by Bonnie Lamer
I peek at Kallen. Did just our realities change, those of us who live at Isla’s and the palace? Or did this cottage get spared only because of Alita? Kallen gives me a slight shrug in reply. He doesn’t know any better than I do.
Kallen is the one to respond to the accusation in the older Fairy’s voice. “Kegan has been helping us fight a new enemy these past days. I am afraid he was not able to send word.”
“He’s on his way now, though,” I assure Alita’s father. I suppose I should have found him and teleported him, too. That would have been the nice thing to do. From Kallen’s chagrined expression, he has realized this belatedly, as well. Oops. We were just in such a hurry to make sure Alita and Keelan were alive and well.
It’s not too late. With a significant glance at Kallen to let him know what I am going to do, I teleport again. This time, I am on the path we take when walking from Isla’s to the palace. I don’t know how far along Kegan will be, so I hope I didn’t miss him. He was moving pretty fast when he ran out of the palace. I am relieved when I see him tearing through the forest about fifty yards away. He sees me and stops. I teleport closer and he has to reach out and keep me from falling when I land on an exposed tree root. As soon as I have my balance, I teleport us back to the beach cottage. Kegan is inside in a heartbeat, not even a glance spared for Alita’s father. The older Fairy isn’t insulted. He smiles after his son-in-law and walks back into the house himself.
Kallen and I follow them inside. We make our way to Alita’s old bedroom and knock on the open doorframe. Kegan has his wife in a tight embrace. Alita peeks over Kegan’s shoulder and waves us in. She is pale, but she is sitting up. Whether on her own or because Kegan is holding her upright, I’m not certain, but I suspect much of her weakness has passed since the Demon’s demise. Next to the bed, a baby begins to cry. Kegan gently removes his arms from Alita and moves to him, scooping his son into his arms and holding him close. Not too close. He’s careful not to smother him, babies being fragile and all that. Alita is staring at both of them with pure, unadulterated love radiating from her eyes.
Reluctant to interrupt this tender scene, Kallen and I do need to go. We have a lot of family and friends to round up. But, I don’t want to leave until I am certain Alita and the baby are fine. “Do you need me to heal you?” I ask her.
Alita shakes her head. “No, I feel much better.” Her eyes move back to Kegan. “I assume you can tell me what has been going on?” she asks her husband.
Kegan is too busy checking Keelan over to respond. Not finding any obvious injuries, he finally asks Alita, “Does he require healing?”
Shaking her head again, she reassures him softly, “He is fine, as well. Mama and Papa have made certain of it.”
Relief washes over Kegan. Finally, he answers Alita’s question, “I am not certain I understand all of it, but I will certainly try to explain.”
I open my mouth to offer to move them back home but close it again. They may be safer here. Alita was out of the changing reality loop, as were her parents. I glance at Kallen and he nods in agreement. I love that he so often knows what I’m thinking.
“We will leave the two of you then. We need to find the others who have been missing these past few days,” Kallen says. He takes my hand, but before I teleport us away, he adds, “Stay here, Cousin. This may be the safest place for you and your family right now.”
Wrapping an arm around Alita’s shoulders, Kegan nods. “Let me know if you need help.”
“We will,” Kallen lies. There is no way in hell we are going to tear apart this family again.
Kegan is not stupid. He knows his cousin too well. “I have more to fight for than I ever have before,” he insists. “Do not leave me from the battle because you fear separating us.”
Alita’s eyes are wide with fear, but she concurs. “If Kegan is needed, he needs to fight.”
“We are not fighting Centaurs or Sasquatch, we are fighting Demons,” I tell her.
I feel guilty when she blanches. “Demons?” she echoes.
I nod. “And considering they are the epitome of evil, we think Kegan’s place is right here protecting you and the baby.” When she opens her mouth to object, I add, “I’ve been in the presence of one. You’ve only been on the periphery of its magic. I don’t think you would survive being up and close and personal.” Blunt, but true. “Right now, I believe you need a body guard more so than we need Kegan’s help on our end. If that changes, we will let you know.”
Kegan is torn. He wants to argue, but his eyes keep darting between Alita and the baby. Kallen reaches out and squeezes his cousin’s shoulder. “We will call upon you if we truly need your help.” This time, it’s not a lie. Understanding this, Kegan nods. He will not argue any more about it.
Now that we are all in agreement, it’s time to go home, round everyone else up, and figure out what the hell we are going to do about the Demons who are after us.
18 Chapter
Not sure what to expect, I teleport us to the beach instead of inside the house. I doubt there are traps waiting for us, but I did make a deal with a Demon without knowing all the rules. I basically went on ideas I’ve gleaned from TV shows, books and movies. That being said, he may not be quite as trustworthy as I hope he is.
Kallen is just as leery as I am and he doesn’t even know all the details of what happened yet. I haven’t had a chance to explain the stupid deal I made. “Do you believe it safe to enter?” he asks. “Will the Demon return?”
Before I have a chance to respond, the terrace door is traversed by several beings. Fortunately, all of them are friendly. Mom and Dad hurry through first, followed by Isla and Garren. I glance over their shoulders waiting for Adriel and Raziel. They do not appear. Strange.
“Xandra!” Mom throws her arms around me and sobs. Not in relief. She is just sobbing. Um, this is weird. Mom is never this emotional. Dad comes close to us, but he doesn’t make it a group hug. There is something lurking in his eyes, something which puts a lump in my throat and what feels like a pile of dead flies in my belly. It’s pain in his eyes. The pain of betrayal. Oh god, he knows. He knows what happened between Dagda and Mom. No wonder Mom is crying. I bet a big part of it is embarrassment, but the rest I am certain is because she would never intentionally hurt Dad.
“Dad…” I begin, but he shakes his head. Kallen puts a hand on my shoulder, shaking his head slightly, too. “Not now,” he says softly. It didn’t take him any longer than it took me to realize what the problem is.
“Come inside,” Isla insists, scanning the horizon. “I believe explanations are in order, but I do not believe it wise to remain in the open like this.”
Peeling Mom from my arms takes a minute. It also takes Kallen’s help. He reaches out and gently pulls her limbs back like layers of an onion. One at a time. “We need to focus on a plan,” he says to her softly. “The battle is not yet won.” Mom nods and sniffles, wiping the tears from her eyes.
Dad clearly wants to reach out to her, but he’s not ready for that yet. I want to ask him how he knows. Did Mom immediately come out of her haze of false memories and confess what happened? If so, I appreciate her honesty, but maybe she should have waited for explanations before admitting her guilt. That probably would have helped ease Dad’s pain. Or, maybe we could have just skipped over that little unpleasantness. After all, it wasn’t her fault. She probably couldn’t have lived with the guilt, though. I know I wouldn’t have been able to live with it.
“Where is Zac?” I ask my parents. Their pain aside, I need to know my brother is safe.
“He is in his room. I insisted he stay there until we have time to sort things out,” Dad says. With a covert glance at Mom, he adds, “He is very confused right now. I thought it best he not be here.” I’m not certain I agree. And, I hate the fact that he is alone. But, maybe Dad has a point. Zac is close by so we can hear him if he’s in trouble, and being around our parents right now may not be the best thing for him.
The six of
us make our way into the house. We head straight for the kitchen. Not because we’re hungry. I, for one, would probably gag on food at the moment the way my stomach is churning bile. But, because the kitchen is where we always meet when we are dealing with a crisis. Or pretty much anything else. Taking seats at the island counter, we sit in a stunned silence for a moment. Isla and Garren are giving Dad pitying glances, so apparently they know, as well. Did Mom share with them, too? Did she make a general announcement or something? That seems unnaturally cruel of her. What the hell is going on?
Being me, of course I ask. “Mom, why didn’t you wait to tell Dad what happened with you and Dagda?” There is more accusation in my voice than I meant for there to be. I can’t help it, though. We may have been able to avoid the pain Dad, who flinches at the mention of the Fairy King’s name, is now feeling. It was selfish of her to try to wash away her guilt by jumping into premature confessions and I’m starting to feel a lot less sorry for her and a lot more annoyed.
“She did not tell me,” Dad says quietly. “I saw.” Well, that shuts up my inner monologue regarding my mother and how she should have done things differently.
“You saw?” Kallen echoes. “What do you mean?”
“I assume you are aware of the shifting in realities?” Isla asks.
I try not to roll my eyes. “Since I am the only one who was aware during all of them, yes.” Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t be so snarky. She might not know that.
Or, maybe she does. Slightly chagrined, Isla says, “Of course.”
“You observed?” Kallen echoes. He is starting to sound like a parrot.
“Good god, let us put it out there already,” Garren gripes. Looking at Kallen and me, he explains, “When one of us was not forced to participate in a reality, we were forced to watch. We retained our memories from our reality to make any betrayals,” his eyes shift to Dad, “all the more painful.” A shudder runs down his spine. That is downright cruel of the Demons. Then again, they are Demons. What else would they do, have picnics in the park all day and then rock everyone to sleep at night singing loving lullabies? “Who knows what was in store for the rest of us if it continued,” Garren adds. He reaches over and takes Isla’s hand in his and gives it a squeeze. I suspect images of Isla’s first husband are flashing through his mind and what it would have been like to watch her with him.
Kallen is as aghast as I am. “They made you watch? How?”
“It was like watching television,” Dad explains. Kallen and I get it. Garren is a bit confused. Fairies have a vague idea of such things in the Cowan realm, but only those I’ve brought there recently really understand modern technology.
“And you were all together in a room watching when it wasn’t your turn to be a part of the show?” How creepy is that?
Lips forming a grim line, Dad nods. “Yes.”
“Good to know that no matter how many realities you live through, you are still Queen of the Obvious,” a snarky voice says from my ankle.
Despite his annoying comment, I want to hug him. “Taz! Where have you been?”
“We were checking the perimeter,” another voice low to the floor says.
I beam at my other Familiar. “Felix.”
Felix’s eyes are trained on the floor. “My apologies.”
It takes me a moment to realize why he is apologizing. “For that other reality?” I ask.
“Queen of the…” I don’t let Taz finish before kicking out at him.
“Hush,” I tell him. To Felix, I say, “No apologies. That was a different reality and your memories were all screwed up. It’s okay. You didn’t have all the memories we’ve made since you left that other universe.” My eyes climb from Felix to my Dad. He needs to hear the same thing. Well, not the alternate universe part, but pretty much the same thing. He looks so sad my heart is breaking for him. “Dad, you must know that these realities seemed real to everyone in them. Memories were implanted or changed and no one had any control over it. It was like everyone had lived those lives all along. Even you forgot that you delivered Keelan just the day before,” I point out.
Dad’s eyes narrow. “You were never under the Demon’s spell. Perhaps the rest of us are simply weaker of mind than you are.” God, I hope not. I really rely on the strength of mind of those around me. It would suck to find out it’s all been a sham. Good thing I’m confident he’s wrong.
Kallen’s brow scrunches into a vee. “You know about the Demons?” Oh, yeah. We haven’t had a chance to explain our side of things yet. How does Dad know a Demon did all this?
“The Demon showed himself to us,” Isla explains. “He did not ever make himself corporeal so we could fight him, but he made his presence known. He explained what he was doing.”
“Bloody bastard wanted to take credit for the torture he was meting out,” Garren snarls.
“Was he planning to let it go on forever?” I ask.
Isla nods. “I believe that was the original intent.” A tiny smile touches her lips. “I believe he underestimated your stubbornness and determination, though. He did not believe you would not only be able to convince others of what was happening, but also find a way to stop it.”
“He was hopping mad when you destroyed his last reality,” Taz chuckles. “You were so good, I almost like you now.”
I glower at him. “You love me.”
Taz sniffs. “Don’t get carried away.” I’ll take that as a confirmation.
“He definitely underestimated the power you wield,” Dad says, his lips forming a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “A mistake he won’t make again.”
I shrug. “Doesn’t matter for him. He agreed to leave us alone.” Before anyone gets too excited, I add, “Too bad he says he has lots of friends.”
Isla scowls. “A Demon army has been reborn?”
I shrug again. “I don’t know if it’s an army, but he said there are more.” Getting back to what they’ve shared, I do a quick recap. “So, let me get this straight. A Demon kept all of you in what was essentially a Green Room until you were needed to play a part in his sick, and meant to be eternal, game of changing realities? All because the Angels want me to bring more goodness to the universe than evil?”
Nonplussed, Garren asks, “Green Room?”
Isla frowns and asks at the same time, “What is this about the Angels?”
I finally take the opportunity to fill them in on my trip to the archives and the conversation I had with the Demon. They knew about the archive thing, but apparently, once I pulled the Demon to me, they could no longer see what was going on. I suppose the Demon didn’t want them to see his weakness.
“You know, you probably should have led with that information,” Taz says from where he is trying to nudge the pantry door open.
“I didn’t have a chance,” I inform him.
He peeks at my Mom over his shoulder then puts his nose back to the task of opening the door. “Yeah, I guess some drama got in your way. Stupid mortals and their petty feelings.”
“You only say that because you don’t have a girlfriend,” I tease.
“Could we please get back to this discussion instead of that your Familiar’s love life?” Isla drawls. Wow, a few days as a Demon hostage and she gets snippy.
Before I can make a snippy comment of my own, the back door slams open. Tana in all her furious glory stalks in. Reflexively, I pull magic. When her stormy green eyes fly to my mother, I pull more magic. When she turns and flings herself into my Dad’s arms and begins to cry, I am too stunned to hold onto my magic and it all slips away. What the hell? Even Taz’s mouth drops open. Felix, however, is still on guard in case he needs to bite someone. Namely, Tana.
Dad, clearly uncomfortable, still does his best to comfort her. “It wasn’t real,” he reassures her, patting her back awkwardly. If only he felt that way himself, then he would sound like he meant it.
“But, even your daughter realized that none of our personalities could be altered to the point that we would d
o things or be with others we despised. Kallen would never have been with Xenia,” Tana whines into his chest. She is making a huge mess of Dad’s t-shirt and he is trying hard not to notice. He does grimace toward the growing wet spot on the front of his shirt once or twice, though.
When I feel Kallen pull magic again, I groan out loud. Tana may not be here to kill my mother, but when Dagda finds his wife in my Dad’s arms, he might not be as willing to set aside his homicidal tendencies. For the second time in two minutes, I pull magic and prepare for a fight. I am again shocked into dropping my magic when I witness a reaction that does not at all fall into character with someone I know and love. All Dagda does is stand in the doorway looking defeated. Wow, when did my family stop being sociopaths? Huh, maybe we needed a visit from Demons years ago if this is the outcome. Nah, not really. I’ll take sociopathic relatives over Demons any day.
“Tana?” Dagda says tentatively.
“Go away!” she snarls and her eyes spark with intended violence. I may have spoken too soon about her putting her homicidal tendencies away. Best to keep magic at the ready.
While their drama is playing out, another thought hits me. I turn to Kallen. “Why don’t you remember being in this room watching everyone?”
“I was never there,” he says simply. “I was with you in every reality.”
Oh, yeah. He was. “That’s strange. I wonder why the Demon didn’t try to separate us.”
Kallen wraps an arm around my waste and pulls me close. “Because he could not.” He gives me a light kiss. Unfortunately, his words just serve to make Tana, and Mom again, cry harder.
“For the love of Bacon!” Taz cries over their combined noise. “Can’t you shut them up? My eardrums are bleeding!”
I could give it a shot. It is pretty annoying. Biting my lip, I decide on the best course of action. Do I simply take their voices away? That seems really insensitive. Not to mention, likely to piss both of them off.