by Bonnie Lamer
I nod, which makes the coffee I just swallowed want to come back up. I settle for simply saying, “Yes.”
“I must beg a favor, though I do understand that you may not be feeling charitable towards him at present.” She pauses for a minute before continuing. “Your grandmother and I have brushed the snow off from Kallen, but it seems that you are the only one who can remove the iron from him. I would not presume to rush you, except it is starting to burn him.”
My eyes move back up to her face as what she’s saying burrows through the fog around my brain. Iron. Fairies. Not a good mix. I have to do something but it’s become too much of an effort to keep my head up any more. I push my mug away and lay my arms on the table and rest my head on them. “Okay,” I mumble through the fabric of my coat. I concentrate really hard and slowly pull the magic back through me that’s holding the iron around Kallen. It takes some effort, but I do it, and I send it back to the earth to wait to be called again.
The room is blissfully quiet for about two minutes. And then the rest of my family comes back inside in a cacophony of voices that makes me burrow my head farther into my arms. I’m starting to get a headache and I know it’s going to be a doozy when it hits maximum velocity.
“Xandra, that was awesome! When can you do it again?”
“Zac, why don’t you come help me with something in my lab,” Aunt Barb says and I’ve never been so grateful to have her around. I don’t want Zac to see how drunk I am. It wouldn’t exactly make me the best role model in the world.
“Aaw, do I have to?”
“Yes, you do,” Mom says in her don’t argue with me voice.
Aunt Barb is a little kinder. “Come on, I can show you my latest findings on astral projection. Maybe you can be my first test subject.”
“Awesome!” And off they go towards the garage. Aunt Barb has enough equipment here that she only needs to go to the research institute where she works in Denver every couple of weeks or so. That way she can be here to do all the physical things around the house that my parents can no longer do. Astral projection is the project she’s been working on since my parents became ghosts. She’s even more determined now to figure out how to astral project since I was able to do it recently. I’m pretty sure you can only do it if you’re a magical creature and are using a spell, but I haven’t told her that.
I have another moment of silence until the kitchen door opens and closes again, bringing another burst of cold air. My eyes are closed but I still know it’s Kallen finally coming back in. He sits down on the other side of me across from Isla. Without opening my eyes, I mumble, “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
“You do not need to be sorry. I was wrong.”
I crack one eye open. He packed a lot of feeling in that sentence and I need to see what his face is saying. And it’s not saying anything, of course. He has his poker face on. So, I close my eye again. “Okay.”
He puts his cold hand on my cheek and it feels good against my Fairy dart flushed cheeks. I move my face into it as he curls his fingers around my chin. It stops feeling good when he lifts my face up off my arms. I scowl and pull back without opening my eyes and then I lay my head back down.
He doesn’t take my subtle hint, though. “Xandra, will you please look at me?”
“Which one of you?” I mumble into my sleeve.
“The one that is sorry that I am always underestimating you.”
“Talk to me about it later.” I turn my head away from him so he can’t move it again.
With a little chuckle, he says, “Alright.”
Mom’s voice sounds amused when she says, “I think she needs to sleep it off. Why don’t you help her to her room?”
“I don’t want to go to my room.” That came out as ‘I d’wanna go troom. My grasp of the correct pronunciation of the English language is quickly slipping.
“You will be much more comfortable lying down,” Kallen says, using the soothing voice he only uses when I’m hurt. Or drunk on Fairy darts.
“No.”
With another chuckle, I hear him rise to his feet. Maybe he’s going to leave me be for a while. Yeah, right. Wishful thinking on my part. He does the opposite of leaving me alone. I complain loudly as he scoops me up in his arms so quickly, I have to put my hand over my mouth to keep from throwing up on him.
“I hate you right now,” I tell him between the fingers covering my lips.
“Would it help if I told you that I now agree with you about going to the Fae realm?”
“No.”
We’re halfway down the hall to my bedroom. “How about if I tell you I love you?”
“No.”
He’s about to say something else when I’m overcome with the need to relieve my stomach of everything inside it. I frantically point towards the bathroom door and it only takes him a second to figure out what I need to do. Kallen uses his foot to push the door open as far as it will go and he sets me down in front of the toilet; where I immediately lose my breakfast. And I’m pretty sure part of my stomach lining is gone, as well.
My hair is in a ponytail, but Kallen holds it back anyway. “I am so sorry I made you feel this way.”
I pack as much evil eye as I can into my peripheral vision because I don’t dare move my head from its current position over the toilet bowl. “So am I,” I growl between heaves. “Can’t you be useful and find me something to take this feeling away? Or are you enjoying the show?” Yeah, I’m feeling a little catty right now.
I steal a quick glance at him and I can’t miss the shame that washes over his face. “I truly thought I was doing this for your own good. As I said, I once again underestimated you.”
“Always great to have a boyfriend who doesn’t have faith in me. It’s the romance I’ve dreamed about since I was a little girl,” I mumble. Very shortly, I’m going to grow claws and hiss at am if I keep being this catty.
Instead of being insulted, he looks sad. “I guess I deserved that.” A little shadow of a smile forms on one side of his mouth. “From your statement, does that mean that I still hold the status of boyfriend?”
I turn my head a fraction so I can properly glower. “For now.”
That makes him laugh. “I am relieved to hear that.”
“Great. Can you go make me a cure now?”
His face sobers again. “The unique combination of elements, flora and magic that goes into the making of a Fairy dart creates a poison that has no antidote. I am afraid it has to work its way out of your system.”
My brow pinches into a scowl. “Then how was I able to pull it out of you when you were shot with them?”
“You were able to do that because you are an enigma, my beautiful Witch Fairy. I fear there is no antidote to be found for you, either,” he teases.
I ignore him as the last of the now dry heaves quiet down. Fine, if he’s not going to help me, I’ll do it myself. I settle myself on the floor and close my eyes, trying to ignore the rancid taste in my mouth. I pull magic inside of me, and as it flows throughout my body, I imagine it filtering my blood, finding any trace of the Fairy dart poison. It must be working because my head is already starting to feel clearer.
“Xandra?” The question in his voice tells me he’s not sure what I’m doing. I hold my hand up to stop him from talking so I can concentrate. I don’t take his voice away, though, as I have several times in the past, even though I’m tempted to. He stays silent now as I continue to imagine my magic sweeping through the vessels of my body; plucking out the poison molecules that aren’t supposed to be there.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been sitting here when I feel the last drop leave my system. Slowly, I open my eyes and there’s a very curious Kallen sitting in front of me. “What was that?” he asks.
I take a deep breath, reveling in the fact that there’s not a trace of nausea left. But, instead of answering his question, I point to the door. “Out.” The look on his face tells me he realizes it’s not a request. He gets to his feet and silently wa
lks out the door, closing it softly behind him.
Pulling myself up from the floor, I assess my image in the mirror. I’ve looked better. Turning on the cold water, I splash some on my face before getting my toothbrush out of the medicine cabinet. When my teeth and tongue are sufficiently cleansed, I quietly leave the bathroom and go into my bedroom to change my clothes. I’m not quite ready to talk to anyone yet. I need to think about what I learned during this little fiasco first.
Chapter 3
I take my time changing into a clean pair of jeans, a lilac scoop neck tee and a light gray cardigan. By the time I’m ready to come back out, a delicious aroma is emanating from the kitchen. My stomach growls loudly, letting me know how hungry I am since everything I ate earlier is now gone.
Kallen’s eyes meet mine as soon as I walk into the room. And then they go lower. My cheeks get warm as I realize that the shirt probably shows a bit more cleavage than it should. He’s really only seen me in clothes that do more to hide my figure than enhance it. It’s cold in the mountains in Colorado in the wintertime; I dress for warmth, not fashion. He must be a little embarrassed that he got caught checking me out because he shifts his eyes towards the table rather quickly.
All the light chatter that was going on before I came in stops as soon as everyone else notices me. “What’s for dinner?” I ask no one in particular.
Mom smiles now that she realizes I’m not going to explode or something. Why is everyone so cautious around me lately? It’s not like I’ve done anything to make them think I’m crazy. I guess it could be they’re afraid they’ll make me mad and my magic will get out of control again. That’s a pretty reasonable fear, I guess. “Your grandmother is making my childhood favorite - creamy tortellini and chicken.”
“That sounds good.” Mom’s made it a bunch of times before but something about her expression tells me not to mention that. I think she wants Grandma to believe she’s making a special treat.
Mom is floating near Grandma as she chops garlic at the counter, and Isla is preparing a salad next to them. I don’t want to get in their way, or have to chop anything, so I sit down at the table next to Kallen. He has a wary expression on his face but he still reaches out and tentatively touches my hand. I give him a small smile and his grip becomes firmer.
“Are we okay?” he asks quietly.
It took me a while to figure out that Kallen is just as new to this whole relationship thing as I am. But that doesn’t mean I have to make it too easy on him. I shake my head. “Sorry, not until I get my revenge.”
His eyes narrow. “And how will you be doing that?”
I smile sweetly at him. “If I told you that, it would spoil the surprise.” I don’t really plan on doing anything, but it’s fun seeing how nervous he’s getting. “Take a walk with me?”
I think he wants to say no, because he doesn’t trust my motive, but he also wants to stay on my good side. “Alright.” He stands up from the table and a black coat materializes on him. Unfortunately, I don’t have that much finesse with my magic yet. He must not want to wait for me to get one from my room so he helps me out by creating a nice, warm red one for me. He knows red is one of my favorite colors; now I know for sure he’s trying to suck up.
“Mom, how long until dinner? Kallen and I want to take a walk.”
Mom looks surprised. Taking a walk in the snow is not one of my favorite activities and she knows that. “It’ll be at least another forty-five minutes, but don’t go too far.” It’s easy to get lost in the woods around here, even if you know the area.
I grab Kallen’s hand and lead him through the living room and out the front door. A burst of cold air hits us as we step outside, causing me to look up at the sky. The wind has picked up considerably and it looks like a storm is heading our way. Even if we wanted to, it wouldn’t be a good idea to go too far from the house.
“About this revenge you plan to…” Kallen begins but I cut him off.
“Nope, still not going to tell you what it’ll be.”
His mouth sets in a firm line and he doesn’t say anything else as we pick a path through the trees. I’m glad I pulled on my snow boots that go up to my knees before going into the kitchen. The snow is awfully deep out here. After we’ve gone about a quarter of a mile, I stop and point towards a large tree. Around ten feet up the trunk is a tree house my dad built for me when I was younger. It’s about four feet wide and six feet deep with a slanted roof. A rope ladder is hanging from the small doorway.
“I used to come here when I was younger and Zac was driving me crazy. Dad called it my ‘escape from my little brother’ house.” I wasn’t always as patient with Zac as I am now. When Mom and Dad became ghosts, I had to grow up pretty fast in regards to helping care for him. “It’s been a long time since I came out here.” Mostly because I hate the snow.
Kallen looks it over for a minute. “Is it still safe to enter?”
I nod. “Yeah, Dad built it to last. He wanted Zac to be able to use it when I grew out of it. Do you want to go up?”
He raises his eyebrows. “You are not planning to lock me inside and leave me out here all night are you?”
I roll my eyes and grab for the ladder. “You’re too paranoid.”
“It is only considered paranoia if there is no reason to expect it to be true. In this instance, you have told me you will be exacting revenge.”
I shrug and start climbing up the ladder. “You can either risk it, and spend some quality time alone with me, or you can go back to the house.” I’ve reached the top of the ladder and I disappear into the tree house.
Since it’s a little farther from the house than Mom would have liked (Dad explained it’s not an escape if it’s right next to the house), there’s a pack of emergency items in the corner that hasn’t been touched in the last several years. There’s a lantern, a flashlight, and a two-way radio, along with a blanket roll and some books that I had brought out here long ago.
It doesn’t take Kallen long to decide if he’s going to stay or not. He’s up and through the door right after me. It’s a little cramped for his six foot six inch frame, but he doesn’t complain. He moves away from the doorway and leans back against the far wall.
“Afraid I’m going to push you out,” I ask with a teasing grin.
“I think it best I not take any chances at the moment.”
Smart guy. “I’ve decided what I’m going to do to you,” I say as I crawl over next to him on the cold wood.
His eyebrows rise. “And that would be?”
Instead of telling him, I show him. Putting my hands on his cheeks, I lean in and kiss him. Apparently, he likes my form of revenge if the arms that wrap tightly around me and pull me closer are any indication. Have I mentioned I love kissing him?
When we finally come up for air, I whisper in his ear, “You’re still a jerk.”
He chuckles. “You must not mind because you have not sent me home yet.” I groan which makes his eyebrows come together. “Unless I have spoken too soon.”
I shake my head and move so that I can sit with my back against his chest and I pull his arms around me. “No, it’s not that. When you go home, I’ll be going with you. But I have a condition.”
“That sounds ominous.”
I laugh. “I’m not trying to be. But I was thinking about what you said this morning. You said that I won’t instill fear in someone else if I cower in fear myself.”
He wraps his arms tighter around me. “I was teasing you.”
“But, you were right. That’s why you need to teach me to fight. I need to learn offensive magic, not just defensive.”
He’s quiet for a moment. Finally, it sounds like he’s picking his words very carefully when he says, “Sometimes, defense is the best offense. With the amount of magic you can wield, there is a much greater danger of collateral damage if you are on the offensive.”
I sigh. “You mean I’m more likely to blow up the wrong people.”
His lack of a quick respo
nse answers my question. After a moment of silence, he says, “Possibly, with Grandmother’s help, we could work out what magic would be best for you to learn.”
Wow, after his comments this morning, that’s a much better response than I had hoped for. One of the reasons that I had brought him out here was to talk him into the idea so he could help me convince everyone else. I snuggle closer to him. “You really must love me if you give in that easily.”
He rests his chin on my head. “You do seem to be able to talk me into the most unwise things.” Moving his mouth to my ear, he says, “Have I mentioned recently how beautiful you are?”
