Chapter 14
“Was that really necessary?” Kallen asks. We are sitting in the upstairs library as we wait for the staff to ‘prepare’ our rooms, whatever that means. I’m browsing the titles lining the walls and finding that I don’t want to pull anything off the shelf. There are some basic magic books but most are ancient editions of philosophy, religion and works of fiction that are probably first editions. From their appearance, they probably haven’t been opened since they were purchased if the perfect bindings mean anything. Not one of them has a crease in it to indicate it had been read. I guess they’re just for show. Good to know I came from a learned family on my Witch side.
“I think it was brilliant,” Kegan says. “Lighten up.”
Kallen glowers at him. “You are not helping.”
Kegan shrugs. “The guy is a wanker.”
“He is,” Tana says from where she’s standing at the window. We all stare at her but her back is to us, so she doesn’t notice. Nor does she comment further. She is so odd.
“Lailah is a better Angel than I am,” Adriel says. “I could not have lived with that man for a month, let alone how long she did. I would most certainly have been tempted to kill him.”
“Well, you are an Angel of Death,” I tease, knowing perfectly well that actually killing people is not part of her job. She just strips their souls of darkness after they die.
“Perhaps I should practice on you,” Adriel retorts, but there’s no heat behind the words.
Changing the subject, Kallen asks, “Did your grandmother mention Jadyn?”
I purse my lips and think back to my conversations with Lailah, but I already know the answer. I shake my head. “Not a word.”
Turning from the window, Tana says, “She is lying.” I’m about to go off on her for accusing me of that, but she proves she doesn’t mean me by adding, “This Jadyn is not who she is purporting herself to be.”
Once again, all of the eyes in the room snap to her. “What do you mean?” Kallen asks.
Tana moves closer and sits in one of the leather, wingback chairs that populate the room. “I have always been able to tell when someone is lying to me. It is in her mannerisms and the way she reacted when you were first reunited your grandfather and his Witan. She did not know the true depth of their hostility towards you.” Huh, and I thought Grandpa was doing a pretty good job of hiding most of it.
I frown. “How could she have lived here with Lailah and not known?”
“I believe that is the point,” Kallen says.
“But she wasn’t surprised by the reception we got from the other Witches outside. Even if none of them like her, they act like she is supposed to be here,” I argue. “Why would they do that if she wasn’t here when Lailah was?” I’m not sure why I’m defending Jadyn since she set off my radar as well. Maybe I hate the idea that everyone here is out to get me. It’s nice to think there’s at least one Witch who doesn’t want me dead.
Speaking to Tana, Alita asks in the soft way she has, “What do you suggest we do?”
Tana’s face is hard to read at the moment. “We wait for her to show her hand.”
I groan. “That approach doesn’t usually work out for me.” The longer I wait for something like that, it seems the bigger the mess I have to clean up.
Tana smiles, but there’s something around the edges of her lips that makes my skin tingle. Not in a good way. “You will learn that part of your royal duties includes keeping a close eye on those around you.”
If I surround myself with the friends I have now, that won’t be a concern. Out loud, I try for flippant. “So, being royalty means being paranoid?”
Tana’s eyes are cold enough to make goose bumps rise on my skin. “Yes.”
Feeling my tension rise, Kallen reaches over and takes my hand. “Perhaps paranoid is too strong of a word. Being observant and cautious will keep us safe.”
“Safe?” I sputter. “Out of all the words to describe our life, safe isn’t even on the list.”
Helpfully, Kegan says, “You could create a titanium bubble to walk around in. Put in a couple of eye holes and an oxygen tube and you’d be safe from just about everything.”
Alita elbows him in the rib but she can’t suppress a giggle. “You are going to need a titanium bubble if you keep needling her.”
Adriel purses her lips. “There is not much to gain from befriending us,” she says. “None of us would be stupid enough to say anything we should not.” Her eyes dart to me in warning. Hey, I’m insulted she thinks I’m the weakest link here. She continues before I have a chance to say anything about it. “We, on the other hand, have everything to gain by befriending her. I suspect she knows everything that goes on around here, despite the fact she is not popular among the others.”
Which might be a ruse. Jadyn might be part of a plan old Gramps cooked up to lull me into a false sense of security. Great, now I’m even more paranoid than usual.
I wish Nixie could be in two places at the same time. Right now, she’s following my grandfather around, seeing what he’s up to. That’s more important than having her follow Jadyn for the time being. I think. I open my mouth to agree that we should at least pretend to trust Jadyn when she opens the door to the sitting room.
“Your rooms have been readied,” she says. I wonder if she overheard any of our conversation. She’s not acting like it, but the door is pretty thin. “I have also prepared a tentative itinerary for the next few days. I believe it may be best to postpone another face to face with your grandfather until tomorrow. That will give him time to…,” she hesitates as if searching for the right words. Finally, she says, “Process the reality of you being here.”
“And time to plot against me some more,” I grumble louder than I meant to.
Sympathizing, she says, “If it makes you feel better, I believe all the plotting was done within a week after your grandmother left.” No, that doesn’t make me feel better.
Kallen narrows his eyes at her. “What do you know about these plots?”
Jadyn’s face falls. “Unfortunately, not as much as I would like. The only reason your grandfather has kept me on was because he hoped your grandmother would return. My loyalty to her instead of him has precluded me from garnering any information from the rest of the staff.” Why did she choose to stay on if everyone hates her? She knew my grandmother was not going to return.
As if reading my mind, Adriel says, “It is hard to believe he has kept you on this long after her departure. Do you expect him to continue to keep you on now that he knows Lailah will not be returning?”
Jadyn looks at her quizzically so I explain. “That’s my grandmother’s Angel name.”
Answering Adriel’s question, Jadyn says, “As I am the only one willing to see to your needs during your stay, I believe I have job security for a little longer.”
“Should we assume our food will be poisoned and our rooms made into deathtraps?” Kegan asks facetiously.
Jadyn smiles. “I will taste the food myself before it is delivered to you.”
Kegan’s face sobers. “I was only kidding.” Apparently only half kidding since he’s afraid that she will taste the food and die. I think I’ll let her taste my food.
“I was not,” Jadyn says, implying that we should be worried.
I sigh and stand up, suddenly feeling like the air in this house is trying hard to convert me to a claustrophobic. It’s succeeding. I walk to the window and peer out. “You want us to stay here all day under his roof and not talk to my grandfather. Stay in our rooms and out of his sight like good little children should?” I turn to look at Jadyn. “If I was a mouse, maybe I wouldn’t mind hiding in a hole all day, but I’m not. I’m also not a patient person.” My voice is getting an edge to it. “I want to get this over with.” If I need to clean house with his Witan again, I want to do it and then figure out if I should stay here or not. I don’t have a lot of hope for ‘not’.
Jadyn’s face becomes the picture of sympat
hy again. “I understand how you are feeling,” she says.
I hate it when people say that. “Really? Your grandfather has tried to kill you a couple of times and now you have to check up on him like he’s a naughty two year old and make sure the people he has surrounded himself with aren’t taking advantage of him? I didn’t realize this is so common.”
“Xandra,” Alita says softly, “I know you are upset but it is probably best to wait until tomorrow. The way things have transpired so far, I do not believe either of you would be able to converse calmly and objectively. Your grandfather may end up a toad or something.”
I give her a ‘why did I invite you again?’ look. The toad thought is intriguing, though. Could I turn someone into a toad?
Before I can say anything, Kallen says, “She is correct, however, I am not any happier about holing up in our rooms than you are. Perhaps we can take this opportunity for sightseeing.” With an amused smile, he adds, “And no, it is not possible to turn your grandfather into a toad. You would need to change him into something with a similar body mass.”
A small giggle escapes me. He knew exactly what I was thinking. I’ll have to figure out what does have the same body mass as grandpa just in case, as a last resort of course. Or in case he annoys me beyond redemption.
As for the other thing he said, he wants to go sightseeing? Did I hear him correctly? That did not sound like a Kallen thing to say, but looking closely at him, I’m pretty sure he’s serious. I consider for a moment. It would be kind of fun to show Kegan and Alita what this realm is like. That is part of why I wanted them to come. Would it be better to wait until tomorrow and let both Gramps and me calm down a little? I would like to say yes, but I know it doesn’t make a difference when I sit down and talk to my grandfather. We are going to butt heads. So, hell, why not take a day off for sightseeing? “Okay.”
There is more shock in Kallen’s eyes than I care for. What? It was his idea, I just agreed. Before I can change my mind, he turns to Jadyn. “Is it possible to obtain transportation large enough to accommodate all of us?”
I giggle. “That’s a stuffy way of saying ‘can we get a ride?’” My gorgeous husband gives me an annoyed look. “Sorry,” I mumble, still giggling, though I think it’s more suppressed frustration and anger that is causing it than his vocabulary.
“I will have a car brought around. Would you like to drive yourself or shall I see to a driver?” Jadyn asks me.
“I don’t have a license.” I don’t want a driver, but I don’t want to break any laws, either. Even if I’m pretty sure one of us could use magic to convince a cop not to give me a ticket. It would be wrong to use magic that way, though.
Jadyn nods. “Then a car and driver will be at your disposal in fifteen minutes.” She turns and strides from the room.
I guess we’re going sightseeing.
Chapter 15
“You are sure this is safe?” Alita asks. Her grip on Kegan’s arm looks painful.
I smile reassuringly. “Yes, people drive on freeways all the time and make it back in one piece.”
“Some do not,” Adriel points out. Yeah, she would know. I give her a sour look anyway for not helping me appease Alita’s worry.
“You learned about cars,” Kegan says, patting her hand on his arm and ignoring how far Alita’s nails have dug into his skin. He definitely loves her.
“Learning about them and actually being in one are quite different,” she says. She has a point, I suppose.
“The driver is keeping a steady speed and seems to be driving cautiously,” Kallen points out, making it a really bad time for the driver to slam on the brakes because someone just cut him off. I had insisted everyone put on their seat belts even though we’re in a limo so at least no one goes flying.
Yes, the five of us are in the back of a limo. Tana wanted to stay behind, claiming fatigue, and I made Taz stay behind as well. They don’t allow wild animals in malls. I asked him to follow Jadyn around without getting into trouble. I expect a mess when I get back. We haven’t seen Nixie in a while. I assume she is still following my grandfather, hopefully garnering useful information.
I still can’t believe we are in a limo and it bugs the hell out of me. Why? Because my grandfather is loaded. He easily could have joined Lailah in keeping Mom and me safe. He has a limo, several luxury cars, and a vacation home in Italy amongst other places according to Jadyn, and money to buy even more. It would have been easy for him to buy an island or someplace equally as remote. I dislike him a little bit more now and I didn’t think that was even possible. Mom and Dad had to work so hard to make ends meet. Zac and I were never lacking anything, far from it, but being a doctor in the rural mountains of Colorado is a bit different than being a doctor someplace like Los Angeles. Dad did a lot of things for free and he was happy to do it. I smile at the thought.
Dad is a generous soul and he loved working with his patients whether they were able to pay him or not. He gave up his old life to run off with Mom and never looked back, which is more than her own father would do. What would have become of Mom if she hadn’t met someone like Dad? She was left all alone, no money, no home, no family to turn to. Things could have gone very badly for her. But all the while, the father who Mom ran away from, the one who was supposedly mourning her loss, barely had his life turned upside down at all. I’m not bitter for her. Really. Okay, maybe a little.
“Where are we going?” Kegan asks.
I grin because he and Kallen probably won’t like my answer. “We’re going to a mall.”
“A mall? What is that?” Alita asks, looking like she could seriously use some Dramamine.
“We’re going shopping.”
“For what?” Adriel asks.
I shrug. “For whatever. We might not even buy anything if nothing catches our eye.” I have a purse full of money that Dad had insisted Kallen and I take when we came to this realm for our honeymoon. We ended up not having to spend much of it. So, if something does catch our eye, any of ours, I should be able buy it. Dad may not have been paid as well as most doctors, but he was good at saving and investing.
Nonplussed, Adriel asks, “Then why would we go?”
I roll my eyes. “Because it’s fun to go and hang out.” At least, I think it is. I didn’t really have a chance to hang out in malls when I was being isolated in the mountains.
“Hang out of what?” Kegan asks. I give him a dirty look because I know he’s teasing me. He likes to make fun of my ‘Cowan slang’ as he calls it.
“Careful, Cousin,” Kallen drawls. “Or it might be you hanging out the car window.”
“There is nothing else we could do?” Adriel asks, making it clear she’s not the ‘girls’ day out’ kind of Fallen Angel. If I suggested something like manicures, she would probably laugh out loud at me.
“Just give it a chance,” I say. “We can get lunch and walk around. If you guys are bored, we can see a movie or something.” Jadyn said the mall has a Cineplex. The Fairies have theater, theater with awesome props created with magic, but they don’t have television or anything like that. From what they know of it, they consider it mindless entertainment that leads to sloth and obesity. They’re partially right, I guess. Still, I miss TV sometimes. I miss the internet, too. I’m trying to get Dagda and Isla to consider something like that. So far, they’re not convinced.
The partition lowers, allowing us to see the driver. “We will reach our destination in approximately five minutes,” he says.
Our driver is tall, dark skinned and handsome with chocolate colored eyes and an infectious smile. But he isn’t a Witch. He knows about Witches and magic obviously, but he is one hundred percent Human. He has also been very polite to us. If he knows who I am, he has not acted like he has a problem with it. I smile and say, “Thank you.” He meets my eyes in his rearview mirror and nods. The partition closes again.
I spend the next five minutes explaining in more detail where we are going. The more I talk, the more interested Al
ita is. Even Adriel perks up a little bit. Maybe she’ll get the hang of the shopping thing with enough exposure.
The driver pulls up to a mall entrance and gets out to open the door for us. I feel kind of silly going to the mall in a limo, especially since people are staring. When everyone has piled out, I turn to the driver. “Thanks again.”
“You are welcome,” he says. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small black phone. He hands it to me and says, “This is programed with my number in it. Please call when you are ready to be picked up.”
I take the phone from him. I hadn’t thought about how we would get in touch with him when we wanted to leave. The Witches don’t need to know about my teleporting ability. Putting the phone in my purse, I say, “Thanks.” The driver nods and retreats back to the car.
Blood of the Exiled (Witch Fairy Book 10) Page 11