by Bonnie Lamer
Xandra turns to me. “Is it Grandpa?”
I shake my head. “No, I do not recognize this magic. I have never been in its presence.” I know I just made her more nervous, but she needs to be prepared for whatever is coming her way.
“Would your father have sent someone on ahead to try to take us by surprise?” Xandra’s father asks her mother.
“I-I don’t know. My father has changed so much since I left.” I suspect he has not changed much at all. You do not suddenly become the type of person who will kill his granddaughter on sight.
Xandra rises from her chair and walks around the table. “Xandra? What are you doing?” her mother asks.
Xandra turns, and with a determined look on her face that makes me proud of her, she says, “I’m facing whatever they’re throwing at me. Dad, I know you want to run, but I can’t. I won’t live in fear. If this past week taught me anything, it’s that I need to be strong enough to protect myself and the people I love. If I am going to survive in this world, I have to start by standing up against those who want to kill me simply for what I am.” If I could kiss her at the moment, I would. Instead, I pull magic; ready to assist her if she needs it.
Xandra throws the door open. There, at the end of the driveway, is a plump, middle aged woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes. Hair and eyes that look suspiciously like the Witch spirit’s.
I almost laugh and shake my head as Xandra recklessly flings her magic forward, not bothering to take the time to assess her opponent. She is certainly a react first, talk about it later, kind of Witch Fairy. A career as a diplomat is definitely out of the question for her.
The massive amount of magic that Xandra has sent her way is being blocked by a shield the woman has thrown up. It only holds for a few seconds, which is still impressive, before it starts to buckle. I feel Xandra pull more magic, ready to knock the shield out completely. She pauses when the woman shouts, “Quillian! I mean you and your daughter no harm! I’ve come to help you.” Of course she has. I do not believe even Xandra is naïve enough to believe that one.
Apparently, her mother is. “Xandra, please stop.”
Xandra glances at her in surprise. “Do you know her?”
As I suspected, her mother nods. “She’s my mother.” Quite the family she has. I hope they do not get together for holidays. ‘Please pass the salt’ would probably spark an all-out magical war.
Chapter 2
I feel Xandra struggling to keep her magic under control. I can also feel her struggle between doing what her mother is asking, and her desire to protect everyone in her own haphazard way. Her mother’s wishes win. She lets go of her magic.
I move forward so I can take Xandra’s hand in mine. “Are you sure this is wise?” I ask her mother.
“No.” Good thing she decided to put everyone at risk, then. I try not to let my annoyance show on my face. Xandra does not hide hers.
“Why are you here?” the spirit asks her mother.
The woman rises to her feet and brushes the snow from her knees. “As I said, I’m here to help you. I tried to talk your father out of coming back here, but I was not successful. He’s back home, preparing with the Witan. Therefore, I’m here to stop him from doing something he would regret for the rest of his days. Provided he survives at all.”
She looks at Xandra as she says this. There is something in her eyes that I cannot read. I do not like that. At all.
“Why now?” Xandra asks. “Way back when, you were pretty eager to kill me just like him.” I believe her naivety is slipping away quickly. Too quickly. As much as that will help keep her safe, I am sorry for it. She is such a pure soul; I hate to see her tarnished by the evilness of others.
“I have always regretted my part in forcing your mother to flee.” Right. That was the easy answer I expected. “When I told your father what had happened, I thought he and I would help keep your secret, perhaps hide you ourselves if anyone ever guessed what happened. Most of all, I thought we’d protect you from the ignorant fools he surrounds himself with. I had no idea that he would react the way he did.” I wonder if her heartfelt words are true, or if this is trickery. I am certainly not betting on the former. My money is on trickery.
Fire fills the Witch spirit’s eyes. So much so, even I want to take a step back from her. She can look downright evil if she sets her mind to it. “But you didn’t do those things. You were going to let them kill my child.”
The older woman does a good job of looking contrite. I am still not buying it. “No, Quillian. I plead your case to the Witan and your father. I begged them to spare your child. But they wouldn’t hear me. They were fools who could not see past their own fear. My faith in your father was shattered that day.” Sure it was. Yet, she is still his wife. Even in my realm, where divorce is not allowed unless serious crimes have been committed, she could have left him for what he tried to do to his daughter. Then, he would have had his magic bound and spent the rest of his life in prison. Yet, seventeen years later, neither has happened here. Oh, and her tears are a nice touch as she spins her tale.
There is a bit more back and forth between the woman and the spirit. I am not even bothering to listen anymore to the dribble pouring from the woman’s mouth. Xandra apparently is. “But, you stayed with Grandpa all these years. Even after supposedly losing all faith in him? Who would stay with someone who did something so awful to his daughter? That makes it kind of suspicious that you’d show up here offering to help us fight him, don’t you think?” Again, I could kiss her. Hell, I always want to kiss her.
“I stayed because I held out hope that your mother would come home. I stayed for her.”
I cannot help a smirk at that one. I give Xandra’s hand a gentle squeeze. When she looks up at me, I can see she does not believe the woman any more than I do. What I can also feel, is that her precarious hold on her magic is starting to slip. That could be bad for all of us. Getting her mother’s attention, I say, “I believe it wise to decide to either hear her out, or fend her off.” I look at Xandra, then back at her mother. It takes a couple of heartbeats, but then she gets it.
Turning to her mother, she says, “We’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. For now.” She turns her back and floats back through the front door. Still with tears in her eyes, which are not making any of us more sympathetic towards her, the woman follows her daughter inside.
I wait with Xandra as she struggles to push her magic out of her. After a few minutes, I cannot help shaking my head and saying, “I believe your mother is being foolish.”
Her brow scrunches into a scowl. I believe I may have broken her concentration because her magic is building again. “I thought you were going to stop insulting my mother.” Well, not if she keeps doing stupid things.
Her father comes to my defense. I never would have expected that. “He’s right.” If her expression means anything, I am guessing Xandra did not expect it, either. “We gave your grandfather the benefit of the doubt and he tried to kill you in our kitchen. And if that woman has been so eager to find your mother, why didn’t she come with her husband when we called for help?”
While Xandra ponders that, I ask her father, “Do you believe her to be a Trojan horse?”
Xandra chooses this moment to rib me about my age. “Wait, you were born around that time, weren’t you? So, you probably got to see the Trojan horse close up, didn’t you?”
Her attempt at humor has fallen short. I narrow my eyes in her direction. “I am not quite that old in Cowan years. That was a couple of thousand years before my time.”
She shrugs and smiles. Her green eyes are even brighter with that teasing glint in them. “Too bad. It would have been pretty cool if you had.”
I roll my eyes and try not to smile. “Perhaps we should concentrate on this point in time instead of when I was born?”
She gives me a sour look and then sighs from the bottom of her heart. There is a distinct lack of enthusiasm in both her voice and her posture, as she says. “Ok
ay, let’s go talk to Grandma.” Still holding my hand, she trudges into the house.
There is an uncomfortable silence permeating the room when we reenter the house. The spirit is looking like she wants nothing more than to rip the woman apart, and the woman is still doing her best to look contrite. It is almost convincing, but there is that something in her eyes that tells me she is holding something back. Regardless, in a showdown between the two, my money is on the spirit. She has fury on her side.
Xandra jumps right in to fill the void. “Where were you when Grandpa came here? If you were so eager to see Mom, it seems like you would have come with him.” A streak of ire shoots from the woman’s eyes so fiercely, I am prepared to draw magic.
Her words are forced out through grim lips. “Your Grandfather neglected to tell me that your parents had contacted him. I heard nothing about it until my assistant overheard a conversation between two members of the Witan. When I called your Grandfather to demand he tell me where to find you, he was already on his way home. He told me what happened. He thought it would make me believe he had been right all these years, but I told him he was still being a fool. I hung up, packed, and caught the first flight here.”
I bite my tongue yet again to let Xandra take the lead in the conversation. If I keep doing this, it is going to become forked like a snake’s. “How could he have kept it from you if you live in the same house? Wouldn’t you have known Mom called? Or that he was leaving?”
The woman looks down at her hands and speaks some more dribble about how she and her husband used to be so in love until he turned into a raving lunatic. If she keeps this up, I fear those frozen discs I ate are going to make a reappearance. Yes, her words sound convincing to a point, but whatever she is holding back has to be important. I will make damn sure she either comes clean, or she leaves this house. Even Xandra’s father is rolling his eyes and shaking his head. Her mother, on the other hand, looks as if she is buying into this slobber.
Disgusted, Xandra’s father says, “Julienne, don’t be taken in by these lies. Your father apologized, claimed it was all a big mistake, that he wished he could take it back, and then he tried to kill your daughter.” Something I will find a way to repay him for.
I can see the exact moment that the Witch spirit capitulates. Her entire body slumps and she hangs her head. This conversation is over. Her mother will be staying.
The woman turns to Xandra’s father. I will give her credit, if she is feeling smug, she is hiding it well. “What can I do to convince you I am telling the truth?”
Well, that is an easy question. “There is a simple way.” All eyes turn to me, but my attention is focused on the Witch spirit. “You insisted I take a blood oath before you entrusted Xandra to be in my care. You can do the same with your mother.” And hopefully, the woman is not skilled in manipulating blood oaths. I will have to listen carefully to the words spoken.
The woman inclines her head and the corners of her mouth lift up. She is trying to seem pleased with the suggestion. “An excellent idea.” There it is again, something just below the surface of her expression that belies the words she spoke. Whatever secret she is hiding behind those eyes of hers is trying to show itself.
Xandra’s mother turns to me. “In the closet of mine and Jim’s bedroom, on the top shelf, there is the ceramic bowl and a knife. You should be able to reach them easily. Xandra, please show him the way.”
Xandra is hesitant as she looks back and forth between her mother and the woman who is her grandmother. I believe she is uncomfortable leaving them alone. Her mother rectifies that.
“It’s fine, honey. I have taken the same precautions inside the house as I have outside.” She is a lot smarter of a Witch than I initially gave her credit for. I do not even want to know what might pop out at me if I make her angry enough.
Reluctantly, Xandra tugs on my hand and we leave the living room. She looks back over her shoulder a couple of times, trying to glower at the woman sufficiently so that she does not try anything while we are gone. Sometime, I will have to tell her that her face is simply too beautiful and innocent looking to give off a sense of impending doom.
Once in her parent’s bedroom, which I find strange that it is still filled with all the things they used when they were corporeal, Xandra opens the closet door. Inside, all of her parent’s clothes are still hanging neatly. The dust and moth bites on them tell the story of how long it has been since anyone looked in here.
Pushing some of the stuff aside on the top shelf, I find the ceramic bowl that Xandra and I used when we made our blood oath. One that I had twisted slightly to meet my needs. Though, at this point, it is not the threat of the blood oath that makes me want to keep her safe.
Handing Xandra the bowl, I feel along the high shelf for her mother’s athame. I find it strange that her mother would use it for drawing blood. It is supposed to be sacred and used only in rituals.
Putting the knife in the bowl in Xandra’s hands, I decide to use this moment alone to steal a quick kiss. I place my hands on her cheeks and lean towards her. “This will all work out. You are strong enough to take on a hundred Witches, if necessary,” I say, my lips only millimeters from hers.
Definition of a mood killer? Having your supposed girlfriend step out of your arms and accuse you of staying not because you adore her, but to help protect her because of a stupid blood oath that I could have nullified by going home. Did you stay because of the blood oath, she asked. Unbelievable.
Standing straight, I am too stunned for a moment to speak. How dare she accuse me of that? Is this her way of telling me that I should go back home? Like I could even if I wanted to. I have been angry with her before during our brief time together, but not like this. She might as well have stabbed me in the chest with the athame she is holding.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I glower down at her. “You still do not trust me. After coming here to save you, after giving up the chance to return to my home and my family, you still do not trust me. And, just so you know, blood oaths do not travel from realm to realm. If I had returned to my own realm, I would have been free of any responsibility for keeping you alive. I could have left and never looked back or worried about you ever again. It is only in this realm that my life is at risk if I do not do everything in my power to save yours.” A prospect that is looking grimmer by the moment. I am starting to regret my decision to stay.
Her response? Not an apology, or even a thank you for staying, I am glad you are here. No. She goes with, “Why didn’t you tell me that before?”
I am seconds from walking out of this house and not looking back. “I did not think it necessary. I thought the reason I stayed was quite clear, but apparently, this time I was the naïve one. What an unusual twist for us.” I grab the bowl and athame from her and start walking towards the door. I will drop these items off in the living room, and then keep on going.
“You didn’t have to be such a jerk about it. I was just asking.”
Those words stop me in my tracks. Turning back around, I am about to tell her what she can do with her questions. Lucky for her, her father chooses this moment to float into the room.
He looks back and forth between the two of us. “Trouble in paradise?” he asks. I hear the underlying pleasure in his voice.
Xandra does not answer him truthfully and then she tries to deflect the topic. “No. Dad, are you going to follow us around the house whenever we leave a room?” I do not see what difference it makes at this point.
Her father chuckles. Glad someone is enjoying this conversation. “Possibly. But I actually wanted to ask Kallen a couple of questions.” Great. “Is there a way to, I don’t know a better way to say this, cheat when taking a blood oath?”
Nodding curtly, I say, “In a way, yes. The wording is very important. For instance, the blood oath that I took,” I cannot help glowering in Xandra’s direction again,” I swore to protect Xandra’s life as I would protect my own. If I had decided that the only way to keep
her from opening the gateway between realms was to sacrifice my own life, I would not have had to protect her life.” That sounded a lot better in my head. Saying it out loud, to her father, makes me feel like an ass. I suppose my behavior in the last few minutes has been a little over the top considering I have not been completely honest with Xandra about some of these things.
Her father crosses his transparent arms over his chest, and I wait for the berating to begin. It does not. Instead, he asks, “Are there any spells or amulets or anything like that that could be used to negate a blood oath?”
I have to think for a moment. Has Grandmother ever spoken of such a thing? I do not believe so. At least not in my realm. “I have never been told of one. But Fairies have not been in this realm for several hundred Cowan years. It is possible that I am ignorant of magical charms or spells that may have been stumbled upon to prevent the binding of the oath.” I seriously doubt the possibility, though.
“Do you think Grandma is going to try to weasel out of the blood oath?" Xandra asks.
“Let’s just say that I believe anyone capable of allowing their daughter to be held captive while others determined the fate of her child, may not be the most trustworthy person. From what I know of your grandparents, I believe caution is wise.” Smart man. I believe I could grow to like him.
Xandra pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, and I will admit, it is sexy when she does that. Definitely difficult to remain upset with her when she does these things. Turning to me, she asks, “What happens if a Witch and a Fairy make a blood oath? Could the Fairy magic involved in the oath prevent a Witch from using a spell or anything to make it not real?”
I see where she is going with this, but I do not believe it will work. “It is likely. But as you are only half Fairy, there is no guarantee that your Fairy magic would work that way.”
She rolls her eyes at me as if I am the ignorant one. I believe that negates the whole biting of the bottom lip sexiness thing. “I figured that out myself, thanks.” Her attitude has just knocked the sexiness factor completely out of the water. “I meant, what if Grandma made a blood oath with you?”