myself included. I will gladly take the danger you bring with you to keep you in my life.” There, I have said it out loud. She may do with it what she will, now.
Tears have found their way to eyes, and she attempts a smile. “That’s not fighting fair.”
Okay, that is not at all how I thought she would react to me telling her that I love her. “What do you mean?”
“You know you’re irresistible when you’re being so nice and sweet. You could probably convince me I can fly when you act like this.”
I like that idea. It is not an affirmation of her love, but it is very close. My lips fold out into a grin as I say, “I will keep that information safely tucked away for later. I can think of several things I would like to convince you to do with me.”
She laughs. “I’m sure you can.” She brings her lips to mine in a soft kiss and then leans her forehead against mine. “Can’t we create a circle between realms and live there forever?”
Some very graphic images have jumped into my mind as I think of all the things we could do in our own little world with no one to answer to except ourselves. But, that can never be. “As much as I would like to have you all to myself like that, I am afraid you would miss your family.”
“You miss your grandmother, right?”
More than ever. I would love for her to meet Xandra. Even if that meant seeing the triumph in her eyes over her successful matchmaking. “Very much.”
“Then why is it different for me?”
It just is. “I knew when I came here that I would never see her again. We said our good byes, and I know that she is content to have me live here with you.” Her parents would not be quite as content.
She sighs heavily. “I just wish life could be as simple as it was before I found out I had magic. It really hasn’t done a lot of great things for me.”
I stroke her cheek again. “That is a tragedy. You should be able to revel in the fact that you are a magical being.”
She shrugs sadly. “Maybe the reveling will come later. Right now, I’m pretty mired in the woe is me aspect of my magic.”
I am saved from responding to that by her mother whispering through the door. “Kallen, is she awake?”
Xandra groans. It seems she is just as disappointed as I am to have our precious alone time interrupted by the real world. Loud enough for her mother to hear through the door, she says, “I’m awake, Mom. We’ll be right out.” Turning back to me, she asks, “Are you sorry you stayed in this realm, yet?”
She says the craziest things sometimes. This question I believe is better answered without words. I lower my lips to hers, and this is not a soft, gentle kiss. This is a kiss filled with urgency and passion. A kiss to assure her that there is no place else I would rather be. I would love nothing more than to cover her body with mine and discover new ways to give her pleasure. My body wholeheartedly agrees with my mind on this. But, I have learned that spirits are not patient beings. They are rather impatient and can move through walls. Pulling back slowly, reluctantly setting her lips free, I whisper in her ear, “I would risk any amount of danger to be able to do that.”
Running her fingers through my hair, she pulls me back for one more kiss. “Thank you for staying,” she murmurs, making me want to forget all about wall transcending spirits. But, before I have a chance to kiss her again, she is moving away from me. My entire body groans in frustration.
I stretch out on the bed as Xandra heads off to the bathroom to freshen up for the start of another long day. Using my ability to sense other magical beings, I make sure that the only ones around are the ones in this house. So far, so good.
I get up when I hear the bathroom door open and her footsteps traveling down the hall. Her grandmother must have heard her as well, because I run into her coming out of Xandra’s parents’ room. She is looking rough this morning. I am guessing she got significantly less sleep than I did. We both follow Xandra outside, where her parents must be.
Xandra is feeling guilty about not being conscious to help with the preparations. Considering she made a virtually impenetrable force field around the entire house, she could have slept until the Witan came and still be the one who contributed the most. Her mother is assuring her of that.
“Xandra, don’t be ridiculous. Your body needed to recharge. The protection spell you worked is amazing – and far bigger than your grandmother had thought possible. You’ve done plenty to help.”
She is still not convinced. Changing the subject, she asks about the arrival of her grandfather. The phone call from yesterday is related to her. She snorts. “What, does he think we’re just going to let him back in the house for a friendly little chat about whether or not you should let him kill me?” There’s that biting sarcasm I have grown to love.
Her father’s shoulders are stiff with anger as he shrugs. “Apparently.”
After a few minutes, Xandra starts to shiver, standing out here in the cold without a coat on. Putting a hand on her shoulder, I say, “Perhaps we should go back inside and discuss how we are going to proceed.” She nods and follows me back inside.
“Are you hungry?” her Grandmother asks, heading for the kitchen.
“Starved,” she says, opening the freezer door. Probably in search of those disc things. Her grandmother is not having it, though. “Scoot, I’ll make us some breakfast.” I secretly smile with relief.
“I remember waking up to your French toast. I missed your cooking over the years,” Xandra’s mother tells the Angel.
Xandra’s father rolls his eyes. He is still not on board with the reminiscing of old times. When Xandra gives him a funny look, he winks at her.
Xandra sits down next to me
at the table. “Would anyone like to fill me in on all the things I missed while I was passed out?”
“Your grandmother made a number of talismans that will offer protection from certain spells. And Kallen worked an impressive circle that surrounds the house,” her mother says. I am touched that she included me. There was not even any animosity in her words.
“So, we’re in a protection circle inside a protection circle?” I want to tease her about how astute she is, but I refrain. She’s too on edge at the moment.
“Yes, and I’ve thrown up an illusion of us sitting around the table as an extra measure. It’ll take an awful lot on their part to get through it all.”
Xandra picks up on her mother’s wording. “But they will be able to get through them?”
“I don’t know,” her mother answers honestly. I think she could have been a lot more confident. No one is getting through that protection circle Xandra made. I doubt even my grandmother, the most powerful Fairy alive, could get through it.
Xandra slumps back in her chair with a little pout. She does not stay that way for long. Suddenly, she jumps up from her chair and does an odd little dance. “What the heck was that?” she asks louder than necessary since this room is so small. Has she gone crazy? Looking around the room, she notices that we are all staring at her with puzzled expressions on our faces. “Didn’t anyone else feel that?” she asks.
I raise my brows, but not my voice. “Feel what, Xandra?”
“Something just shocked me. Really hard. It felt like lightning.”
Lightning. The stuff that comes from thunderstorms. Not only is it the wrong season for thunderstorms, the sun is shining brightly outside.
“Are you feeling alright, dear?” her grandmother asks, temporarily pausing her work on the French toast she is making. “Perhaps you’re still feeling the effects of the spell you performed yesterday?”
Xandra scowls, but she sits back down. For about two seconds. Then she jumps back up and yells, “What the hell?”
“Xandra!” her mother admonishes, not pleased with her choice of words.
“Kallen, why don’t you feel her forehead, see if she’s feverish,” her father says, moving closer to assess his daughter.
I put my hand out to do as he asked, but Xandra pulls back from me. “I’m not sick. Something is shocking me!” Okay, she is going to beautiful and crazy now. I suppose I can get used to it. “Just because you guys can’t feel it, that doesn’t mean it’s not happening,” she says through gritted teeth.
I will humor her. “What exactly does it feel like?”
She rolls her eyes at my apparent stupidity. “I already told you. It feels like I’m being struck by lightning.” She barely gets that last word out before she drops to her knees. The expression on her face tells me that whatever is happening, she was not lying about the pain.
I am by her side only a heartbeat after her father is. “Xandra?” he says with worry dripping from each letter that passes his lips. Xandra holds her hand up, signaling that the pain has not stopped and she needs a minute. She closes her eyes and starts taking slow, deep breaths. Her sentiment from a moment ago suddenly seems a lot more relevant. What the hell is going on?
Slowly, her face eases. The pain must be lessening. “Xandra, open your eyes now,” her father says. She does not respond.
“Xandra, are you okay?” I ask. Again, nothing. I want to shake her, but I am afraid of bringing back her pain. Turning to the Angel, I ask, “What is wrong with her?”
The Angel is deathly pale. I believe her Witch heart is debating giving out on her. “I don’t know,” she says, barely above a whisper. That earns her a disgusted look from everyone in the room.
Ignoring her to avoid becoming too angry to control ourselves, Xandra’s father and I turn back to Xandra. We call her name in turn, trying to bring her out of this catatonic state she seems to be in. At least, I thought she was catatonic. She proves me wrong when she lifts her hand, brings her fingers and thumbs together, and takes our voices away. Whatever she is, she is not catatonic.
Her father clutches his ghostly throat. I would explain to him that this is simply a little trick Xandra learned at my expense, but I do not have the voice to do so. Which leaves her father, and now her mother, to think the worst.
“What did she do?” the Witch spirit demands. “Has she made him mute? How do we fix this?”
I raise my brow and point to my own throat as I try to say something and fail spectacularly. She can demand answers all she wants. That does not mean I am in a state to give them to her.
Xandra is lost in her own little world for a good five minutes, while I stew. Why is she not letting us know what is going on. Her grandmother is on the floor in front of her now, after much prodding from her daughter to ‘do something.’ She is shaking Xandra’s shoulders when she finally opens her eyes.
“Xandra, dear, are you back?”
Her grandmother is still shaking her shoulders. “Yes,” she says, gently pushing her grandmother’s hands away.
“Thank goodness.” Looking over at us, her grandmother says hesitantly, “Do you think you could give them their voices back now?”
Xandra looks at me sheepishly. She knows how much I love it when she does this. Probably the single most irritating thing that she does. My warm and fuzzy feelings toward her have taken a break for the moment.
With a small effort, she pulls the magic back that has my voice. “Thank you,” I say dryly when I can speak once again.
Her mother is hovering and wringing her hands. “Xandra? What happened?”
“I just met Beren and Maeva,” she says, standing up. Her grandmother grabs her arm so she doesn’t fall.
Her comment erases all traces of irritation. “What do you mean, you just met them?”
“I mean, I just met them. We introduced ourselves, I told Beren to quit scrying for me and I told Maeva that she wasn’t my type.”
Her grandmother is suddenly in seventh heaven. “Did you really?” she asks. Xandra nods.
Xandra’s mother is significantly less amused. “How is this possible, Mother?”
The Angel suddenly has the urge to return to her cooking. “As we discussed yesterday, she seems to have a strong connection to the protection circle amongst the trees. I cannot account for it, but she is more in tune with them than I had ever dreamed possible.” She is not fooling any of us and she knows it.
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 toas
t 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.”
