As soon as they’re released, Mom and Dad rush over to me. “Xandra, are you okay?” Mom asks, touching me with her cold hands as she exams me.
“I’m fine, Mom. Really. I just have to tie up a few loose ends.” I turn and give Ray, Zoe and Raziel a glare. “Why don’t you and Dad go into the kitchen. Things could get a little messy in here.”
Mom gasps. “Xandra…”
I cut her off. “Mom, if there was ever a time to listen to me, this is it.” To my surprise, she nods and she and Dad float out of the room. That’s probably the biggest shocker of the whole evening.
“Now, Armaita, I understand you want me to take my place as a goddess. In fifty words or less, tell me why I should not banish you to Angel hell again for doing this to the people I had at one time come to care about?”
I can almost see the little neurons in her brain firing as she hurries to come up with an answer that won’t have her dangling from the ceiling. “Xandra, if your destiny is reversed you won’t even know these beings. The betrayal, the hurt, every ounce of pain you have felt because of them will be gone. I did this,” she waves her arm around the room, “to keep these creatures from attempting to sway you from the truth and the life you should have had. Please do not see this as a disloyalty, I was trying to help.”
“I’m sorry, that was sixty-four words. I stopped truly listening at fifty and I’m not convinced. Since I am an action person instead of a talker like you, I think we should come up with a way to call us even.”
“Of course,” she says warily. What a smart Fallen Angel she is.
With a rush of magic, I scoop up her other friend. I muffle her scream by taking her voice away and then I deposit her on an arm chair. I then immobilize her, making it impossible to move any part of her body except for her eye lids. I’m not cruel, after all. A person has to blink every once in a while. “There, we’re even,” I say with a warm smile to Armaita.
She searches my face for a moment. “You are serious.”
I give her a ‘yeah, duh’ look. “I thought my words have been pretty clear up to this point.”
As confidence that I am on her side seeps into her, she begins to relax. “Then I am your humble servant.”
“Of course you are. I will demand that of everyone. Any sign of disloyalty will not be tolerated. I will also be the one absorbing the energy of these three Archangels.” Shock is on everyone’s face. Well, except for my family and friends who are still immobile. And the one dangling from the ceiling. His face is reddish purple and I don’t think he’s capable of forming any look except terror at the moment. The one on the couch looks shocked, but I think that’s more about the binding than what I’m saying.
“But,” Armaita says in disbelief, “you will already be omnipotent. What use would you have for their power and light?”
I give her my best ‘are you stupid’ look. “Because I won’t want anyone else to have more power than they already have. If I learned anything in this life it’s that the more power you have, the more you have to defend yourself against attack. I am not going to give anyone extra ammunition to use against me.”
“As a reward for returning you to your destiny, I thought…”
I sigh loudly so she stops talking. “You thought what, that we’d be girlfriends? Honestly, I don’t like you. I can guarantee that we won’t be hanging out much. Well, at all if I’m going to be completely honest. But I do still appreciate that you have set me on the right path again. That’s why I’m not going to banish you for being just plain annoying.”
Her disbelief is turning to anger now. “This is not how it is supposed to be.”
I nod. “Tell me about it. I can’t wait to get back to my real destiny.”
“That is not what I meant,” she grinds out.
“Oh, that’s okay. I’ve only been half listening to you all along anyway. It doesn’t matter much if I miss parts of the conversation here or there. I’ve found that you don’t really have anything interesting to say.”
Ray, Zoe and Raziel are standing in the corner of the room looking at me as if I may have lost my mind. I probably have. At least pieces of it here or there.
A piercing cry echoes through the room. I turn to find Tabitha on the floor holding her heart. There’s a little dribble of blood on her lips that is rapidly becoming a river flow. I turn back to Armaita. “What are you doing to her?”
She’s shifted from angry to vengeful. “I am squeezing her heart until every last bit of blood has left her body. I will continue to do this with each of them until you change your mind about how things will be.”
“Wow, you must be a lot of fun at parties. ‘Hey guys, look at me – I can torture a practically comatose Fairy.’ Do you get a lot of friends that way?” While I’m talking, I send my magic out to Tabitha. I can feel Armaita’s and it’s strong. I wrap my magic around hers and attempt to pull it back gently. There is a lot of damage to Tabitha’s heart and I don’t want to make it worse by being too forceful. By the time we end this little fight, it might be too late for Tabitha so I think a distraction is in order.
Pulling more magic, I fling it at her friend sitting in the armchair. I do the same thing to her that she is doing to Tabitha. Is she willing to let her friend die to prove a point to me?
With a feral growl, she pulls her magic back from Tabitha. “You have forced me into a corner, Xandra.”
Great, the backed in the corner analogy. That’s original. I suppose I have to play along. Pushing as much boredom into my words as possible just to piss her off a little bit more, I say, “What do you think you’re going to do about that?”
A wicked smile forms on her face. “You have not been taught our ways, Xandra. Do you really think this is a fair fight?”
Um, maybe not. What does she have up her sleeve? “Yes. Be my guest, do your worst.” There goes my overconfidence again. I should really try to curb that on occasion. Maybe put it on a diet. I wonder if they have Weight Watchers in this realm.
Okay, I admit it, that last statement was a stupid thing to say.
Chapter 23
The woman is speaking in tongues. Yup, tongues. I can’t understand a word of what she’s saying. What I can understand is that she’s lifted everyone I care about off from their respective couches and she’s created some kind of vortex that has them spinning around the room. That’s the best definition I can come up with, though I’m not exactly clear on what a vortex actually is.
The worst part? They’re still paralyzed so they can’t do anything about it. I can feel them struggling to pull magic to combat the effects of Armaita’s spell. It’s not doing any good. Tears spring to my eyes as I watch the people I love bashing repeatedly into walls and the furniture in the room.
To make it even worse, I get a shooting pain in my head again. It’s followed by Kallen’s voice. No wonder Kegan and everyone else hate it when he does this.
“Xandra, you can do this. Fight her. I love you so much. You are brave and you are powerful. You are stronger than she is. You have the power inside of you, unlock it.” If my mind wasn’t quickly turning to helpless mush, I would marvel at how calm and collected he sounds while being tossed around the room like a helium balloon being chased by a fan.
There it is. That was what wakes up my mind and makes me determined that Armaita will not only lose this fight, she will be punished for her actions. She has singled Kallen out to make an example of him. He is thrust up against the wall as if someone has lifted him from the floor with a hand held to his neck. Blood is starting to pour from his abdomen as magic is repeatedly being used to cut into him.
I become oblivious to everything else. I can feel Ray, Zoe and Raziel throw their magic at Armaita, trying to stop her. But in my heart, I know that the dark magic she is using is too powerful for any of us to fight in our present states. I can feel the same knowledge is within the Archangels as they continue to fight regardless of the odds. That right there is enough for me to believe every word they said. I
already knew they were telling me the truth, but that’s beside the point.
Thinking back to our conversation on the rock, I know what I have to do. I have to call them forth. I have to release them from the mortal bodies they are occupying. And the moment I think that, the words pop into my head as if they were waiting in line to be called next.
Coming down on one knee, I place my hand on the floor and I look up at Armaita. She has no idea what’s coming next. Ray, Zoe and Raziel do. They come to stand behind me, pulling their magic back as I do mine. I release the two exiled Fallen Angels. The cruel laugh that comes from Armaita’s throat tells me that she thinks she’s won.
“You are a weak creature in this destiny, Xandra. You could have been so much more.” She comes to stand in front of me believing that I am prostrating myself to her. “I will show you a small mercy. I will let you say good bye to these creatures you love so dearly that you will give up an eternity of omnipotence.”
With everything I have, I force myself to say nicely, “Thank you, that is kind of you.” Okay, maybe I went a little bit overboard because she’s looking more suspicious than ever. I try to look penitent as I take what is supposed to be a final look at my friends and family. Lifting my eyes to them, I say, “Close your eyes.”
Chapter 24
“Wind, water, fire, and earth, domains of those created first. A plea to the heavens from a humble servant, wings of fire needed to protect the innocent.”
Armaita’s eyes are filled with nothing but fear now. “You can’t. You don’t know…you can’t.” With each word she takes a step backwards.
I glare up at her. “I can and I will. Life forsaken, Fallen called home. Power restored by one of your own. Mortal bindings will hold you no more. Live as your true self henceforth.”
The light is blinding. I thought that I had emitted blinding light before, but that was more like a forty watt bulb compared to this. The light is pure white and it washes away everything else. There is nothing left to see except this light.
The pinches on my back tell me that my wings have come to me. Instead of shielding me from the light, they revel in it. They stretch to their fullest span and I feel them absorbing the light, gathering power from it. I feel hands on my shoulders, infusing me with the power of the Archangels. I feel stronger and more powerful than I ever have.
All this happens in a fraction of a second, which is long enough for Armaita to pull back her magic to try to protect her mortal form from the light. The instant she does this, the vortex disappears and everyone falls. Before they can hit the ground, I capture them in a pillow of magic and float them to the floor gently. With my newfound power, I reach out to them and heal their wounds.
Now, I can focus my attention on Armaita. I need to let her know how much stronger I am than she is. She will serve as a lesson to other Angels who may want to use my family against me to do their bidding. This is not revenge, this is self-defense.
Through our wings, the Archangels give me the words. “Grace is given with honor and trust, Armaita. You have shamed yourself and your fellow Angels with the sins you have committed. Your wings shall be stripped and your spirit called forth to answer for your crimes against Grace. No longer shall you walk freely amongst us.”
Without taking my eyes from her, I say, “I call upon Rashnu to judge your soul before it is exiled.”
“You cannot do this,” she hisses. “You do not have the power.”
That makes me smile. “Thanks to you, I do now. You were the key to unlocking my Angel powers.”
“You have been accused and tried for your crimes, Armaita,” a cold voice says from next to me. Rashnu is here and she looks…hungry is the only word I can think of. I’m guessing she’s not a big fan of Armaita and she’s going to enjoy her work today.
Armaita makes a last stab at stalling the inevitable. “Without me, you will not be able to wake those you love.”
Crap. Is she telling the truth? I’m about to ask when Raziel speaks up. “They are held by no power except their own.”
I always wondered what crestfallen looks like. Now I know. “What do you mean?” Armaita asks. Her confidence is completely gone now.
“They suffered nothing at your hands before Xandra returned.” Raziel drops his hand from my shoulder and walks to her. For the first time I see him in full Archangel Regalia. All I can say is wow. The sad man I found who can speak to dinosaurs is gone. This guy is tall and gorgeous. His mere presence demands attention and each velvety word the comes out of his mouth makes me want to melt in a puddle at his feet. His skin glows softly and his eyes are piercing. He looks like he’s about twenty. A really hot twenty. He is wearing only pants, his torso left bare. His body I can’t even begin to describe because I would feel disloyal to Kallen if I tried. The pure white wings that rise from his back are the biggest wings I have ever seen. And somehow, he makes even those look sexy.
I finally have to tear my eyes away from him before they are burned by his beauty. I’m really glad that as soon as I called Ray, Zoe and Raziel back to their true forms that we were all pulled into Angel time again. I wouldn’t want Kallen to see me ogling him like this.
“Your arrogance, Armaita, is astounding. You expected to deceive me? To capture me in my mortal form? I know everything. Before you arrived, I asked these kind Fairies to allow themselves to be captured by you. You would not have been able to do so otherwise. You are not that strong. I simply wanted to show the others how far you were willing to go to get what you want. I know how much darkness you have on your soul, Armaita. Your lust for power and your need for revenge have brought you right back to where you began. You will once again be exiled, but not to the place you once were. No, you will be judged by Rashnu and your soul will be cleansed. You will then be returned to a realm of her choosing where you will attempt to rebuild your soul with the hope that someday, a long, long time from now, you will have earned the right to return to Grace.”
Walking back to my side, he says, “Rashnu, you may proceed.”
Okay, I’d be more than happy to jump back into the Fairy realm now. Watching someone get their soul cleansed is not pretty business. And the screaming. Oh, that’s just gruesome. Really? I needed to see this?
“Yes, you did,” Raziel says quietly. Crap, the guy can read minds, too? That means he heard my thoughts about his body. I’m going to die now. No need to send me back, I’ll just die of embarrassment right now, right here.
Raziel chuckles. “Please do not, I would miss you terribly.”
I close my eyes and shake my head. This is not happening. I must have hit my head on one of the stupid rocks I landed on and I have swelling on my brain or something that put me in a coma. My eyes find Rashnu again so that my brain can process something else than the gorgeous Archangel standing next to me.
Rashnu is good at her job. She has dissolved Armaita’s mortal form and stripped her soul of darkness. Before she leaves with both the dark and the light pieces of her soul, she turns to me. “You have done well, Xandra. You have come far since the last time we met.” Then, she’s gone.
Raziel looks at the other two dark Angels that were followers of Armaita. Even though they are in mortal forms, they were brought into Angel time with us. “Raguel and Zadkiel, please bring these two home. I will deal with them when I return. I would like to speak to Xandra a moment.”
Uh oh, am I in trouble? I thought I did everything right. I pull on my bottom lip with my teeth as I wait for Ray and Zoe to gather the other two and disappear with them.
“You are beautiful when you are nervous,” Raziel says. Putting his hands on my shoulders, he turns me towards him. “You have done nothing wrong, Xandra. You are not in trouble.”
My forehead folds into scowl lines. “Will you please stop reading my mind? It’s really disconcerting.”
He chuckles. “I am fascinated by your thoughts but you are right, it is rude to be in your mind without your permission.”
Wait a minute, he didn’
t say he would get out of my mind. He just said it’s rude. Raziel, if you’re still in here, you’re being a huge jerk. The smile he’s attempting to hide tells me what I needed to know. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
Traces of the man I met before show up on his face now. His eyes have become duller and his mouth no longer has a smile on it. How bad is this conversation going to be?
Sliding his hands down my arms and then grasping my hands with his, he says, “There is a reason for my sadness. A reason for why I dreaded the time we would meet.”
“Thanks, what a great compliment that didn’t turn out to be,” I mumble, trying really hard to keep my eyes on his and nowhere else. Like his perfect body.
Blood of Destiny (Witch Fairy #6) Page 18
