Isla? No way. I don’t believe it. “I think you’re lying. Isla wouldn’t do something like that. She didn’t have any reason to.” Would she? My grandpa’s family is something different altogether. I’d believe anything bad about them.
She gives me a ‘you poor naïve creature’ look. “On the contrary, there was much for Isla to gain. She even gave up a son to see this through.”
I still don’t believe it. But my heart does stutter a bit. “What?” I look at Isla wishing she could move her face muscles so she could give me a ‘don’t believe a word she’s saying’ look.
“As with all great magic, a sacrifice was required from each of the three.”
“So Isla sacrificed Kallen’s dad?” How could this Angel accuse her of something so evil? And why does she think I would believe it? I don’t know anything about this Angel, so why should I believe anything she says? “Um, can we back up a bit. Who are you?”
“I am Armaita, the Angel of Truth.”
The Angel of Truth is an exiled Fallen Angel? Something’s just not adding up here. “How did you end up in Angel hell?”
She gets up and walks behind the couch that Raziel is sitting on and rests her hands on his shoulders. “That brings us to dear Raziel. He did not want the truth to be told, so I was forced into the mist to hide what he had done.” If that’s true, that’s cruelty at its finest. Not to mention grossly unfair.
That seems grossly unfair. If it’s true. Raziel is a little freaky. The man talks to pterodactyls for god’s sake, so why is it so hard to believe he’s crazy enough to change a destiny. He said he had the curse of knowledge or something like that. Still, I’m having a hard time believing it. The price to pay for that would be high amongst the Angels. I imagine it would be him in the mist if anyone found out. So, instead of letting that happen, he locks up the only one who can bring out the truth. Oh crap, I think she is telling me the truth. Which means the part about Isla is true, as well. My eyes dart to hers and they are so sad. For the first time, I realize that the others in the room may all be paralyzed but they’re still conscious. They’re hearing everything that’s being said. Good. Then there’ll be no more secrets.
My eyes turn cold as I stare into Isla’s pleading gaze. I turn away from her and back to Armaita. “Tell me more about the sacrifice Isla chose to make.”
I expected Armaita to be happy that she has finally gotten me to believe her. Uh uh. She looks sadder than ever now. “Xandra, you must remember, the acts of Isla and your great grandmother were thought to be necessary for the greater good. They were assured of this by Raziel. I am not telling you these things to hurt you or cause you to no longer care for these beings you have surrounded yourself with.”
“Great, thanks, now will you please tell me the rest?” I don’t mean to be all snarky to her, but I don’t think a nice word could scratch its way up to the top of my dry throat at the moment.
With a long sigh, she moves out from behind Raziel and back to where she was sitting. She curls her legs up under her and says, “I thought this would be easier when I was face to face with you. I have rehearsed the words over and over, but they never do get easier to say. I do not know how to say all of this without you being hurt. I will do my best.
“You have been told that you are destined for great things, and that is true. But if your destiny had been left alone, you would have ascended to a higher order by now.”
“What does that mean?”
“You represent the culmination of the most powerful of each race whose blood you have running through your veins.”
Those are the same words that Raziel used. “And?”
“And if unleashed, your magic would have made you the most powerful being in existence. You would have had dominion over Witches, Fairies and Angels alike.”
I scrunch up my face again. “I don’t know about Angels, but I’m already more powerful than all of the Witches and Fairies I’ve met.”
Armaiti shakes her head. “You do not understand. Your magic has limits now. If things had gone as fated, your magic would be pure. You would have been omnipotent. You would have ascended to be a goddess living amongst the Angels, and you would have united the realms under your loving grace.”
I could have been a goddess? No Fairy assassins, no ghost parents, no constant magical failures? I feel myself pulling magic as my blood begins to boil. “And they took that away from me?” I let my eyes find Raziel and Isla and I’m tempted to fling magic at them. It takes a great deal of effort not to do it.
“Each for their own reason, yes.”
I am so mad now that I could spit fire. “Tell me the reasons. Why would someone choose to give up their own son?” I will never be able to look at Isla the same way again. She is the worst kind of murderer.
“I will tell you the reason for each of them as I understand it. Your great grandmother did it out of fear. She was afraid that the Fairies would one day come back and destroy her world. She was afraid of who you might become and wanted to stop the flow of power to you. She was even willing to sacrifice her son’s mind to do it. It was made to be pliable, easily led astray. That is why she was able to convince him without any evidence at all that Fairies are pure evil.” And why the Witan was able to take control of him and his power. Grandma really does have horrible taste in men.
“Will you please get to the Isla part,” I grind out. Each second that she doesn’t answer is one more second closer to me losing control of my magic.
Another sad sigh. That’s three more wasted seconds. “Isla gained in many ways. She was given power to make her the strongest Fairy alive. She was given the gift of sight to see into this new future. She was also promised the opportunity to influence you. It was decided that the first born son of her first born would be sent to seduce you, but only after the death of her son. The gift of sight let her know when to send her grandson to you. She has been quite successful so far with all that she has gained. You and her grandson are planning to marry. He is teaching you only the magic that Isla has taught him. That means that your Angel magic is still locked tightly away in the back of your mind because you do not have the key to open the door. You have fallen into her hands and she is molding you like clay to do her bidding.”
A sudden image of clay being smashed together and then rearranged to resemble me jumps into my mind. I have been a shapeless blob of grayish brown clay, soft and pliable. Ready for the first person with any pottery skill to shape me into whatever they wanted me to be. I can see it now. I can see how the pieces have fallen together. How naïve I really have been.
I still have one more question. “What was in it for Raziel?” A feeling of betrayal runs deep inside me, attempting to shred my heart into unrecognizable pieces.
A flash of anger explodes from Armaita’s eyes. But she isn’t the one to answer me. It’s Ambriel’s voice that speaks next. I spin around to find him standing there, his own flashes of anger in his eyes. He has pulled me and the Fallen Angels into Angel time. “He had the satisfaction of remaining the only Angel who is omniscient, all knowing. Why do you think there are so many gatekeepers of the collective conscience and the record keepers of history; and why we are given our own little areas to maintain. Never to overlap with each other. That way, no one Angel gains power over another, as knowledge is power. No one Angel knows everything that is going on. But you would have known as much or more so than Raziel and he very much disliked the idea of being outshone.”
Oh god, a thought hits me so hard and fast that it takes my breath away. “Did you make me find them because you wanted revenge or are going to kill them?”
He laughs and it’s almost painful to hear the way it scrapes across his tongue. It makes me think of chronic halitosis and gastric reflux. “I have come to set things right.”
Armaita catches my attention again. “Ambriel was simply doing our bidding. He meant you no harm.”
If I keep whirling around like this, I’m going to fall over and crack my head on a coff
ee table. “Why did you come here? What do you have to gain from telling me things that will just cause me pain?”
“Xandra,” Armaita says rising from the couch and coming to stand in front of me. She reaches out and grasps my hands with hers and gives them a little squeeze. “I am not here to cause you pain. I am here to set things right again.”
“How?” I refuse to cry. Even if I have to use magic to make a teeny, tiny vacuum to suck the tears out of my eyes. “What can be done about any of this now?”
Her smile is no longer sad. It’s more self-righteous now. “We will force Raziel to reverse the effects of the magic. Your original destiny will be restored and I will be your humble servant when you assume your role as goddess.”
Oh, come on. Even I’m not naïve enough to believe that she won’t be getting more than that out of it. “What else is in it for you?”
She’s looking a bit uncomfortable now. “My one selfish desire is that Raziel be punished for his crimes against both you and me. I want the two Archangels who sided with him be punished as well.”
Apparently, she means Zoe and Ray. All three of them are Archangels? “Punished how? Sent to the realm of nothingness?”
She shifts from uncomfortable to indomitable faster than I can switch emotions. That’s pretty fast. “That is too good for them. They should be left as spirits so all can know their shame.”
“Yes, I quite agree,” Ambriel says. “I would enjoy a good romp as I chase his spirit. I’m sure I could find a way to drink in that power and energy Archangels have.” Armaita gives him a dirty look.
It was difficult to hear it, but there was something different in Ambriel’s voice. I replay the words in my mind and compare them to past conversations. He’s usually droll, not so animated. And he has not put such emphasis on any words since I met him, other than the ones he used to insult me. But he does now. His usually indifferent, blasé attitude is gone. I think he’s trying to tell me something. He would chase the spirit of the Archangel to get his power and energy. Strange since he’s told me how lazy he is and doesn’t want to work at anything.
I don’t know much about Angel hierarchy, but I’m pretty sure that Archangels are a lot more powerful than a normal Angel. I’m sure everyone would want a piece of their spirits. My eyes move from Armaita to the other two Angels she’s with. They still have not been introduced to me, so I have no clue who they are. Honestly, I don’t care. But I do see the gleam creeping into their dull eyes as Ambriel speaks. I’m getting the feeling that this isn’t all about me.
Ambriel moves closer to me and I’m tempted to step away from him, but something stops me. A feeling that is growing in the pit of my stomach and seeping up into my brain. This is the choice Raziel said I would have to make. I can side with Armaita and become a goddess when Raziel turns back time to put me on my first destined path. A goddess that lives among the Angels. A goddess with no family, no friends and most importantly, no Kallen. Ambriel knows how much I love Kallen. Would he truly have thought that I would be willing to leave him because I’m offered power? I guess he might since I made that deal with him, but I don’t think so. I suddenly believe that Ambriel is not one of the bad guys here. Huh. I’m almost disappointed by that because I really do hate the guy and he’s been so mean to me. What’s up with that if he was on my side all along?
I also find the whole goddess thing a bit suspicious. How would I have ascended to that status? Maybe they would make me an honorary Archangel or something, but goddess? That whole idea is making me itch with disbelief.
I need a moment to process all of this. I have to break it down and look at it piece by piece. What did I lose by being forced into this new destiny? One, I’m not as powerful as I could be. Since I can’t really control the magic I already have, that’s probably a good thing. Two, I was forced to be brought up in the mountains with no friends and little entertainment because my great grandmother was afraid of me. Okay, the part about no entertainment sounds a little too whiny. But, what if grandpa hadn’t been made to be weak of mind. What would life have been like being raised among the Witches? Mom wouldn’t have met Dad. I wouldn’t have my little brother Zac or my Aunt Barb in my life. Maybe Mom and Dad wouldn’t have become ghosts. But they would still have been apart.
What about what Isla did? She gave up her first born and sent Kallen to seduce me. Was Kallen in on that? From the bottom of my toes and up to my heart and then my head, I know the answer to that is no. He wasn’t. Whatever deals Isla made, she made them on her own. That is the hardest thing to deal with at the moment. How could she betray her family like that?
“Enough of this chatter, Armaita,” her male friend says. “The girl must make her choice. We are running out of time.”
Running out of time? “What does that mean?”
Armaita glares at him then turns back to me. “It means that the magic we are using to hold the Archangels will only work for so long. Even in their current state, they are still very powerful beings.” It takes me a moment to figure out that by current state she means their Fallen state.
This is insane. I don’t want to be a goddess. I want my crazy, magical life with Kallen as my future husband and my mom and dad being together even if they are ghosts. I like being able to travel to different realms, not being stuck with the Angels all the time. I don’t want to be omnipotent or omniscient. To know everything would be to know the bad as well as the good. Knowing the violence and mayhem that has already been committed as well as the future atrocities, would drive me insane. Maybe that’s why Raziel chose to Fall into a realm where he only had to deal with giant lizards with pea sized brains. I’m having trouble believing he’s as sane as he seems to be. I know I wouldn’t be sane.
The anxiousness in their eyes as they wait for my decision is confirming my suspicion. They are not doing this for me. They want the power of the Archangels. Plain and simple. I’m just a pawn to them. A pawn that had better come up with a plan really fast or I’m toast.
Ambriel interrupts my inner dialogue. “Xandra, may I have the artifact back? I do hate to lose track of them.”
I scowl at him as I dig the rock back out of my pocket. I am in the process of handing it to him when he says, “I am calling in my second favor. The artifact will show you the way.”
Oh crap, he wants me to teleport Ray, Zoe and Raziel out of here. I have to be touching them to do that. Doing my best Twister™ imitation, I put one hand on Raziel, a foot on Zoe, which requires doing the splits in skinny jeans and that is not easy by the way, and I stretch as far as I can to touch Ray with my pinkie. Okay rock, take us where we need to go.
Chapter 21
I’m tired of rocks. Big rocks, little rocks, pebbles. I hate them all. I especially hate the Angel rock that keeps making me fall onto huge rocks in foreign places. Using the magic that I pulled earlier, I create a cushion strong enough to keep the four of us from becoming pancakes. Then I slowly let it go until we are lying on the rock. Precariously on the edge. This spot will be okay, I think. Nope. I’m now sliding down the side of it. Stupid rocks.
I have to use my magic to get myself back up to the top where I left the still paralyzed Fallen Archangels. When I’m finally situated, at least relatively sure that I’m not going to fall, I shake my head. “What in the world am I supposed to do now?”
Obviously there’s a reason Ambriel wanted me to save them, but why? He seemed to be comfortable being on the side of the dark Angels. What is his deal? Is he a bad guy or not?
Closing my eyes, I let all my conscious thoughts go and I feel words flowing into my mind. Words I have never heard before nor have I heard them spoken. But somehow, I know they’re the right ones.
Opening my eyes again, I look at them frozen in place. Only their eyes are able to follow my movements. I can’t keep them like this. I need answers. Fast.
“At the start of time you came to be, protectors above both land and sea. Now ancient magic holds you fast; answers I seek, but your tongue held fa
st. Release thee from this magical hold, knowledge now you must unfold.” As I say these words, I feel my skin begin to tingle and glow. I thought using my magic was a rush before, this is so much better. I feel a sense of inner peace. And power. I feel like the most powerful person in the universe right now. This must be my Angel magic coming alive. Wow. I could get really used to this feeling. I’ve never understood addiction before. How people could be so drawn to one particular thing, but I could see myself getting addicted to this feeling.
A voice breaks into my inner peace. “Xandra.”
I smile cheerfully as I turn to Zoe. “Yes?”
“Xandra, I need you to focus. We know that this is a lot to handle, but we had no choice. We had to wake up your Angel power. You are probably feeling overwhelmed at the moment and we understand that, but you need to concentrate if you want to save your family.”
My family? Oh crap. The feeling of inner peace implodes inside of me. There’s not even a speck left. “How am I supposed to know who to trust here?”
Raziel’s looking sad again. Imagine that. “You need to listen to the truth.”
Blood of Destiny (Witch Fairy #6) Page 16
