All Spell is Breaking Loose: Lexi Balefire: Matchmaking Witch (Fate Weaver Book 2)

by Welling, ReGina

  "And why exactly do you believe that? Because your little pet told you so? Did it ever occur to you that dead or nonexistent is exactly what your brethren would like to have all the hunters out there believe? You're not alone, but your numbers have dwindled to merely a handful still fighting on the side of the light. Your status as Keeper of the Flame makes you the most powerful Fate Weaver on the planet; that's why the gods have decreed it must be you who finds the bow and wields its power! You followed the trails of bread crumbs I left, so you can't be completely daft."

  "Do you think I give a tiny hoot what the gods want?" I asked in a dry, sarcastic, downright snotty tone. "They weren't around to help me when I needed it, and something tells me this thing isn't going to come with instructions, just like all the rest of my powers. Nevertheless, it was my father's, and I want it. Just what do you think I'm trying to do, anyway? And what bread crumbs?"

  "All those matches at the Port Day Festival. You didn't believe that was a coincidence, did you? And what I think is that you're wasting time. You're not just fighting for yourself here. There are others who are out there picking up the pieces left behind when men and women like your brother Jett and that beanpole he's dating turn lovers against each other and tip the balance a little further toward the dark."

  So Jett wasn't responsible for my experience that night. While Delta had been serving me matches on a silver platter, Jett had been playing in the minor leagues. Maybe he was overstating--or overestimating--the decimation he was causing. Tiny man, big head. A nuisance I would be more than happy to dispatch; I'd have blown him and Serena halfway to the moon if I thought they wouldn't come crawling back like cockroaches.

  "So you've attacked me for no other reason than to tell me to hurry up? That seems productive. I know where it is, but I'm not going to go screaming in there unprepared. You'll all just have to wait until I'm ready."

  "I wasn't attacking you; I was merely trying to get you to listen to me without being interrupted and interred in a block of ice. And I've been trying to give you something; something that will help you in your search." She handed me a box, and I sent up a prayer that this wasn't some kind of trick before opening it to find a gold compass on an intricately woven chain nestled inside. On the back was an etching of the Bow of Destiny, complete with a heart-tipped arrow.

  "Thank you," I said lamely, the words sounding more like a question than a statement. A resounding thud drew my attention to the saran wrap barrier. There, on the other side stood Sylvana, the palm of her hand pressed against the center of it, the power emanating from her fingertips causing its surface to shimmer and shake until it came crashing down in a shatter of glass shards that disappeared before they hit the ground.

  Two things happened at once. First, Delta backed away, looked up, shot into the air faster than a rocket, and disappeared. Second, all four of my godmothers appeared just in time to see Sylvana send a tower of sparks into the air from her index fingertip, even though Delta was long gone.

  "Did she hurt you, are you okay?" Soleil demanded as all five of them rushed to my side. The bindings fell away from my wrists at Terra's delicate touch. At first, I thought she was referring to my mother, but the next words out of Soleil's mouth clarified things, "this is your fault, isn't it?"

  "Enough, it's not her fault. I'm perfectly safe, thank you for showing up." My eyes spoke the apology I would give voice to later when we were alone. It wasn't a conversation I wanted my mother privy to. "Can you guys give us a minute?" I knew they would hear every word I spoke to Sylvana, but it couldn't be helped. I was starting to feel like a child of divorce more so than an orphan, walking the line between to parents who didn't get along and had major jealousy issues.

  "We'll be right over there." Vaeta huffed, throwing a pointed look at Sylvana as if she was the one who had yanked me off the street and into oblivion. Would the tug of war ever end?

  "How did you find me? Delta said you wouldn't be able to sense I was in danger. She also said you're tracking me six ways to Sunday. Is that true?"

  "I wish I could say I sensed you were in trouble, but that damnable Fiach somehow managed to block me." She looked a bit sheepish, and I could tell it wasn't settling well that Delta had been able to get the upper hand. "I was going for a cup of coffee when I saw you. Barriers are simple; if the caster is fast enough, they can fool even the best witch for a time. She knew she only had moments anyway. A barrier is just an illusion; this one was powerful, but one of my strengths has always been the power of my will. Your Salem would probably call it the mental branch of magic. I can teach you if you like." A shadow of vulnerability passed my mother's face as she helped me onto my feet.

  "Yes, I'd like that very much." I'm sure I blushed.

  "I'll let you get back to...them...now. I'm sure your family is worried sick. You know where to find me."

  For a second I thought she was going to hug me, but instead, she turned awkwardly and walked away, skirting Terra, Evian, Soleil, and Vaeta to squeeze out of the alley. The second she was gone, they descended upon me, checking me over like I was a child who had fallen down the stairs. I have to admit; it felt nice to be doted on after all the arguing and fighting we'd been doing lately.

  "Stop. I have something I need to say."

  "Don't be silly, dear. We love you too." Evian shushed me, placed her hand on the small of my back, and refused to let me get another word in the entire walk back home.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Unfortunately, I never got the opportunity to apologize sufficiently, because I was waylaid at the door and after that, well, I was in no shape to converse about anything.

  "Lexi?" Kin's voice swelled over the sound of the evening breeze, and I could see the outline of his body against the row of shrubbery bordering my yard with Mrs. Chatterly's. Of all the times for him to show up unexpectedly, this was one of the worst possible scenarios. I was still shaking from the feeling of vulnerability at being rendered magic-less, and I was sure my hastened breath betrayed every tingling nerve.

  The godmothers entered the house quietly so we could have a private minute.

  "You're shaking, and you look like you've been doing too much magic again."

  "What do you want, Kin?" I snapped. "Surely you didn't just come over here to berate me about doing what I was born to do. I'm a witch, Kin. Magic sort of comes with the territory." I wasn't about to explain myself to him; he'd already jumped to a conclusion, made his bed, and now he could jump on it if he wanted to continue acting like a child. "I thought I made it pretty clear I wasn't in the mood to talk after you convinced my family to turn against me."

  "You're exaggerating a little bit, don't you think? We all love you and care about you. I know I'm the one who said to give her a chance, but I don't trust your mother, and I don't think you should, either. Is that where you've been?" Fear colored his voice; whether he was worried about me running to Sylvana or simply walking away from him, I couldn't be sure. Probably a little bit of both.

  The worst part was, he was right about me exaggerating. I had forgiven the faeries, but for some reason, this felt different. They knew me better than anyone, and I could forgive them anything because I trusted them. Kin and I were still too new, and it felt like he was asking me to be someone I wasn't. Maybe true love's kiss was wrong; maybe I had been wrong to reveal myself to him. Maybe I had made more mistakes than I was willing to admit.

  Ultimately, I didn't know if Sylvana was trustworthy yet either, but you know how it's fine to make fun of your own family, and then if someone else breathes a negative word about them--look out? Well, this was one of those times. "She's my mother, Kin, who I thought was dead. So far, she hasn't done anything to hurt me, and she had a good reason for not telling me who she was. She's not perfect, but neither are any of us." I stopped, sighed, and looked around. The trees and shrubs could have eyes, and I the last thing I needed was to have this conversation broadcast to any of my enemies.

  "Look, this is not the place to discus
s this. Follow me."

  I led Kin around the side of the house and into the backyard. From any outside angle it looked completely ordinary, but if you crossed the threshold and were on Terra's "nice" list, a faerie wonderland appeared. Instead of a fence, towering sequoia trees lined the perimeter of the nearly twenty acres magically crammed inside our average-sized city lot.

  Each of the godmothers had taken over a different portion of the space--save for Vaeta, the newest member of the household, whose element of air gave her dominion over the atmosphere itself, as evidenced by the perfect temperature and humidity levels we usually enjoyed. Moments before, I had been sweating in the midsummer night's heat, and now, without even needing a wish to make it so, the air turned cool as a cucumber.

  Magically tuned to your comfort. That's what the ad would read if Vaeta could have bottled this perfection and sold it to homeowners everywhere. Long past their normal growing season, lilacs perfumed the air with their heady scent. Because they were my favorite, Terra kept them blooming right up until winter slammed us with snow and she finally let the gardens go fallow for the season. Or most of them, anyway. Her winter gardens were something to see. A faerie wonderland.

  Deeper into the woods I dragged Kin, whipping the branches out of our way with a flick of my hand, creating a path that finally ended in front of something out of a Disney movie. Terra once told me that before she found me, the sisters didn't live together. I think she was trying to explain why they bickered so much; they weren't used to such close quarters. Evian's grotto beneath the harbor was where she felt safest, while Soleil retreated to a cave along the equator when she needed recharging. Of the three, Terra's mud hut was my favorite.

  A cross between a hobbit hole and a gingerbread house, the little cottage's windows flickered with soft candlelight, and as we entered the oven door opened with the pinging of an invisible timer, and out popped a pan of chocolate chip cookies, the edges toasted to a light golden brown. Terra was nothing if not a gracious hostess. Too bad neither one of us was in the mood to eat.

  We settled onto two cushy toadstools in the corner. I sat as far way from Kin as I could manage, perched on the edge while he unwittingly plopped right down in the center of the fungus. Spores wafted out into the air and twittered out through an open window. He scooted forward to mimic my posture and waited expectantly for me to begin speaking.

  "Kin, I know you're worried about me, but you need to understand that I'm a big girl, and I can make my own decisions. Why don't you trust me? I've been around magic all my life; I think I would know if my choices were about to lead me down a dangerous road."

  "It's not just me who worries about you, Lexi. If your godmothers are concerned, don't you think you owe them a little bit of understanding?"

  Kin's words--specifically the part about me owing the faeries--struck a chord. I could only imagine what Terra, Evian, and Soleil had gone through, caring for me with absolutely no frame of reference for raising human children. Still, I was an adult now, and it was time for some independence. I wouldn't let anyone own me, and I would never be able to live with myself if I didn't explore a relationship with my birth mother while I had the chance. He had no idea what it felt like to be missing so many pieces of family history. Mine had, up until now, consisted of what little information I could glean from a handful of old photographs, a few love letters, and a statue that made little kids cry.

  "This isn't about the faeries; that I can deal with. I'm used to them meddling in my life, and I can't see it ever changing. But if you doubt me, you doubt us. And I can't deal with that. We've been dating for a couple of months; don't you think it's a bit early to be having these kinds of problems?"

  All I wanted him to say was that he trusted me implicitly; that he'd put his faith in me and be content to allow me to live my own life. I realize now, of course, that my question regarding how early it was in our relationship turned out to be fairly ironic considering what I expected in return, but at the time it seemed reasonable. Hindsight has a nasty way of revealing colossal errors in judgment.

  "So I have to trust you, but you don't have to trust me when I say that the way you've been acting is concerning? How is that fair?"

  It wasn't, but I pushed forward anyway.

  "How is it fair that I have to fit into whatever little box makes you feel more comfortable? You knew who I was and what I was before things got serious."

  "You said you were a witch, Lexi; a good one. But lately, I'm beginning to wonder if you were right to worry about turning out wicked!"

  That comment was what undid me, "So now you're going to throw in my face something I said to you in confidence? Wow, Kin, just...wow."

  I watched the dissolution of our union in stop-action. I watched us pull the pin on our relationship. I watched it go up like the holy hand grenade. I watched his face turn harder and colder, and finally, I watched Kin step over the threshold of the hut and then counted to 100 while keeping my tears in check. When I was sure he'd exited the yard, the torrential downpour began, and that's all I remember. Except for the sound of my heart shattering into a million tiny pieces.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  I'm not sure if it was Salem who alerted the troops to my near-catatonic state, or if the godmothers had been keeping tabs on me from the second Kin had shown up--but I cracked an eye open the next morning to find three of the faeries and Salem crowded around my bed.

  Vaeta looked increasingly uncomfortable, her rear end stuck in Salem's favorite furry polka-dotted beanbag chair.

  I closed my eye and pretended to be asleep.

  "Lexi, that's enough. You've got to eat something and take a shower. This is getting out of hand." I could hear Soleil's voice carrying through the hallway and could tell when she rounded the corner and stood in my bedroom doorway, even with my eyes squeezed tightly shut.

  "I know you can hear me, dear. Now get up. It's been two days, and this madness has got to stop."

  I sat up and opened my eyes. "Two days? Really?" It felt like two hours; or a dozen years, if I thought about it too much. Kin and I were over. I had only just found him and had already lost my soul mate. A bit dramatic, I know, but cut me some slack. Kin was my first real boyfriend. Ever. I know it's pathetic, but that's just the way things are.

  Evian shoved Soleil out of the way and sat down on the edge of my bed. Soleil opened her mouth to utter some kind of counter, but Terra kicked her in the shin and pointed her index finger, mom-style until Soleil backed down.

  "Dear, you were crying so loudly the family of pixies who live in the back yard came to my window to complain about your howling. I had to give them an entire quart of honey to get them to agree not to torture Mrs. Chatterly's Pekingese, and then we carried you inside. You were pretty out of it." Evian said as gently as she could manage. The sensation of her comforting aura surrounding me like a soothing bath, and I reached out with my own power to touch the warm heat offered by Soleil, the calming breeze contributed by Vaeta and the grounding force of Terra's steadfast love.

  Feeling a tad shameful, I clambered out of bed and slunk into the bathroom, casting an apologetic glance behind me. When I'd scrubbed my hair and skin several times, blown out my thick mane of hair, and reassembled myself into a respectable adult, I ventured downstairs to find them all seated around the dining room table, chattering away.

  "Mona is on her way to pick you up," Salem informed me. "I texted her. She's going to take you shopping. You're welcome."

  "Am I?" In truth, the second Salem had said Mona's name my spirits lifted. A little shot of normal might just suit me today. What did bother me was his willingness to meddle, and this wasn't the first time. He was the one who had lured Kin into our yard the night we met. This whole thing was his fault, as far as I was concerned. I'd tell him it was his turn to provide the sucking up gifts, but I'm not a fan of salmon mousse.

  ***

  I parked my butt on the passenger side of Mona's periwinkle blue Volkswagon Beetle and was pressed in
to the back of the seat when she gunned the engine and took off with more gusto than I would have suspected the little car had.

  "Sorry," she muttered, looking not the least bit apologetic, "how are you? Do you want to talk about it?"

  "No." I softened my tone, "not yet. Still processing. How are your mom and Levi?"

  Mona's eyes turned dark and stormy. "Actually, it didn't work out."

  "What?" My own eyes narrowed to slits, "What happened? Why didn't you call me?"

  "I knew you had your hands full, and I didn't want to bug you. I'm not sure exactly what went down; Mother wouldn't tell me the details, just that it was sudden and unexpected. She's been burying herself in work, and when I stopped by yesterday, it looked like she was in the middle of a monster spring cleaning project."

  Jett. There was no other explanation. I had seen the happiness in store for their future with my own eyes, and while I was willing to accept that circumstances could change the course of history, I just couldn't swallow the idea that it had happened to such a solid match.

  "I'll see what I can do," I promised and accepted Mona's desperate thanks as we headed out of the city to spend our money at a decaying, near-forgotten relic. While it's all well and good to traipse around the quaint streets of Port Harbor, meandering from store to store, the high temperatures outdoors had Mona and I fleeing for air conditioned, Cinnabon-scented halls of South Port Mall, located on the outskirts of town.

  "I doubt this place will even be standing in a few more years. It's a shame; I practically grew up inside these walls--I think I lived off Orange Julius' and soft pretzels during junior high. See that bench over there--the one behind that big potted fern--that's where I had my first kiss. It's practically a ghost town now. Where do the kids hang out these days?" Mona asked, savoring the last few licks of her Dairy Queen chocolate dip cone and juggling several shopping bags with her free hand.