True of Blood (Witch Fairy Series)

by Lamer, Bonnie

  “What does wortcunning mean?” I ask. Okay, if Kallen gives me one more of those looks, I’m going to poke him in his side. The injured side. It’s not my fault I wasn’t taught any of this stuff.

  Mom looks up from examining the things in the box. “It means knowledgeable in the use of herbs and flowers for healing and magic.”

  “Oh.” Let’s add that to my list of things I’m ignorant about, too.

  Mom is all business now. Turning to Aunt Barb, she starts giving her instructions. “Barb, please pour about a cup full of water into the bowl. Then I need you to take a pinch full of angelica, willow, vervain, and mugwort.” As she says each name, she points to the compartment containing each. “When you have them all, use the blood stone to pound them and stir them together.” She points to a stone that looks exactly like the one on the bracelet she gave me but bigger. “This should be a strong enough unguent to start the healing process.”

  Before I ask, she turns to me to explain. “An unguent is a magical healing salve. The herbs and flowers will aid in healing and the blood stone with stop the bleeding.” I nod stupidly as if this is all making sense. What happened to good old fashioned medicine? It seems like some stitches and antibiotics would be better than some herbs stirred together by a rock but I bite my tongue so I don’t say that out loud.

  Mom is giving more instructions to Aunt Barb. “Use one of the towels you got to cover his wound with the salve. Pack it in as much as possible and then press the towel over it.” Turning to me, she says, “We need to create a saka to begin the healing.”

  Okay, I think she and Kallen are just making up words now. Exasperated, I say, “You know I don’t know what a saka is or how you create one.”

  Mom looks properly chastised. “I regret that I have not taught you these things. I just wanted you to remain innocent as long as possible.”

  “That worked out well,” I mumble under my breath. Out loud, I say, “What do I need to do?”

  “A saka is a joining together of mana.” More of the new vocabulary from Mom’s library of stuff I didn’t need to know until now. Hmm, am I bitter much?

  “What’s mana?” I see Kallen roll his eyes and I am so tempted to hit him that I have to join my hands together. He would make a great scapegoat for my building resentment of being kept in the dark.

  “Mana is the spiritual power that Witches gather from the earth. Each Witch has the ability to hold a certain amount within her. The more powerful the Witch, the more mana she can hold and the more powerful her magic is. When a large amount of mana is joined together, such as through two Witches binding their mana for the same end, it is called a saka.”

  “Okay, but I still don’t know what to do.”

  “We need to join hands and I need you to concentrate on the salve, willing it to heal him.” I’m just now noticing that Mom refuses to say Kallen’s name. I wonder why? Does she hate Fairies that much?

  Moving closer to Mom, I hold my hand out and she closes her ghostly hand around it. My hand instantly becomes colder. “Close your eyes and imagine his wound healing.” I do what she tells me and in my mind I think of my anatomy lessons and imagine the organs and tissue in the location of his injury knitting themselves back together as if the searing of the iron was occurring backwards. I’m able to push everything else from my mind and the image becomes clearer. I can see the torn cells as they once again become whole and I see them again form muscle and bits of liver and fascia, I see the bones knitting together as if they had never been touched. And finally, the skin becomes whole pushing the salve from the wound. I am so engulfed by these images that I don’t hear the gasps or murmurs at first. The cold touch of Mom’s hand is gone. She must have dropped my hand because I wasn’t doing it right and it was easier to do it without me. Slowly, I open my eyes nervous to hear what I was doing wrong now.

  Dad and Aunt Barb have backed up so they are now standing about five feet from the couch and I’m not sure what their expressions mean but they kind of look scared. Kallen and Mom are looking at me as if I just sprouted a new head or something. Putting my arms akimbo, I ask, “What? What did I do wrong?”

  “Wrong?” Mom asks. She sounds surprised. “Xandra, you didn’t do anything wrong. You did it exactly right.”

  “Then why are you guys looking at me like I’m a freak?”

  Kallen answers first but he answers with a question which is always so annoying when you want answers. “Has your mother explained to you why the pairing of a Witch and a Fairy is forbidden?”

  “I think it’s pretty clear that no one has explained much of anything to me,” I say as I cross my arms over my chest.

  I can’t figure out the expression on Kallen’s face. The only expressions I’ve seen so far have been annoyed and more annoyed but now he seems to be trying to keep his face blank of emotion. “Because it has always been feared that the pairing would unleash a creature who was too powerful to be stopped by either the Witches or the Fae.”

  Putting my hands back on my hips, I sigh heavily. “So?”

  Slowly, Kallen takes his hand and pulls the towel covered in salve from his wound. Or, I should say, from the area where his wound should have been. He looks pointedly at his skin and then back to me. My brows furrow together in confusion. “Okay, it’s gone. Isn’t that what was supposed to happen?”

  Mom shakes her head. “A healing salve takes time to work. It’s a difficult process to reconnect tissue, especially tissue that has been burned because it becomes a matter of creating new tissue, not just knitting tissue back together. It should have taken days for this type of healing to occur with saka energy being directed towards it several times. The fact that he has been healed completely after one saka is unheard of.”

  I still don’t understand what the bid deal is. “Well, you said you were a powerful Witch.”

  Mom shook her head. “I didn’t do this.”

  Apparently, from the expressions on their faces I’m being really dense. “Then who did?”

  “You.”

  I look at Kallen’s wound and then back to Mom. “Uh uh, no way. I don’t know how to do that.”

  “I channeled your mana, focusing it where it needed to go but once it found its purpose, I had to let go. I’m not a strong enough vessel for the amount of mana you were sending through me.”

  This is getting ridiculous. There’s no way I did that. “So, let me get this straight. Even though I have never done a magical thing in my entire life, suddenly I’m this super Witch who can heal someone instantly? Sorry, I don’t buy it.”

  Mom looks at me with a gentle expression as if she’s about to talk to a small child. “Your powers were bound until after your seventeenth birthday, remember? There was no way to tell how powerful of a Witch you’d be.”

  I notice Kallen’s being conspicuously quiet as my mom tells me these outlandish things. I’m sure he’s just dying to negate her theory. “Will you please tell her that I had nothing to do with this?”

  He still has the blank expression on his face. “I do not recall much from before the Fae world was closed off from this one, I was quite young. But I do not recall hearing of a Witch who was this powerful. I do know that no one in the Fae realm ever tells stories of the pairing of a Witch and Fairy.”

  The full meaning of his words hit me slowly through my exasperation. I’m about to start another tirade about how impossible what they’re saying is when it hits me. I turn back to Kallen and give him a hard look. “What do you mean before the Fae world was closed off? Wasn’t that supposed to have happened hundreds of years ago or was that another lie?”

  His expression still doesn’t change. “No, that was not a lie.”

  This is too much. “Are you trying to tell me that you’re like three hundred years old or something?”

  “Three hundred and sixty seven.” He actually said that with a straight face.

  I’ve had it. My brain is going to explode. Who knows, maybe that’s what they’re trying for. I just c
an’t figure out why they all want me to think I’m crazy. Whatever the reason, though, it’s working. “I can’t take any more of this inane conversation.” Turning on my heel, I stalk out of the room and for the second time in two days I slam my bedroom door closed behind me.

  Mom apparently isn’t willing to leave me alone this time. Within seconds, she is coming through my wall. I wish they made locks that could keep ghosts out. I cross my arms over my chest and glare at her. “Mom, I’m not talking about this any more today.”

  “Xandra, honey, you can’t hide in your room and pretend that none of this is happening. We need to make plans. Your father is already having Aunt Barb and Zac get together what they need for an extended stay in Denver but we have to figure out what to do about you.”

  I don’t pounce on the what to do about me part of what she said because talking about Dad and Aunt Barb reminds me of something. “Why did Dad look scared when Kallen was healed?”

  “Because when you were channeling your mana, your hair was blowing like it was in a strong wind and your aura was visible. It’s green, by the way, with clouds of orange.”

  “Great, the colors of my aura clash,” I mumble. I can’t even get that right. I sigh and sit down on my bed. “Mom, why are all of you doing this to me?”

  “Because seventeen years ago, I loved you too much not to bring you into this world. And I’m very truly sorry that you are now suffering the consequences of that decision.”

  Ghost mom guilt. It doesn’t get any worse than that. And when she puts it that way, I do sound kind of ungrateful about being born. I look up at her and she looks so sad that it seems strange that there aren’t tears on her cheeks. With another big sigh, I stand back up. “What do you want me to do?”

  She reaches out her cold hand and touches my face. “You are a strong and powerful Witch, Xandra, and we need to teach you how to use that power.”

  I have no idea what that is going to entail but it does sound better than physics. “Is there going to be homework?”

  Mom smiles at me over her shoulder as she glides through the wall. “Some.”

  I feel a little embarrassed about my dramatic exit a few minutes ago and I can feel my cheeks turning red as I reenter the living room. I have a hard time meeting Kallen’s cold green eyes. He hasn’t moved from the couch and I’m not sure if that’s by his choice or if Mom threatened him.

  After I sit down in the leather recliner that Dad used to love, Kallen turns his eyes to Mom. “You don’t mean to keep her here, do you?”

  Mom looks at him disdainfully. “Where else would I teach her?”

  “Maybe it’s not her Witch magic that she needs to concentrate on,” Kallen challenged. Whoa, is he saying that I have Fairy magic, too?

  Mom isn’t able to respond because Zac comes into the room with a full blown pout on his face. “Mom, do I have to go with Aunt Barb? I want to stay and see the Fairies.”

  “There’s one right there and you can see they’re not that special,” I tell him with a simpering smile towards Kallen. Good thing he can’t shoot Fairy darts with his eyes or I’d be in trouble.

  Mom floats down and bends her legs so they don’t go through the floor until she’s eye to eye with Zac. “Yes, you have to go with Aunt Barb. You’ll be much safer there if the bad Fairies come back.”

  His little brows come together. “I thought Fairies were nice, like in the stories.” I can’t help a snort which earns me another glare from Kallen.

  “Just like all people aren’t nice, neither are all Fairies,” Mom explains with a warning look at me not to add my commentary. “It’ll just be for a little while, I promise.”

  “As long as she is here, you will not have peace,” Kallen says as he crosses his arms against his still bare chest drawing my attention to his strong arms and serious six pack abs. He looks really good for a three hundred and sixty seven year old. Unfortunately, he catches me checking him out and he looks at me disdainfully. I’m back to wanting to hit him again.

  Mom gives him the warning look now and then brings her attention back to Zac. “Zacchaeus, I need you to go get some of your things together that you want to take with you. Not too much, just the things you really feel you can’t live without for a few days.” She shoos him out of the room and then she turns to Kallen. “My daughter and I can handle whatever your Fairy friends can dish out.”

  “Including an exorcism?” Kallen asks snidely.

  I jump up and point a finger at him. “Don’t you dare threaten my mother!”

  Kallen looks unfazed. He completely ignores me and continues to talk to Mom. “I am merely pointing out the course of action Maurelle and Olwyn will take. Which would leave your daughter with no one to teach her all the things she should have been taught years ago. She does not know even the most basic magic.”

  Mom crosses her translucent arms. “What are you suggesting?”

  “That she is removed from this,” he pauses as he looks about the room with derision, “home and she goes into hiding until her magic is strong enough for her to defend herself. She obviously has the power, she simply needs the control.”

  “Hello! I’m still in the room. Don’t talk about me like I’m not.” I really, really dislike him. I don’t think he could be a bigger jerk if he tried.

  Kallen brings his eyes to rest on me. “I am assuming that it is not your decision whether you remain here or go into hiding. Therefore, I am speaking to the person who will make that decision.” I was wrong. He could be a bigger jerk.

  Mom narrows her eyes at him. “And where exactly do you think she should hide and with whom?”

  “As my blood is pure, not tainted as is Maurelle’s and Olwyn’s, I would be able to shield her presence from them. I could even prevent them from sensing her Witch magic which is how you were so easily found. It was simply a matter of following your particular flavor of magic.”

  “You can taste magic?” I ask.

  Kallen inclines his head and speaks as if he’s talking to a small child. “It is simply a figure of speech. I will try to be more precise with my words so you may understand their meanings.” That’s it. I pick up the throw pillow at the end of the couch and I take its name literally. I throw it at him hitting him in the head. He glares at me but doesn’t throw it back.

  I turn to Mom to tell her there is no way I am going anywhere with him but she is completely still and looks stricken. I don’t think she knew that Fairies could sense Witch magic. Especially not Witch specific magic.

  “What have I done?” she asks no one in particular.

  Chapter 6

  “Mom, are you okay?” I ask.

  When she turns to me, there is real fear in her eyes. “I led them right to you. I should have given up all of my magic when I ran away with you but I thought if I was far enough away from my parents it would be safe.”

  “It’s okay, Mom. You didn’t know.” I don’t like seeing her fearful. She’s supposed to be the one protecting me right now. I look at Kallen out of the corner of my eye and he’s watching Mom with self-assured eyes as the reality of the situation sinks in for both of us. Maybe she can’t protect me.

  “Mom, we can figure something out. Maybe my magic is strong enough to repel them.” I don’t believe this but right now I would say anything to wipe that look of fear off her face.

  “Your magic is wild and untamed. You would probably do more harm than good,” Kallen says as he continues to stare at Mom.

  “Gee, thanks for the support and encouragement,” I say facetiously.

  “I was not being…” he began.

  “I know, that was my point. Couldn’t you at least pretend to be a decent guy for maybe ten minutes or so or would that ruin your reputation in the Fairy homeland?”

  He tears his eyes from Mom to look at me. “Would you have me tell you lies? I could paint a pretty picture where your mother somehow saves the day with her magic that does not begin to compare to that of the Fae. I could tell you that you will all liv
e out the rest of your lives, or afterlives,” he says pointedly to Mom, “in these mountains and there will be sunshine and happiness abounding.”

  I try to ignore his condescension. “Why are you so sure that Mom’s magic isn’t strong enough?”

  “It is as I already explained to you. Fairies have the ability to absorb a Witch’s magic if you will. The more that is absorbed, the less that Fairy is affected by that Witch’s magic until it no longer has any affect whatsoever. Maurelle and Olwyn may be tainted but they are older than I by several hundred years. They are strong.”

  “What do you mean by tainted? And don’t roll your eyes at me. There’s no reason why I should already know the answer.”

  Kallen almost looks amused. Wow, who would have thought that could happen. “You are correct; the Fae world was closed many years before your time so there is no reason for you to be well informed of our history. Tainted means that they have Cowan blood in their lineage. It can be extremely difficult for a full-blooded female Fae to conceive when paired with another full-blooded Fae. Some of the older Fairies chose to look to the Cowans as a way to ensure their Fairy blood was passed on and when the worlds were separated, they brought these children into Fae, but this tainted blood made the children born from these unions weaker. Their magic is not as powerful nor are their Fairy senses. That is why I can detect Maurelle and Olwyn if they are near but they cannot detect me unless I show myself to them as I did when they came upon you in the woods.”