by Bonnie Lamer
Xeniaa looks me up and down and the look on her face makes it clear she has found me wanting. “Kallen, I can see that she is reasonably pretty, but you cannot be serious. You were going to stay in the Cowan realm for this scrawny thing? I am sure at this point, you are ready for a woman in your life.” She turns to him with lust in her eyes. “Fortunately for you, you already have a wife who will take care of any needs you may have.” Eew. The thought of her and Kallen having sex is not an image I wanted in my mind. Yup, that was more magic being pulled inside of me. Okay, I might be a tiny bit jealous, as well.
While her attention is directed towards Kallen, I take the opportunity to use some of the magic I have pulled. Using one of the tricks Dagda taught me yesterday, I send my magic out like a stealth aircraft. It moves over the heads of those in front and doesn’t stop until it reaches the end of the crowd. It latches on to several people who are now unable to move. Nor can they speak to alert anyone else of their dilemma.
Xeniaa moves in Kallen’s direction, confident that the greater numbers on her side will keep us in check. “You are quiet this morning, my love. Would it help if I told you that I will make your little Witch Fairy’s death quick and mostly painless?”
Rage is building on Kallen’s face; enough that Xeniaa takes an unconscious step back. “You will not harm the woman I love.” Oh, Kallen, that wasn’t in the plan. He’s a terrible actor.
“Love?” Xeniaa scoffs. “What a ridiculous notion. We do not need love.” Liar. Her love for Kallen is written all over her face. Well, if you can classify obsession as love, anyway. “We have power. That is infinitesimally more useful than love. We also have attraction. That will get us by just fine.”
I’m pretty sure that’s not attraction in Kallen’s eyes, but I’m not going to bring that up. Instead, I’m going to use the opportunity to incapacitate more of her flock. I’m about half way up through the crowd now.
Kallen doesn’t respond and there’s a distinct tightening of Xeniaa’s jaw that says how much that bothers her. Instead of admitting it, she tries a different tactic. Her eyes lock onto Kegan and a frightening smile breaks out on her face. “You know, Kallen. If you would like our reign to be platonic, I can always keep your cousin in my room for my entertainment. His Cowan blood makes him useless for anything else than a toy.”
I can’t decide if Kegan looks mad or if he’s going to throw up. Maybe both? “I would prefer that you kill me.”
That wasn’t the right thing to say. Instantly, Kegan is on the ground writhing in pain. A hand on each of my arms keeps me from helping him. “He is strong,” Isla says quietly.
Kallen must not be as sure. He pulls his own magic and pushes hers out of Kegan. For an instant, Kegan is in excruciating pain as the too magics come together, but it only takes a second for Kallen’s stronger magic to push hers out.
Xeniaa smiles at Kallen. “I love it when you show your strength.” Eew. I think she’s turned on right now.
This is driving me insane. I want to handle this situation like I have the others. I take control, I kick ass, I win. It’s such a simple way to handle things. I was told last night that didn’t make me a team player. I need to learn to work well with others. Maybe Mom and Dad should have thought of that before keeping me isolated in the mountains.
Kallen doesn’t respond to her last comment. Instead, he looks at me and every bit of love he has for me shows on his face. I thought Xeniaa was mad before, that was nothing compared to now. In a flash, she is back in front of me.
“I understand that Maurelle and Olwyn were but putty in your hands. You will not find me as pliable. I am a full-blooded Pooka warrior, I am not tainted.”
Not tainted, just insane. Good lord, how much trouble do I need to cause before I learn to quit mumbling stuff out loud? Maybe I have Tourette syndrome and should see a doctor. No, I’m reasonably sure that Dad would have mentioned something if I had it.
Her magic comes barreling at me. I’ll admit, she’s strong. She’s not as strong as Kallen, or Dagda, or Isla, but she is strong. It takes every teeny tiny bit of will power I have to let her magic bowl me over. My pride alone suffers the most damage. My pain sensors, not so much. I wonder if I’m not as sensitive as the others? Maybe that’s why my magic doesn’t kill me. That also means I have to try to act like I’m in pain. I fall to the ground on my hands and knees. I don’t think I can manage writhing.
“Xeniaa, let her go,” Kallen demands.
“So that you can pine for her the rest of your days? Definitely not.” While I’m on the ground, I take the opportunity to see if everything is in place. Almost. Just a few more minutes. I let Rhiannon go from the room she’s locked in as a distraction to give us a little more time. It’s less than a minute before she comes barreling out of the house.
“Xeniaa, stop, she is the Witch Fairy!”
I believe Xeniaa is attempting to bore a hole through Rhiannon with her eyes. She kind of looks like she might succeed. “Thank you, what timely information you have brought me.” Hmm, I thought the two sisters were close. “I am disappointed, Rhiannon, that you let yourself be captured. I trusted you with one small task, and you failed miserably. It must be the Cowan blood from Mother’s illicit, and poorly covered up, affair that everyone knows you carry.”
Rhiannon looks like she’s been stricken. Not only did her sister confirm the rumors, she humiliated her in front of the most powerful Fairies in the realm. “That is not true!”
Xeniaa looks at her with something closely resembling pity. “Poor sister, you know what I say is true. But, perhaps you can redeem yourself. I may still show pity when I scourge this realm of any trace of Cowan blood. What have you learned about the Witch Fairy that I would be interested in knowing?”
Rhiannon looks from her sister, who she is just learning despises her for her tainted blood line, and me. She sees me faking pain. I’m sure she knows it’s fake. I think what it comes down to or her is who will better serve her self-interest? She surveys the crowd surrounding her sister, looks into the eyes of the highest ranking Fairies the realm has to offer, and her face remains a blank page. But, I can still see the decision snap to life in her eyes. Turning to Xeniaa, she says, “I have learned that all of the stories of her greatness are untrue. She has trouble performing even the most basic magic. She cannot even dress herself, nor can she fight like a warrior.” Hey, I thought I was getting pretty good when we sparred the other day. “I have watched her these past days. She is a mockery. The Witch blood in her has left her weaker than even the twice tainted Fairy.”
Wow, she knows how to lay it on thick. She is even able to beam with pride as her sister looks her over with a newly found respect. Maybe not respect. Maybe it’s more like less distaste. “Thank you, Rhiannon, for confirming my suspicions.”
Xeniaa turns back to me and shoves more magic inside of me. I guess I have to try writhing now. I flop to the ground, annoyed that I have to get sand in my dress for this. Peeking up at the crowd, I try to hide my smile as I see Rhiannon’s distraction gave us the time we needed.
“Look at her, Kallen. There was a day not so long ago that you would not look twice at a Fairy with nothing less than full-blooded status. Now, you expect me to believe that you would prefer to be with this mutt that is powerless under my superior magic?”
Kallen grins. “Yes.”
Something closely resembling a growl escapes from her throat. “Then, I will take care of her right now.”
Thank goodness, this sand is getting everywhere. Xeniaa pushes even more magic at me, which I catch in a web of my own magic. Standing up, I brush the sand off and try to inconspicuously move in a way that will get it out of my panties. The snickers from the people behind me tell me I didn’t pull it off.
Xeniaa’s mouth is trying hard to stay closed. Her eyes swing from me, to Kallen, and back again. “Kallen, you dare do this when I have the backing of these powerful Pooka warriors?”
I scowl as I turn to Kallen. “Why is it tha
t people are always assuming that you’re the one performing my magic?”
He shrugs and continues to grin. “You have not had the opportunity to build the reputation I have.”
Then I guess I had better get started on that. I look at Xeniaa’s outraged face, and say, “As much fun as it was to pretend that your magic is anything more than a blip on my radar, everything has to come to an end. Right?”
“If this is the game you want to play, fine. Raphello, bring the twice tainted mutt’s mother. I will show how serious I am about ridding us of Cowans.”
Whoever this Raphello is, he doesn’t answer. Because he can’t. After a couple of seconds of no response, Xeniaa turns around. Unfortunately for her, it is not the most powerful Pooka Fairies in the realm she finds. It is the most powerful Sheehogue Fairies.
Kallen sent a message during the night laying out the plan. Two-way communication was set up and after hours of painful negotiations, sometimes literally, the Sheehogue Fairies agreed to make a stand. Their one stipulation was that it could not be in battle. They were not willing to shed blood to save another realm. That still rubs me the wrong way, but then again, Mom told me to blow up this entire realm if that’s what it takes to get home. I guess the feeling goes both ways.
As Xenia was flapping her lips and gums, my magic was incapacitating the Pooka Fairies and as they became helpless, the Sheehogue Fairies would remove them from the crowd, bound them with iron, and silently take their place.
“As you can see, Xeniaa, my daughter is full of surprises,” Dagda says with more than a little amusement and pride in his eyes. “It would seem that your little rebellion has fizzled to a dull whisper.”
Dagda draws magic to fling at her when she quickly pulls a circle over her. Dagda swears, but he doesn’t know my secret. He will in a minute.
“Patience, Dagda,” Isla says. “Trust your daughter.”
I walk towards where Xeniaa is smugly standing in her circle as she tries to think of way to get herself out of this situation. I stop at the edge of her circle. She’s looking at me believing I can’t see her. I think that’s why she sticks her tongue out at me.
I laugh and I wave at her. Doubt flashes in her eyes, but it doesn’t hold. She must think I’m just waving at where she was. Time to disillusion her. I walk through the boundary of her circle.
“Wha…no, you cannot do that,” she says backing up. She stops and looks behind her, making sure she hasn’t hit the circle wall behind her.
“The great thing about being me? I don’t have to follow all those pesky rules that the rest of you do.”
Stunned speechless, she draws magic. “Uh uh,” I say, shaking my finger at her. “If you do that, I’ll be forced to show you how strong I really am.”
“I am not afraid of you.” She almost pulls the line off, but her eyes give her away. I think that it’s more panic than anything that makes her fling her magic at me.
“Really, you couldn’t just take my word for it?” I ask as I stop her magic, push it back inside of her, and then shove mine in after it.
It’s her turn to writhe on the ground, now. I’m pretty sure she’s not faking it like I was. “I have a spell I would like to try out. I’ve only used it on a Witch, but I think I can modify it enough to suit my purposes here. Unfortunately for you, it suits my purposes better to have an audience, though.”
I reach out and run my hand through the wall of the circle with the intention of bringing it down. Which I do. I see more than one surprised expression amongst the Sheehogue Fairies, because it’s obvious I did it, not Xeniaa.
“Now, to get on with my spell.” I turn towards the Pooka Fairies who are bound and gagged. “You may want to pay special attention to this. It could be you next.”
I pull back enough magic so that Xeniaa can push herself to a kneeling position. The hatred in her eyes is fiercer than all of the Witan put together. Maybe it’s the unrequited love that gives it the extra oomph. She starts to say something but I don’t want to hear it. I take her voice.
As the spell forms in my mind, I walk around her in a circle. “Forbidden magic has led you astray, for the sins of others you must pay. Innocent babe grown to power misplaced, from dark magic became a Fairy disgrace. A soul lost, a threat to peace, your influence shall now cease. Magic misused, power out of control, I strip these now from your wicked soul. Abused by you against family, friend and foe, yours no longer, your magic has been let go.” With that, I withdraw all of my magic from her. I didn’t mean to do it so quickly that she falls on her face. Really.
I watch her struggle for a minute, trying to call on magic she no longer has. After a moment, she turns her rage on her sister. “You lied to me,” she growls. “You said she was weak. You are a traitor to the Pooka cause.”
Rhiannon shrugs. “Must have been the Cowan blood in me.” I can’t help but laugh. Maybe I’ll grow to like her eventually.
Ignoring the drama of the two women, one of the Sheehogue Fairies walks towards me. His hair is a solid gray, and the wrinkles on his face give me the impression that he’s pretty old. His stature is shorter than most Fairies, and a tire around his middle gives the impression that he is a connoisseur of good food. As he approaches, I can feel that he is nearly as powerful as Kallen and Dagda. “Impressive,” he says after introducing himself as Alston. He was the spokesperson for the Sheehogue during our negotiations. It’s nice to put a face to the name. “I did not think it could be done.”
I shrug. “Neither did I.”
That makes him chuckle. “Modest, too. That will serve you well in the difficult life you are destined to have.” Looking past me, he says to Dagda, “Are you now willing to hold up your part of this agreement?”
I can feel the tension rolling off from Dagda. He had reluctantly agreed last night, but my fear all morning has been that he will try some trick or magic that will get him out of this.
His eyes meet mine and I can see the war going on behind them. He will be swallowing his pride if he agrees, giving up a piece of himself. A piece taken long ago by a Witch King in my realm. This is his time to make a choice, hold onto that piece or let go of the past and travel with new allies into the future.
He chooses the latter. “I am.”
Alston seems unable to hide his surprise. I don’t think any of the Sheehogue believed that he would. Maybe there is hope for him becoming a better person, or Fairy. I’m not ready to believe it yet, but we’ll see.
Dagda comes forward. It looks like every step closer to me becomes more and more painful for him. He comes to a stop in front of me. Isla comes next. She’s carrying the grimoire I used for the spider spell.
Opening it to the page we need, she hands it to me. Kallen and Kegan have come forward to place four black candles in the sand, one in each position of a compass. I can tell that second thoughts are screaming and rattling around Dagda’s head, looking for a way to make themselves known, but he doesn’t say a word. He gives me a nod that he’s ready to begin. He, Isla and Alston join hands making a circle with me in the middle.
I look down at the grimoirre and it hits me that I am one step closer to fulfilling my task. With that in mind, I begin to read. “To save the realms, this spell was cast, by Witch and Fairy, together set fast. Greed and blood, revenge and war, drove the need to close the door. One final way, a thread to the past, left in place not meant to last. Forsaken now by the one it holds, no longer needed as peace unfolds. Close the realms and none shall pass, save for the one who this spell uncasts. Gateways remain locked, passages remain blocked. With this act the process begun, as threads of hope are finely spun. No longer shall this cursed one bare, the weight of darkness and despair. Taken from him by his own request, forsaking desire of revenge and conquest, freely offered to lighten his soul, his focus now on letting peace grow.”
Magic sprouts from the ground all around me. It swirls and pulses through all of us, as it does my bidding. Stripping Dagda of the power to cross realms. A choice he made if I a
greed to help him keep peace, and keep him King. My concession in return is that Isla will continue to be High Chancellor, but will also serve as the King’s advisor who will help him guide the realm in a more peaceful direction.
As the last of the magic needed explodes around us, everyone on the beach is thrown down to the sand, except me. I’m the only one who the spell did not affect. It wasn’t just Dagda who needed to be cleansed of the spell. Now, none of the Fairies have the power to jump realms even if the gateways were open. That was Isla’s concession.
Fairies one by one begin to pick themselves up. The Pooka Fairies are released from their iron restraints and they skulk off through the forest, as they realize change truly is coming. Xeniaa’s parents come to claim their daughter, who is now sobbing uncontrollably as all of her dreams are dashed. I kind of feel sorry for her. Not much, though. She did try to force Kallen away from me.