by Bonnie Lamer
“Is that sarcasm?” I ask stepping out into the hall. I punch him in the arm as I pass him.
“You do realize I am not a punching bag right?” he asks, rubbing his arm.
“Really? Huh, I guess I was misinformed.”
“You are certainly in a mood, cousin,” he drawls. “Where are you off to?”
I look back over my shoulder. “I am going for a run. You may join me if you think you can keep up.”
Kegan snorts. “I believe it is I who is the lighter foot. You have not beaten me yet.”
“We will see.”
Kegan follows me down the stairs and out to the beach. Losing my t-shirt, I start running and he has no trouble keeping up. I may be stronger with magic, but Kegan and I have always been pretty well matched physically. He makes sure of it.
We run for several minutes without talking. It is Kegan who finally breaks the silence. “I would like to apolo…”
“Stop,” I say without breaking stride. “I do not want to hear another apology. And I am sure you do not want to issue another one. In the past is where that all belongs.”
It is several more minutes before Kegan says, “You run pretty well for an old hand-fasted man.” I push him sideways and he trips over the sand but does not fall. Laughing, he adds, “I thought you had given up on exercise since I have not seen you work out since you came home.”
He is right. I have not. “No time with all the trouble Xandra manages to get tangled up in.”
He chuckles. “She does seem to have an inordinately long string of bad luck going on. After all, look who she is dating.”
I push him again and this time he does fall, but he is laughing. I stop running and turn around. Now that I have stopped, I realize I neglected to do my normal stretches before starting out. I can feel the tightness in my calves. “And you seem to currently have an inordinately long streak of pissing me.”
Standing back up, he brushes the sand off. “Yes, I believe it has been going on since birth.”
I shake my head and laugh. “Yes, I believe it has.” Looking around, I take in how far we have gone. About two and a half miles. Not bad for not stretching. “We should head back. I promised Xandra I would not be long.”
The run back brings lively banter between Kegan and me. We find ourselves slipping into our old pattern of wisecracks and physical competition. We stay neck and neck the entire way back though both of us have little spurts of jumping ahead only to find the other is just as capable. By the time we are back home, everything feels normal between us again.
Which makes the drama playing out in the kitchen even more unbearable. Lately it seems that as soon as one thing is made right, something else goes violently wrong. This violence is going to be perpetrated by Xandra I believe. Because for some reason, the assassin who tried to kill her is sitting on a stool looking grim. Maurelle.
My voice could freeze Shadows when I say, “You are not welcome in this house.”
Her eyes narrow in my direction but the lovesick puppy that lives inside of her shines through her eyes. A chill runs down my spine at the thought. “I brought the king a message.”
To my great surprise, Xandra chuckles. “You didn’t know Kallen was here, either, did you?” I am not sure what that has to do with anything.
Maurelle glowers at Xandra. “No, I did not.” Dagda is quiet. He still looks furious, but I think he wants to see how this plays out.
“And you offered to bring it because you were hoping to see Kegan?” Xandra turns to my now white faced cousin. “I didn’t know you had a fan club.” Maurelle is anything but white at the moment. She has more of a purplish hue going on.
Kegan laughs nervously. “This is the first I have heard of it myself.”
Alita chooses this moment to walk in. She heard this exchange and she is not happy. She turns on her heels and walks right back out of the kitchen. Kegan is smart enough to go after her.
Xandra turns her attention back to Maurelle. “Is there anywhere that you’re welcome, or do you make people dislike you wherever you go?”
I understand why Xandra is taunting her, but she needs to remember how underhanded and violent Maurelle can be. Dagda understands. Maurelle reaches into her pocket to pull out what I assume would be a Fairy dart but her hand stills when Dagda says, “Maurelle, if you are about to perpetrate violence against my daughter, you will be tried for treason as per the edict I issued.”
“I would never,” Maurelle lies ducking her head in an effort to appear sincere.
“That is not the first lie you have spoken since arriving unwelcome in this house. I will be discussing this with you later, and you will not find the discussion enjoyable. Leave.” I am not sure why Dagda has kept her on staff since doing an about face in regards to Xandra. Whatever his reason was, she is definitely on her way out now. Maurelle slinks out the back door with one quick over the shoulder glare in Xandra’s direction. Her expression promises revenge that she is not strong enough to pull off. A useless waste of her facial muscles.
You would think the tension in the room would drop now but Tabitha seems determined to keep it alive and well. “Well, that was a bright spot on an already glorious day,” Tabitha says, getting up and stirring her soup again. “Close friend of yours, I take it?” she asks Xandra. Tabitha knows exactly who Maurelle is and what Dagda sent her to do. I cannot believe she did not throw her out of the kitchen herself. Perhaps like Dagda, she wanted to see how Xandra handled it as well.
Xandra snorts. “Yeah, about as close as you can get with the person sent to kill you.”
Not looking up from the pot on the stove, Tabitha says, “Hmm, in a perfect world, it would have been the person who sent her after you who journeyed to hell. It is a shame it is not a perfect world.”
“Perhaps the Fairy who raised me is to blame,” Dagda growls.
Tabitha twirls around, slinging cat potion all over us. Great, it is going to take a couple of showers to get rid of this stench. Perhaps Xandra can heal offensive odors as well.
“I will not take responsibility for the choices you made because your pride overcame your common sense and decency. I did not raise you to be that way.”
This is news to Xandra. I guess none of us has mentioned that Tabitha used to work for Dagda’s family. “You raised him?”
Dagda has a somewhat smug look on his face now as he says, “After my mother died, Tabitha came to live with us at the palace. She made me into the Fairy I am today.”
Magic is going to start flying any minute now. I am tempted to grab Xandra and run, letting the two of them duke it out in private. Instead, I simply move to her side, ready to shield her if necessary. Not necessarily from magic. More likely from Tabitha physically attacking Dagda.
Xandra takes a different route. She steers the conversation back to where it should be. “Tabitha, no one believes that, and I know he’s being a pain, but could you kill him later? I’m hoping that scroll has something written on it that will help.”
When Tabitha turns back to the stove, Dagda is smart enough to keep his mouth shut. He takes Xandra’s cue and picks up the scroll. Unrolling it, he scans the text. “This might work,” he says, looking up at Xandra.
“What do we have to do?” she asks.
“Kallen, will you please contact Isla. She will want to be here.” Yes, and she will love me contacting her this way. But I know that Xandra does not have the patience for me to go looking for her.
To prove my point, she says, “Okay, now please tell me what it says.”
Dagda looks up at her and smiles. “Oh, how alike we are.”
He gets an eye roll. “Stop saying that.”
He chuckles and answers her question. “It says there is a way to send these soul fragments back to hell.”
“What’s the catch?” she asks.
Dagda has no idea what she means. “Catch?”
“Yeah, what horrible thing do I have to do to work this magic? There’s always a catch. Especially if it�
��s magic that hasn’t been used in a long time – like the kind that’s written on scrolls instead of paper.” I try to school my face so I do not laugh. Her track record with magic has shown a pattern of ‘catches’.
“Have you always been this cynical?” Dagda asks.
She shrugs. “No, it pretty much started on my seventeenth birthday.” I have to cover my mouth to keep from laughing out loud now. Dagda throws a severe look my way which helps but Tabitha still laughs out loud.
“The ‘catch,’ as you say, is that blood is required from the same type of beings that the soul is from.”
Xandra looks at him like he is insane. “And we’re supposed to waltz up to Aunt Barb and demand that she tell us where the soul barnacles she’s carrying are from? I’m sure they’ll let her spout the list right off.”
Dagda goes into King mode. Or, I should say, madman mode. “There are ways to extract information from someone.”
That was not a smart thing to say to Xandra. “I’m not going to torture my aunt.”
“I do not believe he meant torture,” Tabitha says, surprisingly coming to Dagda’s defense. “Did you?” The tone of her voice makes it clear he had better say no.
Dagda inclines his head in her direction. “You are correct; I was not speaking of torture.” To Xandra, he says, “There are potions that can be used to draw information from an unwilling source.”
“Like truth serum?” Xandra asks.
“Yes.”
“Oh, that’ll be okay then.”
Dagda smiles. “Then all we need to do is convince the best potion maker in this realm to whip us up a batch.” Obviously, he means Tabitha.
She does not buy his sucking up for a moment. She narrows her eyes and says stiffly, “I will make it for Xandra, not you.” She rises from the counter and begins opening cupboards to find the ingredients she needs.
“Can I see the scroll?” Xandra asks.
“Certainly.” Dagda turns it so that we can both read it. Well, so I can read it. Xandra is not quite up on her other languages yet. “It is written in Latin,” I explain. Scanning through it, I look up at Dagda. “You believe this can be modified to be as specific as it needs to be?”
Dagda nods. “If we change this part,” he points to a spot on the scroll. “And here, it should work.”
Xandra puts her hands on her hips. “Are either of you planning to tell me what is says anytime soon?”
“Sorry, I forgot you don’t know Latin.” I did not. I simply forgot to read it to her.
“I’ll put it on my to-do list,” she says in her best snarky voice. “But, in the meantime, will you please tell me what it says?”
“This is ancient magic, from some of the earliest known records. It seems that it was once used to banish one’s enemies by forcing their soul from their body. Once banished, it could never be brought back.”
“Because it goes to the Shadow realm?”
“That is unclear,” Dagda says.
“So, they could just hang around and be ghosts or something?”
I shrug. I do not have the answer she is looking for. “It does not say.”
Doubt rings in her voice. “This sounds awfully risky. Are you sure you want to take the chance of letting evil loose in your realm?” Xandra asks.
“You have not told her everything,” Tabitha says. “This is a black magic spell. Because practitioners of black magic do not like all of their secrets to be shared, written records of their spells are not always accurate.”
Xandra’s mouth drops open. “You mean, I could do this spell and nothing may happen?”
“Or, you could do this spell and send everyone to hell.” Tabitha, ever the optimist.
Xandra’s eyes are gleaming with anxiety. “You guys really want me to do a spell that could possibly kill everyone in this realm?”
Dagda says the words that I was about to say. “I have confidence in you.”
Her internal struggles only lasts a minute. I know where she will end up on this. She will take the risk to save her aunt. “Okay, I guess.”
The kitchen door opens again, and Grandmother comes in. “Is that the spell?” she asks, not bothering with pleasantries. Dagda pushes it down the counter so she can read it.
“We will need to change a couple of details, but it seems to be the best way,” I say.
“Agreed.” Turning to Xandra, she says, “It will take some time to gather the necessary items and create a safe place for the magic to be performed. Perhaps you and Kallen can take a walk on the beach to mentally prepare yourself. This spell is going to require a great deal of strength and magic.” In other words, she wants us to leave her and Tabitha in peace to get ready.
“Okay.”
“How long do you believe it will take?” I ask.
“Perhaps an hour.”
“I should let me parents know,” Xandra says but Grandmother shakes her head. “I will discuss this with them before we proceed.”
“We will return in an hour.” Taking Xandra’s hand before she can argue, I pull her out of the kitchen.
Chapter 25
There is a serenity to the shoreline that Xandra is missing completely. “Why are none of you telling me what I have to do?”
I sigh. I know this will not get me out of telling her but it is worth a try. “I believe Grandmother will explain it the best when we return.”
She gives me a ‘did you really think that was going to work’ face. “Kallen, tell me or I’m going back to the house right now to make Dagda tell me.”
Fine. But how do I say this without scaring the hell out of her. “Using that much magic in such a short period of time is dangerous for the practitioner.”
“Are you telling me I could die?”
If I thought that, I would have said so already and argued against her doing it. “Do you really believe that I would willingly let you perform magic that could kill you?”
She smiles. It is a weak one but I will take it. “No, I guess not.”
I feign shock. “You guess not? I appreciate your overwhelming faith in my love.”
She laughs this time. “Fine. No, I do not believe you would do that.”
I nod in satisfaction. “Much better.”
“Then what did you mean by dangerous?”
“You may lose your magic.” Which all around may not be such a bad thing. Our lives would be much calmer. But I know she would lose a big piece of herself if that happened and I for one like her just the way she is.
Xandra stops walking. “Excuse me?”
I stop as well and run a hand through my hair, stalling for time. “I am unsure if you will be affected as any other Fairy would be, but a Fairy who performs magic that black would be purified of magic. It may be temporary, or it may be forever.” It is not a risk I would take myself but I do not believe she will react the way a typical Fairy would. She does not with anything else.
Suspicion creeps into her eyes. “And Isla was going to tell me this right before I did the spell?”
I am not sure that she was going to mention it at all. Pushing a strand of hair from her cheek and leaving my hand on her silky skin, I try deflection. “Are you willing to risk your magic to save your aunt’s life?”
I already know her answer. She takes a long, deep breath and says, “Yes.”
Well played shift in the conversation on my part. I grin in satisfaction. “I knew you would.” To prevent her from replying, I pull her into my arms and kiss her. She does not seem to mind.
After a few minutes, I end the kiss slowly. Taking a step back from her, I grab her hand. “I want to show you something. Something Kegan and I made when we were young.” She does not know a lot about my childhood. There has been very little time to discuss such things. I hope to change that.
She smiles a real smile. “Okay.”
I lead us to the forest edge. “Kegan and I knew every inch of this beach and forest when we were young. Grandmother and Kegan’s parents rarely saw us when we were no
t attending our lessons.”
A few steps into the woods and I hear voices. Apparently, I am not the only one sharing childhood places with someone. Xandra looks up at me with a question on her face when I pull her to a stop. “Wha…”
I put my finger to my lips and she stops talking. Kegan’s voice is carried through the silence of the trees. Her eyes travel to the sound and get big and round when she sees the fort Kegan and I made as children. It is quite large.
“Alita, you know how much I care for you,” we hear Kegan say. Frustration punctuating every word.