“Except us,” Eliana laughs. “Must be the magic that makes us crazy enough to do it.”
“Magic has made me do a lot of crazy stuff lately, so I think you’re right,” I say with a smile. I open my door and realize just how hard the air conditioning in the Land Rover has been working. It’s just a little past noon, so the sun is high in the sky and blasting the desert with its strongest rays. When I put my sandaled foot in the sand, I immediately jump back into the vehicle. “Wow, that’s hot!” I exclaim, and look down to make sure my sandal isn’t melted to my foot now.
“Sorry, we should have warned you about the heat this time of day. You’re going to want something more like this,” Eliana says, holding up her booted foot. Taking her cue, Kallen changes both of our shoes.
“Man, that would be a handy skill to have. I’d never have to do laundry again,” Josh laughs.
Kallen smiles. “There are definitely perks being a Fairy.”
“This will help, too,” Eliana says as a cool, soothing breeze grows around us. Nothing too drastic. Just strong enough to take the edge off. It already looks like she has better control over her magic than I do mine.
“Who’s going first?” Josh asks. He’s really into this. Kallen looks like he’s been sucking on a lemon.
“I will,” I say. I stand next to him and put my hand on his arm. In less than a millisecond, we’re twenty feet away from where we were.
“What the hell!” he exclaims. “How did you do that?”
“Like this,” I say and I teleport us back to where Eliana and Kallen are standing. Kallen gives me a ‘you’re being a showoff’ look, which I of course ignore.
“Can you do that?” Eliana asks him.
Kallen shakes his head. “Again, that is unique to Xandra.”
“Okay, my turn,” Eliana says with a smile. She stills for a moment and I can feel her magic snaking under the sand. I have no idea what she’s doing until a tiny water spout forms a few feet away from us. “I’ve been practicing this.”
Kallen’s face loses the sour expression. “That is impressive. The water you reached had to have been quite deep,” he says.
“That is so cool! I guess dehydration will never be a problem for you,” I tease.
Eliana laughs. “Nope.”
“What about water from the clouds?” Kallen asks. “Can you draw that down?”
“I can, but that’s a little harder. This water came from an underground river or well so all the water molecules were already together. They’re dispersed in a cloud and I have to collect them from a larger area.”
I think I get it. “You said you have power over the earth too. What does that mean?”
“This can be a bit tricky,” Josh says. “It’s unpredictable here in the desert.”
“I’ll show you what he means,” Eliana says. She concentrates on the sand in front of her and a path separates through the tiny grains until there are tidal wave-like sand walls on either side. A low rumbling begins and the path is filled in with sand from the front and back. I’m not quite sure what just happened.
“The sand is fluid. While Eliana held the sand sides up, other sand still found a way back like water would. For her to make a true path, she would have to exert a noticeable amount of energy from all sides. She can do it but it basically creates a wild sandstorm.”
“Makes sense.” I turn to my husband. “Okay Kallen, it’s your turn.” I smile at his scowl.
With a defeated sigh, he nods. Instantly, he’s gone. He’s replaced by a black raven that soars into the sky. Eliana and Josh are too stunned to even gasp.
“Fairies have animal forms,” I explain.
“Then you mean he actually did turn into a bird and fly away? It wasn’t just our imaginations?” Josh asks.
Eliana pries her eyes away from Kallen’s black form in the sky. “Do you turn into a bird too?”
“No, and I’m not really very good at transitioning.” I grimace as I recall the very first time in Dagda’s house in Giant territory. Humiliation doesn’t even begin to cover it. “I have trouble with magic that other Fairies can perform easily. It tends to get blown way out of proportion when I do it.”
“But you do have an animal form?” Josh asks watching Kallen’s descent towards us.
“Yes, I’m a Pegasus.”
“Really?” Eliana asks with excitement. “You can turn into a real live Pegasus? I thought those were myths.”
“Like Witches and Fairies?” Josh teases with a grin. Eliana gives him a sour look.
Kallen flies behind me and takes on his Fairy shape again. I’m about to ask why he’s hiding until I remember that he’s buck naked when he changes back. It only takes him a second to be clothed again and he steps out in the open.
“Man,” Josh shakes his head. “Just when I wrapped my mind around Eliana’s power, you guys come along and prove the universe is even more amazing than I thought it was. The three of you combined could probably take on anything.”
Including Belial? I’m not so sure about that. When I fought him before, I had Raziel’s magic. And I fought dirty, catching him by surprise. I don’t know how I’m going to stop him this time.
Chapter 15
We spend another hour messing around with magic until even Eliana’s cool breeze isn’t enough to fend off the heat and our stomachs are rumbling. We climb back into the Land Rover and start the long trip back to Cairo. Conversation is easy and light and even Kallen has loosened up a bit. It helps that Josh is such a laid back guy. I’m guessing he could make friends with anyone.
Eliana is sweet as well. I haven’t had a lot of practice making new friends, but she makes it easy. It’s also nice finding a magical being in this realm that doesn’t want to kill me. At least, she doesn’t want to yet. I do tend to bring that out in people.
Josh pulls into the driveway and curses under his breath. There’s a black SUV parked in front of us. “Are the people who own the house back?” I ask.
Josh puts the car in park. “No, just a friendly visit from our favorite government official.”
“Would you like us to accompany you in or remain in the vehicle?” Kallen asks. I’m not sure which would be better either.
Eliana shakes her head and smiles. “No, you guys will be the perfect excuse to get rid of him quickly. He can’t expect me to talk about working for him if I have company. Just pretend like you don’t know anything about magic.”
“Deal,” I say, opening my door. It hasn’t been that long since I was completely ignorant of magic so it shouldn’t be hard to feign it now.
As we step out of the car, a dark haired man steps out of the SUV. He’s probably in his forties or fifties, but he has aged very well. He’s handsome with skin the color of a latte, a strong jaw line, and a slight curve to his nose emphasizing his Egyptian heritage. His eyes are piercing, as if they can actually see what you’re thinking. It’s a little unnerving. He carries an air of authority that gives the impression that he would make sure the job is done no matter what it takes. Sort of like Dagda.
“Josh, nice to see you,” the man says as Josh approaches him first. He holds his hand out and it’s reluctantly shaken. The man’s mouth tries to turn up in a knowing smirk, but he’s able to keep it at bay. He turns his eyes from Josh. “Eliana, just the woman I came to see.”
“Hello Agent Amman. We have visitors from back home and we just got back from some sightseeing. I’d invite you in, but we’re pretty hot and tired and desperately in need of showers.” Eliana says politely.
The agent looks over to Kallen and me and inclines his head slightly. “On behalf of the Egyptian government, welcome. I am afraid that I have a pressing matter that cannot wait another minute; I must steal Eliana away from you for ten minutes.”
Looking at the strained lines around his eyes, it’s obvious that he’s struggling to be pleasant. Whatever he wants, I’m pretty sure he’s not going to leave until he gets it. “Eliana?” I say with a questioning voice. I’m not go
ing to leave her alone with him if that’s not what she wants.
Her mind is churning, debating what to do. Finally, with a sigh she says, “Fine. But whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of my friends.”
That does not make the agent happy. “I am afraid this matter is classified."
Josh snorts. “I seriously doubt you could say anything they haven’t seen or heard before.”
The agent is unimpressed. He looks Kallen and me over and then turns his eyes back to Eliana. “I appreciate that your friends are dear to you, but what I have come to discuss is urgent and may require your…special skills.”
Eliana is now exasperated. “Agent Amman, we’ve had this conversation a million times. I am not interested in working for the Egyptian government.”
The agent’s eyes bore into her. “If you agree to do this, I will never bother you again.”
Whoa. That can’t be good. Whatever the situation, this man is desperate. “Um, Eliana, if you want us to make ourselves scarce, we can.” I say.
She considers everything for a moment. “Never?” she asks.
“Never,” Agent Amman replies.
Eliana spends another moment considering. With a sigh, she says, “Fine, but if it’s that important, it sounds like I might need help.”
She gives me and Kallen a meaningful look. She wants to know if she can tell him about our magic. I can feel the tension building in Kallen’s blood. I know what his vote would be. But, this guy has been bugging her for a while and if he’s willing to leave her alone if she does whatever he wants her to do now, then it has to be something major. Plus, she did offer to help me with Belial. It seems only fair that I should help her.
On the other hand, Belial already knows about Fairies and Witches. This guy doesn’t. I look up at Kallen and I see resignation all over his face. He knows me too well. “We’d be happy to help.”
Agent Amman says, “Thank you, but I will provide all the assistance Eliana will need.”
Josh shakes his head. “I think you should take them up on their offer.”
“As I have already said…” Agent Amman doesn’t get to finish his sentence. Why? Because I just took his voice away.
His bewilderment is tangible. He tries clearing his throat. He tries coughing. He tries talking again. Eliana and Josh are looking at him like he’s crazy. I bet he’s feeling like he’s crazy at the moment. I’m going to let him think that for now.
“If you want us to help, we will,” I tell Eliana. “It’s okay if you tell him about us.”
Eliana’s eyes float to Kallen. His face is definitely giving her a different answer than my lips did. “Only if both of you agree.”
Agent Amman is still trying to figure out what happened to him. He’s checking his pulse and closing each eye alternately to make sure he isn’t losing his vision as well. If I was a better person, I’d probably take pity on him. I’m not.
I look up at my tall, brooding husband. “Well?”
“You know this is a bad decision,” he says between teeth that aren’t just gritted, I’m pretty sure they’re glued together with annoyance.
I snort. “When it comes to helping people, when do I ever make good decisions?” Um, that didn’t come out sounding like I thought it would. Josh valiantly tries to cover his laugh with a cough.
“Do I have a choice?” Kallen asks.
I smile up at him. “You know me better than anyone else, what do you think?”
He narrows his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest. He’s mad, but he knows this is an argument he’s not going to win. I’m supposed to help people for god’s sake. How does everyone keep forgetting that? Tearing his eyes away from me, he looks over my head at Eliana and his poker face falls into place. “We will assist you.”
Agent Amman is now in his SUV checking his eyes and throat in the mirror in his visor, but I’m pretty sure the only thing he sees being reflected back at him is panic. He’s really starting to freak out.
“You can have your voice back now,” I say loud enough for him to hear me.
“What the hell does that mean?” he says. The surprise on his face when his voice actually works is almost comical.
“Man, you are awesome,” Josh says quietly.
“Perhaps we should move this conversation inside, away from prying eyes or ears?” Kallen says pointedly.
Shaken, Agent Amman gets out of the SUV. “I think that is a very good idea.”
Chapter 16
Inside the house, Agent Amman sits down on one of the chairs beside the fireplace. There’s room for him to sit on one of the couches the rest of us are on, but I suspect he’s a little wary of getting too close to me. I am definitely not the Queen of good first impressions.
In an attempt to move things along, Josh says, “What’s this classified thing you want Eliana to do?”
The agent clears his throat. “Before we get into that, I believe I have much to learn about your new friends.” He gives me and Kallen a hard look. “How did you do that to my voice?”
I shrug. “I just did this.” He attempts to ask me what I mean, but his voice is gone again.
“Xandra,” Kallen says quietly. “This is not helping.”
He’s right. “Fine.” I restore the agent’s voice. I guess I am being a little childish. I’m going to blame it on nerves. Now that I’ve exposed some of my magic, I’m having second thoughts. Kallen was probably right to be worried about humans finding out that Witches and Fairies do exist. Well, Josh knows now, but I’m pretty sure he’s not going to tell anyone. This guy I’m not so sure about. Especially since he’s a government official.
“Okay, here’s the deal,” I say. “Obviously, I have magic, but that’s all I’m going to tell you at this point. What were you saying about classified information?” I don’t offer up that Kallen has magic as well and neither does he.
Agent Amman is trying hard to peer into my mind. So hard he doesn’t say anything for several minutes. Finally, he clears his throat again and says, “I am not comfortable divulging classified information to complete strangers, but this situation is dire. If you have skills that could help rectify it, I am willing to take the risk.”
Huh, he caved pretty easily. He doesn’t seem like the type; he looks pretty ‘by the book’ to me. I thought he was at least going to ask for our passports and want to do a background check. Good thing, because we don’t have passports and Kallen doesn’t have a background to check in this realm. Whatever is going on has this guy grasping at any sign of help.
“My wife and my daughter have been taken.”
His wife and daughter? This man who has been cool as an ice cube since he got here has a missing wife and daughter? Either he isn’t that affected by it or his poker face is better than Kallen’s. I suspect the latter to be true.
Eliana gasps. “Your wife and daughter have been taken? By who?”
Now that it’s out in the open, worry lines are popping up on the agent’s face. “Years ago, a man swore revenge after I broke up his smuggling ring. During a prison transfer two days ago, he managed to escape. He has left no trail, but I know that it’s him.”
Eliana’s brow crinkles. “He took your wife and daughter because you broke up his smuggling ring? That’s a pretty personal vendetta. What aren’t you telling us?”
Agent Amman sighs. “His wife was caught in crossfire. She died.”
“And he blames you for that?” Eliana asks.
“It was my bullet that hit her. She was armed and was returning fire, but was a terrible shot. Regardless, she managed to shoot two of my men. For some reason, she moved out into the open and I had a clean shot. I took it.”
“How did he get to your family?” she asks.
Agent Amman wants to hit something, I can tell. “As soon as I heard of the escape, I put my family on twenty-four hour surveillance. The agent on duty today this morning after I left was shot in the head. That was between nine and ten.”
Looking at the c
lock on the mantle, it’s three o’clock now. I wonder how long he’d been sitting in the driveway waiting for Eliana. We were gone for several hours. That’s valuable time we could have had finding his family.
“Do you have any idea where he would have taken them?” Josh asks.
“Forgive me for asking,” Kallen says, “but are you certain he will keep them alive?”
I hadn’t even thought of that. Eliana hadn’t either considering the horrified look on her face. She turns questioning eyes to Agent Amman. “You don’t think he would kill them, do you?”
Blood of Egypt (Witch Fairy Book 8) Page 6
