by Bonnie Lamer
“Of course,” I grin. Waving my hand around to indicate the pristine room, I add, “Now I’m done.”
Kallen snorts as he pushes off the door jamb. “There was nothing out of place when you came in here.”
I quirk a brow. “That confident in your magic, are you?”
Standing before me now, he slides his arms around my waist and pulls me close. With a cocky grin, he says, “As a matter of fact, I am.”
I don’t have a chance to respond. Kallen captures my lips with his and kisses me like he hasn’t seen me in weeks. I nearly drop the book in my hand as I wrap my arms around his neck and press my body even closer to his. He emits a groan deep in his throat.
“I believe our bedroom may need some cleaning,” he murmurs against my lips.
“I bet it’s filthy,” I agree.
A laugh escapes my lips when Kallen swings me up into his arms. “We should get to work then.” His lips are back on mine as he walks toward the library door.
Unfortunately, the swaying motion of being carried like this does not agree with my current state of early pregnancy. “Oh no,” I moan, tearing my lips from his. “Put me down. Quick!”
Whether it’s the desperation in my voice or the green pallor of my skin that makes him respond so fast, I don’t know. But the next thing I know, my feet are planted firmly on the ground. I tear from the library in the direction of our bedroom and my ultimate goal – the bathroom. I don’t have time to close the door behind me. I barely make it to the toilet before my stomach gives up and releases its contents.
When I’m finally done, I wash my face and brush my teeth. That’s when I notice the black fur out of the corner of my eye. My two Familiars are here with me. One is sitting up proud and watching me carefully. The other is sprawled out on the floor like he’s been shot.
“Kill me now,” he moans when he notices my gaze. “We should check on her, he says. We should make sure she’s okay, he says. What do we find? So. Much. Vomiting.”
I roll my eyes and say around my toothbrush, “Stop being so dramatic. I’m the one who is vomiting. How do you think I feel?”
“Xandra?” Kallen calls from the bedroom. “Are you okay?”
“All good!” I respond. I finish brushing my teeth, quick wash my face, and make my way out of the bathroom. My Familiars follow. One is making retching noises as he walks. Not a shock which one that is.
I find Kallen sitting on the bed thumbing through the book I must have dropped in the library when I made my hasty departure. Glancing up at me, he asks, “Is this the language of the Angels?”
I join him on the bed. Pulling my legs up underneath me, I rest my head on his shoulder. “I believe so.”
“You dropped it when you ran from the room. Is it important?”
I shrug. “I’m not sure. When Rashnu was in the library, she was playing with some books on a shelf. I thought she was just distracting herself or something since she didn’t actually pull one out and look at it. She did leave this one sticking out from the others, though. I just found it again when you came into the library.” Then he gave me that lovely kiss. How I wish my hormones and nausea hadn’t interrupted things.
Kallen continues to flip through the pages looking for a clue. Since it’s written in a language neither of us can read, one doesn’t immediately pop out. With a frustrated sigh, Kallen snaps the book closed. “We should ask the kids to translate it just in case.”
With a sigh, I say, “I hate having to rely on them for something so important. Plus, they’re just kids. They could miss something important.”
Smiling, Kallen leans over and kisses my cheek. Pulling back again so he can see my face, he says, “I think we should put more faith in ourselves as parents than that. From what I can tell, we taught them to be ever vigilant and cautious.” He adds with a slight grimace, “Their moments of naïve recklessness aside, of course.”
Plastering my best innocent expression on my face, I say, “A trait they obviously inherited from you.”
Okay, he didn’t need to laugh quite so loudly. My ears are still recovering from Rashnu’s roaring and the house exploding. Though, I forgive my gorgeous husband when he leans down and kisses me yet again. Not like before in the library. This is a gentle, I don’t want to rile your pregnancy hormones, kind of kiss. Considering the fact that my stomach is still a little queasy, he chose the right path here.
“Oh god, my eyes!” Zyla exclaims from the doorway. She slaps her fingers over her closed eyes and makes retching noises similar to the ones Taz was making a minute ago.
I roll my eyes at my daughter. “That’s a bit of an overreaction, don’t you think? It was a kiss. You didn’t walk in on us naked.”
The blush that blossoms on Zyla’s face with my final words makes both her father and I laugh as we rise from the bed. “Gross,” she finally manages.
“Come on, we have a job for you,” I tell her. I grab Kallen’s hand and lead him to the door where I hold my hand out to our daughter. She puts her hand in mine, and we head downstairs.
Chapter 26
When we reach the bottom of the stairs, we hear voices in the large living and head in that direction instead of toward the kitchen. We find Kegan, Keelan and Alita sitting on one of the sofas, and Garren and Isla sitting on another. Xavion is sitting with his great grandmother.
“Considering how much she loves the Goblins, she is taking this whole Demon thing rather poorly,” Keelan is complaining to his father.
Alita pats her son’s leg. “You know Tabitha. She wants to protect all of us. It surprised her when you stood between her and the Demon and insisted that he was not the enemy. You must remember, in our time the Demon fight is still fresh in our minds.” A flicker of pain flashes through her eyes. She remembers exactly how close she came to losing her son in the Demon fight.
Keelan lets out a long sigh. “I know.” I’m not sure he does, but he’s trying to understand at least. Pretty good for a teenager.
Glancing around the room, I ask, “Where are Dagda and Tana?”
“There was an urgent situation at the Palace,” Isla tells me. “He did not want to raise suspicion by ignoring it.”
Frowning, I ask, “Anything serious?” I hope the list of threats isn’t growing.
Isla shakes her head. “Nothing that he cannot handle.”
Considering that I will someday reign over the land of the Fae, I should probably ask for more details. I just don’t have it in me right now. Besides, I’m sure Dagda will fill us in later if it’s something we should know.
Noticing the book in Kallen’s hand, Kegan cocks his head to the side and asks, “Taking a reading break?”
Kallen opens his mouth to make a snide remark to his cousin. He snaps it closed as soon as he remembers that his children are in the room. Glad I’m not the only one who suddenly needs to remember to set a good example. My smirk doesn’t go unnoticed, and my husband gives me a sour look. I just shrug and take a seat. I do pat the cushion next to me in invitation which seems to appease him.
Plopping the book on the coffee table in front of us, Kallen says, “It is a book from the library that may be important.”
“What is it about?” Garren asks, leaning forward to take a closer look.
“We don’t know,” I tell him. At his quizzical expression, I add, “It’s written in the language of the Angels.”
“We need the children to translate it,” Kallen explains.
Zyla shakes her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you don’t know how to read Enochian.”
I grit my teeth. “It hasn’t come up before now,” I explain. “Trust me, I will be learning everything about it as soon as this is over.”
“Then you’ll teach us how to read and write in the language when we’re old enough,” Xavion says with a supportive smile.
“Suck up,” Zyla mutters under her breath. When I turn to look at her, her face is all innocence as if she never said a thing.
Clearing his thro
at, Kallen pushes the book toward Zyla. “Would you like to start the translation?”
With a sigh fit for the overworked and underpaid crowd, Zyla picks up the book. She flips to the first page and starts reading the handwritten text. A small crease forms in her brow and she flips ahead a few pages. Finally, she says, “It’s just notes someone took on an old poem.”
Odd. “Notes on what?” I ask.
Zyla goes back to the top of the first page. “Something called, Paradise Lost by John Milton.”
“Oh, I loved Paradise Lost,” Mom says from the doorway.
She and Dad are just coming back from whatever part of the house they were sent to check on. I suspect from their flushed cheeks and the way they can’t keep their hands off one another, they were doing something other than checking to see if a room needed cleaning. Eew. Okay, now I understand how Zyla felt earlier when she walked in on Kallen and me kissing. No one ever wants to witness firsthand their parents’ passion for one another.
I groan at Mom’s words. “I remember. You made me read the whole thing for one of my English lessons.”
One of the pitfalls of being homeschooled. Lessons are occasionally structured on what your parents find interesting, and their taste is often questionable. This is the perfect example. Mom loves John Milton. She considers him one of the greatest English poets to ever put quill to paper. I personally thought Paradise Lost was a chore to read, and I may or may not have Googled the Spark Notes when studying for my test instead of actually reading the text. Who knew that would come back and bite me in the butt?
That is, if the book Rashnu left pulled out actually means anything. She still could have just been keeping her hands busy. “Why would Rashnu care about notes from Paradise Lost?” I muse aloud.
“Rashnu?” Isla says, finally taking a real interest in the conversation. Pointing in Zyla’s direction, she asks, “What does the Angel of Judgement have to do with that book?”
I shrug. “Maybe nothing. When she was in the library earlier with Adriel, she was fingering a few of the books on one of the shelves. She left this one sticking out a little bit.”
Isla isn’t convinced. “Did she give any other indication that the book is significant?”
“No,” I admit.
“Who wrote the notes?” Mom asks, taking a seat on one of the chairs and curling her feet up underneath her. Dad sits on the arm of her chair and drapes his arm across the back of it.
Zyla flips through the pages of the leather-bound book searching for an answer to her grandmother’s question. After a minute, she shakes her head. “It doesn’t say.”
“So, it could be simply a random book the Angel pulled out,” Garren says with a sigh. He’s obviously Team Isla on this one.
I may not have read Paradise Lost from cover to cover as Mom hoped I would, but I still remember what it’s about. “It’s a pretty big coincidence that of all the books in the enormous library, she just happened to find the one where someone took notes on an epic poem about Angels fighting, isn’t it? Especially one written in Enochian?” Okay, my tone got a little snarky toward the end there. But, come on.
Isla opens her mouth to say something, but Kallen jumps in before she can speak. “I believe it worthwhile to translate. Only then can we determine if there is anything to this.” Turning to our daughter, he says, “Zyla, please start on that.”
“I didn’t know there would be homework,” Zyla mutters.
When her brother snickers, Kallen’s eyes narrow in on him. “We all need to do our parts right now. Your brother will also be happy to help you.” His tone is far from snarky. He has his dad voice down already. I’m impressed.
All the humor drops from Xavion’s face. “Fine,” he grumbles. He gives his sister a sour look when she smirks at him.
Alita doesn’t miss the quiet snicker from her son’s mouth. “Let Keelan know if there is anything he can do to assist you,” she tells Zyla sweetly.
Keelan’s face falls comically. “Oh man. Since I don’t know how to read Enochian, they’re going to make me get them drinks or snacks or something.”
“Excellent idea,” Xavion grins.
Rising from the sofa with the book in hand, Zyla motions to her brother and cousin. “Come on, let’s get this over with.” All three of them trudge out of the room as if they are on their way to being court martialed.
The rest of us manage to hold back our chuckles until we’re fairly certain they are out of earshot.
Chapter 27
“Perhaps you should check in with the Angels,” Isla suggests. Like me, she doesn’t like to feel helpless. Sitting around just waiting for something to happen goes against the grain.
As much as I’d like to do as she asks, I shake my head. “I’m under strict orders from Rashnu to not speak to anyone who may be on the Council. She’s going to do that. She has an idea who she can approach.” If I talked to someone not on the list, I could inadvertently tip them off that we know they’re coming, and that we’re trying to form our own army to fight them.
Scowling, Isla is as frustrated by this as I am. “Then what does she expect us to do? Sit around and wait to be attacked?”
I wish I had a good answer for her. “She said to gather those close to us and prepare for battle, but that was it.”
“Prepare how?” Mom asks.
All I can do is shrug. “I don’t know.”
“Did she say anything else?” Isla asks.
“No.” Then I remember I didn’t tell them this part yet. The Demon interrupted us before I got to it. “She’s the one who sent the kids back here, though. She also gave Zyla a list of those who will stand by us in the future.”
Isla leans forward eagerly, hoping to learn more about our enemies. “Where is this list?”
With a grimace, I tell her, “Rashnu took it.”
That certainly didn’t lessen the older Fairy’s frustration. A deep scowl forms on her face. Not one to give up easily, Isla asks, “Do you remember any of the names on it.”
“I never actually saw the list,” I admit. When Isla’s scowl deepens even more, I add, “Rashnu made it so that only Zyla could hold it. She warded it. Even Rashnu couldn’t grab it with her bare hand. She had to use her wing, and the feathers were burned where they touched the paper.”
This seems to appease Isla slightly. She leans back against the couch cushions and sighs. “I suppose that information would be invaluable in the wrong hands.” True.
Glancing around the room at the gloomy faces, I tell everyone, “If it helps, Rashnu is pretty pissed. I’m certain she’s doing a full-scale investigation on her end.” It doesn’t seem to help. Their faces remain gloomy.
Alita is the first to break the ensuing silence. “I could head to the archives and help the Scribe.”
Shaking my head, I tell her, “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We should stick together right now.” I don’t want anyone caught alone again like Raziel and Adriel were. I don’t say the last part aloud, but a quick glance around the room tells me everyone else is thinking the same thing. “In fact,” I continue, “Dagda and Tana should return as soon as they finish up at the Palace.”
Kallen nods. “Agreed. I will let them know.”
My father isn’t going to like being told he can’t be alone right now. “Better let Tana know. She’ll be more open to the idea,” I suggest. I can see Dagda being stubborn about it. He’ll insist that he doesn’t need babysitting.
Kallen nods. He knows my father as well as I do. Better actually since he grew up here with him. “Agreed.”
“So, there’s nothing we can do?” Mom asks helplessly. She gives Dad a worried look and he puts his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. But, Mom’s not a quitter. After giving Dad a quick hug in return, she leans forward again. “What about setting traps around the house? Like I did in Colorado.”
As she says the words, her cheeks turn a bright red. She forgot for a moment who the traps were supposed to keep out. All of Mo
m’s traps were pretty specific to Fairies. She gives Kallen an apologetic look since he was once caught in one of her Fairy traps, and it was quite humiliating for him. He was also hit with iron from one of her Witch bombs. That caused a pretty severe injury, which led to me learning about my ability to heal, so I guess something good came out of it. But now that I think about it, Kallen’s pretty amazing for never holding those things against Mom.