by Bonnie Lamer
“Do you think she was trying to go home?” Kallen asks, sounding dumbfounded.
Dagda shrugs. “That seems to be a plausible explanation.”
It sounds ridiculous to me. “But, I chose to stay in this realm. Why would I try to go home?”
He nods. “True, but in your dream, you had parents who were not spirits. Would you choose to go back to the Cowan realm if that was the case?”
Yeah, I probably would. Maybe. Huh. That’s something to think about. But, I’m still not buying the theory. “Even in my dream, I knew that my parents weren’t really corporeal. I kept trying to wake up so I could come back to reality.”
A light knock on the door keeps Dagda from responding. “Come,” he says gruffly. I guess it’s a Fairy thing to say it like that. It still seems rude to me.
A tall, skinny Fairy with a receding hairline and mostly gray hair, wheels in a trolley full of covered dishes. He doesn’t say anything to any of us, he just pushes the food through a small archway where a dining room table of red oak is laid out for dinner. I didn’t even realize I was hungry until my stomach grumbles. The room is so quiet it echoes loudly. I get some raised eyebrows. I hope they know it was my stomach and not a fart.
Dagda stands up and downs the rest of his drink. Setting the glass back on the table with the decanter, he walks wordlessly to the table. The rest of us follow just as silently. I wish my nap had been more restful; I think this is going to be a long night.
Chapter 6
Dinner is made even more comfortable by Radella joining us a few minutes after we start eating. She sits down across from Alita and she doesn’t even look in my direction. “Are we secure for the evening?” Dagda asks her.
She looks over at him and nods. “We have a perimeter with three guards outside and two in. As far as we can tell, there is no one within several miles.”
“Damage to the carriage?”
“Minimal. Mostly scratches and minor dents. Her magic was able to steer the carriage around major obstacles, and when necessary, cleared the trees out of the way.”
I cut down trees? That wasn’t very ecofriendly of me. “I took us off the roads?” I know that Kallen said there was only one major roadway heading south to the Uluru area where we’re going. But, there must be roads that shoot off from it to the east and west.
“You did not seem to care how you got to wherever you felt like going, you were only concerned with your own selfish desires,” she sneers.
I’m about to remind her that I was sleeping at the time, when Dagda slams his palm down on the table, make Alita and me practically jump out of our chairs in surprise. “Damn it, Radella, I have tolerated enough of your petty jealousy and disrespectful attitude towards Xandra. If you say or do one more thing that makes her even raise an eyebrow, you will have your magic bound, be tried for treason and punished by death. Do you understand me?”
Okay, I admit, he’s pretty scary at the moment. His eyes are now a dark, velvety green and his voice has the feel of satin doused in liquid cyanide. His handsome face is set, as if made of marble. Unblinking, impassive. His voice completely void of anger or passion. There is no doubt in the mind of anyone at the table that he is dead serious.
Radella’s mouth opens. Then closes. Then forms a straight line, making her thin lips disappear altogether. She nods. At least I think she does. Her head moves about a fraction of an inch up and then down.
I’m going to sit here and eat my vegetable soup. Very quietly. Even if I’m not sure what all the different vegetables are.
“Kallen, Kegan, I will need your help in the morning. We will assess the damage and fix what needs to be fixed. I want to start the journey back towards Uluru just after sunrise.”
“Of course,” Kallen says. Kegan nods his agreement. Then, all that can be heard is the ting of silverware against the bowls and our teeth.
I can’t stand the heavy silence. It’s like I’m stuck between two sleeping hippopotamuses about to roll closer together, squishing me in the process. My mouth opens, and says the first thing to come to mind. “What will happen now that we’ll be so late?”
Dagda sits back in his chair and sighs. “I have sent a messenger on ahead to tell the giants I have been delayed. Of course, I did not tell them why.”
That makes my cheeks turn pink. “Sorry.”
He raises his brows and looks at me for a moment, then says, “A princess need not apologize for such a tremendous show of power.” Wow, I actually think he means that.
“What’s going to happen when we get there?” I hate to admit it, but I haven’t asked any questions about the Giants. He gave me some information, but I ignored it in a mental protest of the trip. Now that I may have set things off to a bad start, I’m a little more curious.
“Quinn and Ellu are the tribe leaders for each line of Giants, the Daityas who have mixed their bloodline with Cowan blood, and the Devas, who see them as weaker because of that.”
“So, it’s like the Pooka, the Sheehogue and the Cowan Fairies, then,” I say and the table becomes silent. Alita is sitting next to me and her face turns several shades of pink.
Finally, Dagda says, “The difference being, we Fairies have learned to live amongst one another peacefully.”
I can’t help but frown and snort. “Are you kidding? Racism is rampant amongst the Fairies.” This earns me a stern look. Hey, I can’t help it if the truth hurts.
Dagda inclines his head. “Be that as it may, we Fairies do not murder each other in cold blood as an answer to solve our problems with each other.”
He does have a point. Sort of. He was perfectly willing to murder Cowans, or humans, in cold blood not that long ago. This might not be the best time for that discussion. “Okay, they hate each other and they’re killing each other. Got it. Is their magic strong?”
Radella seems to have choked on a spoonful of soup. Or she’s laughing at me. Probably the latter. She gets herself under control quickly when she realizes Dagda is trying to burn holes in her with his eyes. And he’s drawing magic.
“Sorry,” she mumbles. “My soup was hot.” Liar.
Kallen answers my question. “The giants possess great strength, but they are not magical creatures. They are, however, immune to many types of magic. Witch magic is useless against them.” I wonder if that means my Witch magic? And it seems like he could have mentioned some of this over the last few days. Then again, anytime someone brought up the trip, I groaned and changed the subject.
“They’re not immune to Fairy magic?”
Dagda leans forward and rests his arms on the table. “Some, but not all. It takes a powerful Fairy to go up against a Giant.”
“But, they recognize you as King?”
He nods. “Yes. It was a battle fought long and hard, but the Giants are now under my realm. Both for protection, mainly from each other, and as citizens that recognize the laws of my dominion.”
“What’s going on with them right now?”
“I am glad you have finally taken an interest,” he says with an amused smirk. I wrinkle my nose at him, which just makes him chuckle.
Leaning back again, he says, “There has been an increase in violence amongst the Giants. Random murders, brawling, a complete breakdown of communication. Each tribe is threatening to declare war.”
“As King, aren’t you the only one who can declare war?” Probably a stupid question.
That’s confirmed by Radella choking on her soup again. Oh, wait a minute. I think she’s really choking this time. Suddenly, she’s not making any noise, and it’s not because I took her voice away. Her lips are getting a little blue, too. One of us should probably do something besides watch. No one is rushing to help her, though.
“Oh, good lord,” I grumble. I use my magic to squeeze around her middle. Unfortunately for her, I squeeze so tightly, that the large carrot that was lodged in her throat has become a projectile missile. That hits Dagda in the eye. Wow, Fairies have come up with some cuss words that are real
ly creative, not to mention physically impossible. I think. I guess with enough magic, he could make some of them work. That doesn’t bode well for Radella.
Dagda shoots up from his chair, sending it sailing backwards. With one hand over his eye, which I think is bleeding a little bit – gross, he uses his other hand to point towards the door. “Out,” he shouts at her.
Apparently, she isn’t moving fast enough for him; she is after all, trying to breathe again. So, he hits her with magic. A lot of magic. She goes flying backwards and hits the wall. Struggling to get up, she sidles along it, trying to make it to the door.
I look back at Dagda, still holding his hand over his definitely bleeding eye, and it’s obvious he’s not done with her yet. He uses his magic to start throwing things at her. I don’t mean bread rolls. I mean knives, forks, hot soup, anything his one eye can see. I get that he’s mad, but does he have to go all psycho like this? He’s going to kill her. She screams as a knife hits her in the arm.
That’s it. I hate her, but I can’t watch her being tortured. Especially since it’s sort of my fault she made him mad. Just as a glass goblet is about to hit her in the face, I use my magic to put a protective wall in front of her, making the glass shatter and fall to the floor without touching her.
“Xandra,” Dagda growls. “This is not your business.”
“I’m the one who did the magical Heimlich that made the stupid carrot hit you, so you should be mad at me, not her.”
He glowers like a Cyclops at me. Hmm, I wonder if those really exist. So many questions, so little time that’s appropriate to ask them all. “Considering the fact that you have thrown her out of the carriage twice, I was not under the impression that you care what happens to her.”
The worst argument here is probably ‘it’s only okay if I do it.’ I think I’ll try a different one, even if it’s not quite as honest. “I wasn’t flinging sharp objects at her that could kill her. You already stabbed her in the arm, does she really deserve to have her facial bones smashed in for the crime of choking on a carrot? My god, what would you do if she choked on a piece of steak – turn her into a cow and eat her for dinner?” The sudden mental image of that is horrifying, to say the least.
“It is not your place to tell me how I can and cannot punish my subjects,” he growls.
“Oh, omnipotent one, please, let me obey you.” Sarcasm is dancing a jig on my chin right now. Actually, it’s more like a Scottish reel.
He can pack a lot of fury into that one eye. Impressive. “She is not the only one who can be tried for treason.”
That really makes me snort. “Seriously? You’re going to go with threats of domination? Because, what? I haven’t already made it perfectly clear that I don’t give a damn what you think about me or how you think I should act?” I’m standing up now. Kallen stands up next to me and puts his hand on my shoulder. Whether it’s to back me up or try to calm me down, I have no idea. “I’ll tell you what, if you want to have a magical showdown, let’s go. Right now. If you win, you can bind my powers and hang me from the nearest tree.”
“Executions are not done that way anymore,” Kegan adds helpfully, as he continues to eat his soup. “Though, firing squads are quite trendy this century.” I have to admit, I almost laugh.
Okay, I do laugh. A lot. Kallen does, too. Even Alita covers her mouth with her hand to try to hide her little giggle. Dagda tries hard to hang on to his anger, but even his lips are trying to push up on the sides. Walking over to him, I pull his hand down from his eye, which is all red and a little cut underneath his bottom lid is what’s bleeding. Who knew carrots could be so sharp? It was probably more the velocity upon impact than the sharpness of the carrot, though. The skin under the eye is fragile.
He looks at me warily as I draw magic. Using the tiniest bit I can, I use it to heal his eye, even taking away the bruising that has started. He is a Cyclops no more.
“Can I take the wall down, or are you still planning to kill her with cutlery?”
Pulling magic, he pulls all the things he threw at her back towards the table. I let the wall around Radella down and walk over to her. She flinches when I reach out to the touch her arm. I cock my head and raise my brows. “I’m the one who just saved you, remember? If I wanted you to be hurt, I could have just sat back and watched the show.”
Reluctantly, she holds her arm out to me. I’ve gotten pretty good at this healing thing. Probably the only gentle thing I can do with my magic. I imagine her arm healing, sewing itself back together, until her skin is perfect once again. She looks amazed the whole time. “I have never seen anyone heal this quickly.”
I shrug. “One of the benefits of being a Witch Fairy.” She just nods and continues to stare at her healed arm.
“Radella, that will be all for the evening.” There’s a finality in Dagda’s voice that tells me that it will probably be all for her career, as well. That doesn’t seem fair. Choking on a carrot shouldn’t get you fired. On the other hand, I won’t miss her. Radella quietly opens the door and disappears quickly.
I sit back down at the table and Kallen takes my hand in his. He leans in and gives me a soft kiss. “Glad to see you can sometimes control that temper of yours,” he teases. I’d give him a dirty look if he didn’t have a point.
Instead of sitting back down, Dagda walks to the door at the far side of the room, opposite the one we came in. I believe it must be his bedroom. He comes back out in a minute holding an old book. He pushes his dishes away from where he had been sitting at the head of the table and puts the book down with a thump. Dust flies out from it, ruining the chances of me being able to finish my soup. I don’t even think he noticed. He’s too busy turning pages.
Finding the one he was looking for, he rotates the book towards me and points his finger at the page. He should be careful, the pages of this book look like they’re about to disintegrate. “Can you do this spell?” he asks.
How should I know? I read it over, but that doesn’t help since I don’t really know a lot about spells. So, I shrug. “I could try. It looks easy enough.”
Kegan has been peeking at the spell from across the table. He laughs. “Yeah, piece of cake. If you have six or seven Fairies ready to do it with you.”
I stick my tongue out at him. Turning back to Dagda, I ask, “Do you have all the stuff for it?” Kegan’s right, it’s more complicated than most spells I’ve read. Then again, I did make a force field out of trees before.
“I believe she can do this without problem,” Kallen says, reading over my shoulder.
“Everything we need should be available in the surrounding area. We are deep within the forest, not the plains yet. I will send Sindri and a small team out to locate what is needed.”
I’m getting a little nervous. “It won’t make me stop dreaming forever, will it?” That’s what the spell does, it stops dreams from coming. “People can go crazy if they never dream.”
“Not a problem for you,” Kegan says. “You are already as crazy as you can get.” I kick him under the table. He’s not laughing anymore as he leans down to rub his leg. Alita looks amused, though.
“No, it will not,” Dagda says, pointing to the line in the spell that puts a time limit on it.
“Yeah, I saw that, but spells don’t always work out the same for me as they do other people. I might say it’s just for tonight, and then put enough magic into it a night is turned into a century or so.” I can usually only do spells correctly when I’m really mad. Don’t know why. My theory is that I’m not overthinking them.
“We can worry about that if it happens. For the time being, it is the only way to ensure that we will make our destination sometime this year.” He’s getting snippy again. I give him what I hope is a warning look. He doesn’t look cowed at all. I guess I need to work on my warning looks.
“It should be fine,” Kallen assures me. I look at him skeptically, but I don’t argue.
“We shall meet in the sitting room in an hour. That should be
enough time to gather everything.”
That is definitely a dismissal. Great, I don’t get to finish my soup. That’s okay, the last fifteen minutes have made me lose my appetite anyway.
Chapter 7
I make my way back towards mine and Kallen’s room. Kallen stops to have a brief word with Dagda, but he catches up to me by the time I reach the stairs. Kegan and Alita are walking ahead of us, but they both stop when we reach Kegan’s room. Which is now Alita’s room. “I’m going to get Alita settled in here,” Kegan says.
Kallen gives him a knowing grin, which earns him a punch in the arm. He just laughs and follows me to our room, rubbing the bruised spot. For the first time, I notice there’s a door on the frame again. “Thanks for fixing that,” I say, as he closes it behind us.
With a grin, he says, “I prefer to kiss you in private.” He pulls me into his arms and kisses me slowly, sensually.