by Bonnie Lamer
“Really?” Jenna asks eagerly. “Does that mean that Sam and I could come?”
I know that if she was my friend, it would be impossible to say no to the eager, and guileless, look in Jenna’s eyes. She is curious, but there is no hidden agenda behind her curiosity as I suspect there is with Liza. But, again, I defer to Eliana. “That is up to Eliana and Josh,” I say as kindly as possible. I watch in amusement as she turns those hopeful eyes to her friends.
As I suspected, Eliana cannot say no to Jenna. “Of course you can come. If anyone deserves to, it’s you.” From what I understand, Jenna and Sam have been faithful friends since learning of Eliana’s inner gods.
Liza clears her throat and gives Eliana a pointed look. “Remember, I am the one who determines if you get a leave of absence or not.”
Not liking the underlying threat in her voice, I snark, “I could always move them to the Fairy realm permanently.” The horror on Liza’s face is almost comical.
Hoping to avoid an argument spiraling out of control between us, Josh asks, “How would you explain your absence?”
From her expression, this is something Liza has obviously not thought about. “I would come up with something.”
“Not anything your superiors would buy,” Alonzo counters. I wonder if he is just being helpful, or if he is angling for a spot on the away team for himself. He hasn’t asked yet, but I know the question is waiting to jump off his tongue.
Liza is quiet for a long time, and we wait somewhat patiently for her decision. At least, everyone else waits somewhat patiently. Me? I am going crazy waiting for someone else to make a decision about what we can or cannot do. Wow, this would drive me insane. I’m feeling pretty fortunate right now that I don’t have a boss.
I guess technically, I do. Dagda and Isla could be considered my bosses. Though, I still tend to do my own thing even if they disagree. Hmm, that might not say good things about my ability to work well with others.
Finally, Liza opens her mouth to speak. Then, she closes it. And she opens it again. This time, words actually come out of it. “Take Alonzo with you.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a particularly smug grin forming on the large man’s face. On the other side of me, a deep scowl is forming on my husband’s face. Out of all the people in the room, Alonzo is the one Kallen least wants to take with us. This should be fun.
Josh doesn’t miss the displeasure covering Kallen’s face, either. With a quick glance at his coworker, he asks Liza, “Not that I am necessarily opposed to the idea, but why? It will only put him in danger.” He sends a glance toward Jenna and Sam. He is not as keen as Eliana to bring them along, either.
“Honestly, I believe he is less likely to leave out important details when you file your report upon your return,” Liza says frankly. Ouch. She just insinuated that Eliana and Josh would lie to her. Okay, they probably would if it meant keeping important magical secrets from the government. After all, they haven’t shared my grandfather’s name with her, or any other information that could have the government going after the Witches – either to stop them or to use them.
“As important as you may believe that to be,” Kallen growls. “Our concern is saving the universe, not babysitting a Cowan so he can report back to you.”
Liza turns assessing eyes toward my gorgeous husband. I admit, a twinge of jealousy hits me when apparent admiration flashes through her peepers. The coldness in her voice takes away any concern of mine that she’s hot for my husband, though. “What did you call him?”
It takes me a moment to realize that she thinks Kallen just insulted Alonzo. An explanation is in order before this spirals into a major misunderstanding. “Cowan is simply the supernatural world’s name for people from this realm. It’s a neutral term,” I add, just so there’s no confusion over whether or not the term is derogatory in nature.
Liza looks to Jadyn for confirmation. The latter nods. “It’s true. No racial or ethnic slurs involved. Since most supernatural beings are humanoid, they don’t refer to people from here as humans, but Cowans.”
Appeased, Liza relaxes. Then it dawns on her what Jadyn just said. Eyes wide, Liza says, “Most are humanoid?”
Jadyn shrugs. “There are notable exceptions.” Like Dragons and dinosaurs. It still amazes me there is a realm of just dinosaurs. Maybe that’s what happened to all the dinosaurs from here. They simply crossed over. That would certainly blow all of Cowan scientists minds, and theories. A little giggle escapes me at the thought, and I get a couple of strange looks from around the room. I ignore them.
Fortunately, Alonzo takes the spotlight off me. He is still offended by Kallen’s comment. “I do not need a babysitter,” he snarls.
In a rare instance, I get to lay a calming hand on Kallen. It’s usually the other way around. I’ll gloat about this to him later. “You have no idea what’s waiting out there in other realms,” I tell Alonzo. “We have no idea where we will have to go to find the Phoenix, or what beings we may encounter. I understand that you have had a lot of training in this realm, but do you know how far away from a Dragon you have to be to avoid getting burned by their fire? Or how to fight a Centaur or a Sasquatch? Could you defend yourself against Elf glamour? Trust me, wherever we go, you would need babysitting.” I don’t miss the smirk on Kallen’s face as I finish my little speech. Alonzo’s mocha colored skin turns a deep red.
“Are you saying Josh knows all these things?” Liza counters.
Josh holds his hands up, palms out. “Hey, don’t drag me into this. I know perfectly well that I wouldn’t stand a chance against these beings without Eliana.” The love in his eyes when he looks Eliana’s way makes me smile. He in no way resents her power.
“Regardless, I need to come up with a reason for your sudden departure, which I believe gives me a say in this matter. Taking Alonzo with you gives this more of a ‘mission’ feel instead of you going off on your own. You know what could happen if those above me thought you simply disappeared,” Liza says pointedly.
Did she just threaten my friends? I believe she did. The world has righted itself and it’s back to Kallen’s hand trying to send calming messages my way. Too late. I find it impossible to remain calm when someone threatens one of my friends.
I didn’t realize I am now standing until Kallen, Eliana and Josh all stand, as well. “Xandra,” Eliana begins.
I cut her off by putting my hand up, palm out. Rounding on Liza, I say in a frosty voice, “You seem to be under the impression that you can threaten my friends and their families.” I assume the underlying threat was what would happen to Eliana and Josh’s families if the government thought they disappeared.
Liza rises from her chair. “I am not personally making any threats. But, we all work for the government. I cannot control what they do if they think there is a problem in our division.”
“Then maybe I should give you some motivation to make sure they don’t find out,” I growl.
“Xandra, what are you going to do?” Eliana asks, true concern in her voice.
Registering this, Liza finally has a healthy dose of fear in her eyes. “I guess the threats are on your side now,” she sneers.
I shake my head. “I don’t threaten.” Before anyone in the room can react, I reach out and touch Liza’s arm. Then, I teleport us out of the house, satellites be damned.
4 Chapter
“Kallen and I came here once,” I muse, glancing around at the familiar terrain. “We were trying to find the Fallen Archangel Raguel, or Ray, as he prefers to be called.”
Liza is now grasping my arm. Hard. I will likely have a hand shaped bruise on my skin. I don’t blame her. She was not expecting to suddenly be standing on top of a large rock in Ireland. “Where are we?” she demands. Still with the demanding. You’d think she’d get a clue that she’s not really in a position to demand anything at the moment.
“On top of the Wishing Stone on Tory Island,” I inform her. It’s not as bitterly cold as it was the last tim
e I was here, but it’s not exactly warm, either. My sweater just isn’t cutting it, so we won’t stay here long.
“How did we get here?”
“I teleported us.”
“Impossible,” Liza declares, scanning the area. I believe she is trying to determine if this is all an illusion.
With a wry smile, I say, “You haven’t even begun to touch the edges of impossible yet. Trust me.” With a shrug, I say, “If Ireland isn’t your thing, how about Egypt? I’ll show you where I first met Eliana.” With that, we are suddenly in Giza on the far side of the pyramids. I didn’t want to run the risk of appearing in a crowd. I’m still worried about that whole teleporting inside someone else thing. I know it’s not very likely, but why take the chance?
Dropping my arm, Liza whirls around trying to get her bearings. She almost trips in the sand and I reach out an arm to steady her. I’m not sure she even notices. Her eyes are kind of crazy, and I’m not certain what all is registering in her mind right now besides confusion and fear. “How are you doing this?”
“Just one of my many gifts,” I say with a pleasant smile.
Liza does not believe any of my actions are pleasant. She proves this by pulling out her gun. “Take me back,” she demands.
With a scowl, I ask, “Do you ever ask nicely for things?”
“Not when I’ve been kidnapped,” she snarls.
I wave her accusation off. “I just borrowed you for a minute. Trust me, I don’t want to keep you.”
“I will shoot you.”
“Try,” I say with a shrug.
Liza levels her gun at my heart. “I’m not kidding.”
“Neither am I,” I inform her. “In fact, I’ll help you out.” Using magic, I reach out and press her finger against the trigger. Liza’s eyes go wide when a bullet leaves the chamber and hurtles toward me. Her eyes go even wider when the bullet hits my invisible wall of magic and drops harmlessly to the ground.
“You can deflect bullets like Eliana can,” she says in awe. A sudden realization hits her, and she takes a step back almost tripping again. “You also have the power of influence over people. You forced me to pull the trigger even though I was trying not to do it.”
I roll my eyes. “That wasn’t the power of influence. That was me literally pushing your finger against the trigger with magic.”
Nonplussed, Liza says, “But, you weren’t touching me.”
“That’s the beauty of magic. I don’t need to be touching you,” I explain.
Aghast, she says, “You could start wars that way.”
I nod. “I could. And there are some magical beings who would do that. Which is why the passages to this realm are closed off to some of the other realms.” Like Fairies. Not all Fairies would do that, but enough that it could decimate the human population. I keep this tidbit of knowledge to myself.
Fear is sinking bone deep into the woman in front of me. “What is keeping them from reopening these passageways?” Liza asks.
I shrug and try not to sound too conceited when I say, “My family and me.” To put it in terms that she will understand, I add, “So, if you want to exchange threats back and forth, I have plenty of them in my arsenal.” Not that I ever would open the passageways for the bad guys.
She had lowered her weapon after it discharged, but Liza finally puts it back in its holster as she realizes how utterly useless it is right now. “You are implying that I don’t really have a say in all of this. Nor do the people I work for.”
I shake my head. “Implying isn’t a strong enough word.” With a frustrated sigh, I continue. “Look, I don’t want to threaten you or anyone else in this realm. I grew up here. I love this realm. All I want is for you to realize that there are bigger things at stake here than your government. I understand that this puts you in a terrible spot, and you’ll probably have to lie. But, if you don’t, you may not have to worry about it at all. There simply won’t be a universe anymore.”
Liza studies me for a long time in the growing light of dawn in the Egyptian desert. “How do I know you are telling the truth? How do I know you aren’t really here to start war or hurt people?”
“How do you know Eliana is telling the truth when she says she isn’t going to do that?” I counter.
“She has earned my trust.”
“Then let me do the same thing.”
Liza’s eyebrows hit her hairline. “You say that after kidnapping me?”
“Borrowing you,” I counter with a grin.
Glancing around again, Liza says, “We really should get back. I am on foreign land without my passport.” So, she finally believes this isn’t all some elaborate illusion. I wonder if the giant pyramids in the distance convinced her.
I roll my eyes. “Out of all the things to worry about right now, that should be pretty low on your list.”
Liza narrows her eyes. “Remember, I need to live here long after you go back to wherever it is you live.”
“Good point,” I acknowledge.
With a heavy sigh, Liza says, “I will find some reason to give my superiors about their absence. It won’t be easy coming up with something they will believe, though.”
“You’ll figure something out. And thank you,” I add with a sincere smile and hold my hand out to her. After a moment, Liza puts hers hand in it. In a blink, we are back in Eliana’s living room.
5 Chapter
“That is amazing!” Jenna exclaims when we reappear. “Where did you go?” Someone obviously filled her in on my ability to teleport.
“Ireland and Egypt,” I admit a bit sheepishly. That may have been overkill. But, I did have to prove my point.
“The Wishing Stone?” Kallen asks with a fond smile.
I nod. “It made me miss Ray. I should visit him soon.” As Grandma pointed out, I haven’t made a casual trip to Angel time in a while. I should visit my friends and family from time to time when I don’t have an emergency and need to try to pry information out of them.
“Who is Ray?” Sam asks.
“The Archangel of Harmony and Order,” I tell him.
“And he goes by Ray?” Sam asks in surprise.
I laugh. “His real name is Raguel. Ray is the name he uses when he Falls.”
“Got it,” Sam says, though I’m not sure he really understands. Shaking his head, he adds, “I thought Eliana had some powerful friends.”
Interrupting our chatter, Liza announces, “Alonzo, you will be staying here.” Ignoring the argument Alonzo opens his mouth to rage, she cuts him off and turns to Jadyn. “I would appreciate it if you stayed, as well. In case we need any assistance of the supernatural kind while Eliana is gone.”
The disappointment runs deep in Jadyn’s eyes. She wanted to help hunt for the Phoenix. Still, she nods. “Fine.”
Alonzo is less gracious about it. Glaring at me, he growls, “What did you threaten her with?”
“I told her I’d turn you all into toads,” I say sweetly. Jenna giggles and Eliana bites back a laugh. Sam and Josh laugh outright. Even Kallen smirks a little.
Instead of getting mad at my snark, Alonzo asks with the tiniest trace of fear in his voice, “Could you?”
“Yes,” Kallen lies. I try not to laugh myself now. Who knows, maybe there is a spell to actually turn people into toads and I just don’t know about it.
“Do we still get to come?” Sam asks. He is ready to argue his and Jenna’s case if anyone says no.
Eliana looks to me for guidance even though she already said yes earlier. Now that Alonzo and Jadyn were told they couldn’t go, she’s feeling a little guilty. “What do you think?”
I am not going to be the one to disappoint them. “Sure, if they don’t mind staying out of the action.” Tabitha probably won’t mind if we leave them at the mansion when we are looking for the Phoenix. She likes company most of the time. As long as they are polite and good eaters.
“We will do whatever you say,” Jenna promises, crossing her heart. I believe her.
&nb
sp; “I still think I should come,” Alonzo grumbles, but he knows he has lost by the firm set of his boss’s jaw.
Ignoring him, Kallen says to the others, “We should be going now. We are losing valuable time.”
“What should we bring?” Eliana asks.
I hadn’t thought about that. I was kind of on a grab and go mission here, completely forgetting that we don’t know how long they will be gone. Fortunately, Kallen helps me out. “We honestly do not know how long this will take. You should bring enough clothes for several days and toiletries.”
“Can you give me an estimate of how long to expect them to be gone?” Liza pushes. Understandable. She does have to report their leave of absence, after all.
Unfortunately, though, we can’t give her a good estimate. Kallen shakes his head and explains, “Time moves differently between realms. Depending on where we must go to find the Phoenix, it may be as if no time has passed here, or days or weeks may pass. I am afraid I cannot give you a better answer than that.”
Liza opens her mouth to argue, looks at me, then closes it again. She gives us a curt nod before turning to Eliana and Josh. “I expect you back as soon as possible. Upon your return, do not speak to anyone before speaking to me so I can tell you what outrageous lies I came up with to explain your absence.” She gives Kallen a quick glance over her shoulder before continuing. “If it does turn out to be a long time, my lies will become quite elaborate, and we need to all be on the same page.”
Josh nods. “Understood.”
Liza motions to the two in the room who are not going with us to follow her to the door. “Alonzo, Jadyn, let’s gather the team and give them a heads up.”
Jadyn comes over and gives Kallen and me both a big hug before following Liza. “Let’s try to get together sometime when there isn’t a crisis,” she says with a smile over her shoulder.
“Definitely,” I agree.
Tugging on Alonzo’s arm, the petite Skin Walker practically drags him to the door. She is stronger than she looks. I wonder if that’s a Skin Walker thing, or if she just works out a lot. Probably a combination of both. “Come on, big guy, let’s go.” Alonzo grunts and reluctantly goes with her. He does not throw us a smile over his shoulder. His look is definitely more of a glower with more than a hint of animosity. I really need to work on my ability to make new friends.