by Bonnie Lamer
Knowing Garren, my grandfather’s head of security, isn’t going to like it, I create a passageway directly into the foyer of my Grandfather’s mansion. This causes all kinds of alarms to start going off and it isn’t long before we’re surrounded by four security guards. Aiden, Gunnar’s second in command is one of them.
Lowering his weapon, he says, “Jesus, Xandra. Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
Feeling cocky, I say, “Please, I could disarm all of you with a blink.” If Adriel doesn’t stop pinching me, I’m going to start pinching back.
“Did you forget something?” Aiden asks, signaling for the other guards to lower the weapons they still have trained on us.
I sigh. “No, but I really need to speak with my grandfather and Jadyn. Are they here?”
Holstering his gun, Aiden asks, “What’s this about?”
With a brief glance toward the other guards, I say, “It’s a private matter.”
With his own sigh, Aiden says to his comrades, “Let Gunnar know Xandra has returned and she’ll be in the King’s office.” To me and Adriel, he says, “Come on.”
We follow him through several rooms on the ground floor until we come to a reception area. Things have spruced up a little since we were here last. There are new paintings on the walls and comfortable chairs for those waiting to see the King or Jadyn. There is also a new receptionist sitting behind a desk. Giving Aiden a puzzled look, she asks, “Who are these women?”
Walking to my grandfather’s office door, I tell her, “I’m the evil granddaughter they’ve probably warned you about.”
Rising hurriedly from her chair, the now frazzled receptionist says, “You can’t barge in there without an appointment.”
I just roll my eyes and turn the knob of my grandfather’s door. Oh. God. I really should have knocked first. I am seriously going to need to wash my eyeballs clean with bleach or something when I leave this room. Of all the things I wish I could un-see, this tops the list. Sitting on my grandfather’s lap is a woman who at first glance strongly resembles my grandmother in her youth. He has his hand inside her shirt and is kissing her. Since I am able to see through the facades a Seductress assumes, I immediately know it is Mohana sitting in his lap with her skirt pulled up practically to her waist. Mohana who was pretending to be my grandmother. I have to swallow repeatedly to get the bile to move back down my esophagus. I am seriously tempted to walk out of this room and go home, letting the other me have free reign to chop off his head at her leisure.
Mohana refuses to be pushed frantically from his lap when my grandfather sees me. Instead, she wraps an arm around his neck and stays put. “Xandra, you really should learn to knock.”
No kidding. I should probably add some vinegar to the bleach to really be sure my eyes are washed clean. “What the hell?” I ask. A gasp almost in my ear tells me the receptionist is right behind me. I guess she didn’t know what was going on behind the closed door, either. “You get your Seductress to pretend to be Grandma?” Each word as it leaves my mouth feels like a fly stuck in molasses on my tongue. I hope to never utter such words again in my life.
“Mohana, please,” Grandpa hisses.
Slowly, leisurely, Mohana releases her hold on my grandfather and stands up. Feeling no shame whatsoever, she is in no rush to pull down her skirt while she buttons up her shirt. I didn’t like her before, now I despise her with a passion registering ten on the Richter scale. “I will give you a moment to meet with your granddaughter. Then I will be back.” She leans down and kisses his mouth despite the panic and embarrassment on my grandfather’s face.
Turning his embarrassment to outrage when Mohana sashays from the room, Grandpa practically shouts, “Xandra, what is the meaning of this? You have no right to come barging in here.”
“Yeah, my internal ‘oh god I wish I had never seen that’ meter agrees,” I say around a gob of bile. “Unfortunately, your life is in danger. I thought you’d like to know.” He had better hope Grandma never sees what he was doing. Though, she’s probably not interested in him at all now that she’s an Angel again. I doubt she’ll be looking.
“How?” Mohana demands to know from the open doorway. Guess she didn’t go far.
The only response she gets from me is a scowl. “Where is Jadyn?” I ask my grandfather.
Grandpa rises from his chair. “Has her kind decided to wage war against the Witches?”
Now he gets a scowl. In my peripheral vision, I can see Adriel is getting annoyed, too. What can I say, my grandfather is an ignorant oaf. “No,” I snipe. “You have a far greater threat on your hands.”
Not convinced, the Witch King asks, “Who else in this realm is a threat to me?”
I’m about to blurt out ‘me’ when Adriel speaks for the first time. “Perhaps a more private audience would be better for this conversation.”
Grandpa puffs out his chest. “I keep no secrets from my Witan.”
“That’s worked out well for you in the past,” I mutter. Louder, I say, “Look, I want to talk to you and Jadyn alone. When we’re finished, you can tell the whole damn realm if you still think it’s a good idea to share with the masses.”
After a long, hard stare, Grandpa looks past me to his horrified receptionist. I can actually feel the disgust flowing from the young Witch. “Find Jadyn and send her in.”
Feeling squeamish again, I say, “Um, can we meet someplace where I won’t be constantly reminded of what I walked in on? My eyes still hurt.”
Grandpa wants to say more than what actually comes out of his mouth. It’s all in his tone. “We shall meet where I deem fit.”
“Or I could just kill you myself,” I grumble under my breath. Adriel surreptitiously pinches me again. I will get revenge later. Looking around the room, I say, “You only have two chairs in here besides yours. Are you going to make one of us stand or are you going to bring in another one?”
Unhappily admitting defeat, my grandfather says gruffly, “We will convene next door in the conference room.” I try to keep the smug smile from my face as I turn to walk back out of his office.
Adriel’s scowl is a pretty good indication that I fail. “Must you antagonize everyone?” she hisses near my ear.
I raise my brows in her direction. “You’re not exactly a bucket of sunshine, you know. I have the bruises to prove it.”
Slightly abashed, she says, “It is not in my job description. It is in yours.”
She does have a point. Bringing peace to the universe would probably be easier if I stopped pissing people off. The only problem is I’m not quite sure how. If only I had a filter between my brain and my mouth that kept the ‘not helping the situation’ words from leaking out.
The receptionist, whose skin has a slight tinge of green to it under her long blonde hair and done to perfection makeup, is on the phone now. Presumably talking to Jadyn. I hope the Skin Walker isn’t far away. The sooner I get out of this realm again the better. I just wish I didn’t need to bring Grandpa with me.
Chapter 13
It is a very uncomfortable ten minutes later before Jadyn shows up. Mohana did not take her dismissal well. She had plenty of colorful things to say about the situation but she said them in a language I don’t understand. It wasn’t until Adriel began speaking to her in the same language that Mohana realized she was being understood. I’m not sure what Adriel said to her, but the dark skinned woman paled, suddenly spun on her heels and left. Adriel promised to tell me later what the Witch was saying. Or more to the point, what names she was calling all of us.
It is a great relief when the conference room door opens and Jadyn walks in. A sincere smile on her face, she says, “Xandra, what a pleasant surprise to see you again so soon.” She comes to me and gives me a hug before taking a seat at the long table. “I understand you are here to alert us of some danger?”
Happy to look at someone who doesn’t bring lewd pictures to mind, I return her smile briefly. Sobering as soon as I remember why I am here, I sa
y, “Unfortunately, yes. Someone is chopping off the heads of the leaders of the supernatural. We want to make sure you and my grandfather don’t fall victim to her.”
“Her?” Grandpa pipes in, the first words he has uttered since Mohana left.
Trying not to squirm in my chair, I fess up. “Me. I’m the one doing it.”
Honest to god fear jumps in his eyes and he pushes his chair back from the table so hard when he stands up, it crashes into the far wall. “You?!”
Annoyed, Adriel says, “It is not this Xandra you must fear.”
“What do you mean?” Jadyn asks. Her only reaction to my words is a worried frown.
“It’s me but it’s not me,” I say. I should try again. “Another me jumped universes and she’s killing the leaders in this one who opposed her in hers.” That didn’t sound confusing at all.
“What do you mean she ‘jumped universes’.” Grandpa demands. “There is only one universe.”
“Turns out that’s not the case,” I reply.
Refusing to take his seat again, Grandpa crosses his arms over his chest. “Or it could simply be you deciding to kill us all off and using this cockamamie idea as a ruse to suck us in.”
“Yes, because I spend all my time coming up with nefarious plans for the universe,” I grouse. “You can believe me or not, it’s up to you. If you don’t, I’d take a long last look in the mirror while your head is still attached to your body.”
Ignoring my grandfather’s behavior, Jadyn says, “What do you suggest for safety measures?”
“You believe her?!” Grandpa bellows.
“Let’s leave the old coot here and just take the pretty one,” Taz suggests from under my chair. I agree.
To Jadyn, I say, “I would like to bring you back to the Fae realm with me. Others are making contact with the Giants, Sasquatch, Elves, Centaurs, Fauns, Merpeople and Dragons. Once we have assembled everyone, we will figure out how to stop my doppelgänger.”
“Yetis and Dragons?” Grandpa scoffs. “The only place you should be going is the loony bin.”
Not able to ignore him, I say, “You’re a Witch, I’m half Witch and half Fairy and a Fallen Angel of Death is sitting next to me. A Skin Walker is sitting next to us. Are you really unwilling to open your mind to the fact there are other beings in the universe?”
“The dude has Seductress brain and can’t think logically anymore,” Taz suggests. Dude? He’s been spending time with Zac, obviously. No one else in the Fairy realm says dude.
“I don’t think it’s his brain that’s being affected by the Seductress,” I whisper to him. Unfortunately, the room has excellent acoustics. Jadyn has to cover her chuckle with a cough. I’m pretty sure she knows what’s going on with Grandpa and the member of his Witan.
Apparently convinced I’m not going to kill him right this minute but still giving me the evil eye, Grandpa pushes his chair back to the table and sits down. “There is no way in hell I’m going anywhere with you. Especially not to that godforsaken realm!”
My stomach does a little happy flip until it dawns on me how sad it is I don’t care enough about him to be upset. I wonder what he’s like in my doppelgänger’s realm. Still a weenie? Probably. “Look, we don’t know where she is. She could be in this realm already searching for you. If you think you’re powerful enough to take on someone whose magic is as strong as mine, go for it. I just need to call a friend and then I’m heading back.”
“Friend?” he snarls like he doesn’t believe me.
“I do have them,” I drawl.
Looking directly at Adriel, he says, “Are Angels of Death truly anyone’s friend?”
Fortunately for Grandpa, Angels have amazing self-control. Otherwise, Adriel would be doing any number of the things going through her head at the moment. Her face if very expressive. “I am certainly not yours,” she says.
Again, Jadyn coughs to cover a chuckle. Sobering when she is able, she says, “My brother and I will accompany you.” I really hope she means Conor, not the evil one.
“How soon can you be ready?” I ask.
Looking at her watch, Jadyn says, “Half an hour.”
I guess we can wait half an hour. Sending my stare to Grandpa, I raise my brows and wait for him to answer. It takes a good two minutes before I get a very begrudged, “I will be ready to go.” Without another word to any of us, he gets up and strides from the room. Boy, everyone in the Fairy realm is going to just love him. So much, they’ll probably decide to use him for bait.
Reaching across the table, I grab the conference phone. Pulling it closer, I dig in the pocket of my jeans for the piece of paper with Eliana’s phone number on it. She picks up on the second ring even though she doesn’t recognize the phone number. After the ‘hey, how are you’s’, I explain why I called. I wonder if my doppelgänger knows Eliana in her realm. Of course Eliana agrees to do whatever she can to keep the realm safe. Why aren’t the rest of the supernatural people I meet so easy to talk to?
Chapter 14
In an attempt to be inconspicuous, I decide to open the realms inside again. Mostly because I really don’t care what happens to Grandpa’s house if something goes wonky. Wow, when did I get so bitter? But also because I forgot the other times I was here and opened the realms in the open that this realm has satellite technology. What would the government think if a satellite got a good picture of what I’m doing? Probably best not to find out.
I attempt to send the receptionist home after I get off the phone. At first, she isn’t certain she should be taking orders from me. When I explain what I am going to do, she grabs her purse out of the bottom drawer of her desk and leaves without any more hesitation. She practically runs Gunnar down in her haste.
With a raised brow, he says, “You really know how to clear a room.”
I shrug. “It’s a gift.”
With a grunt, he says, “He wants me to go with him.”
The insult of my grandfather not believing I would keep him safe is about to hit me when it dawns on me that if Gunnar comes with, I won’t have to babysit the old man. I know he’s not going to play nice with others. “Not a problem.”
Clearly uncomfortable, he adds, “He will also be accompanied by a member of the Witan.” Gee, I wonder which one.
I internally debate whether it’s worth arguing over. It’s not. But I’m sure Mom will be thrilled. Hopefully, she won’t float in on anything like I saw earlier. Rolling my eyes, I say, “Whatever.”
Clearly relieved I don’t argue, he asks, “What gear should I bring?”
I assume he means firepower. “You can bring guns if you want, but unless you have a rocket launcher, most of the supernatural population will not be affected if you try to use them. They’ll either be too fast or block a bullet with magic.”
Grinning, he says, “But I can bring my rocket launcher?”
It figures he has one. He does take his security job seriously. “Sure, why not.”
“What’s the weather like?”
A very practical question. “Moderate to hot. You won’t need winter wear.”
He nods. “This might not be so bad after all.”
“Sure you don’t want to send me?” Aiden asks, coming in on the tail end of our conversation. Gunnar obviously told him what’s going on. “Fairy chicks are hot.”
“I got this,” Gunnar says dryly. Good thing, I don’t think many of the ‘Fairy chicks’ are into Witches. Most of them are still hung up on the whole full blooded Fae thing.
Disappointed, Aiden asks me, “Am I really going to miss out on seeing Dragons?”
I nod. “Dragons, Giants, Mermaids and a bunch of others.” Aiden’s disappointment sharpens. I probably shouldn’t have confirmed all that. I could have lied to make him feel better. Then again, he wasn’t the nicest guy in the world when I arrived last time.
Am I mistaken, or is that a hint of fear flitting through Gunnar’s eyes? His voice is gruffer than usual when he says to Aiden, “Did you call the meeting
to go over new safety measures to be put in place while I’m gone?”
“Yeah, first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Is my grandfather about ready?” I ask, seeing Jadyn and Conor heading our way.
“I don’t believe it’s him holding things up. I’ll see if I can hurry them along,” Aiden says.
“Thanks,” I say, getting impatient. I can’t believe Grandpa is bringing her along. It dawns on me that I never asked Kallen what she did to irritate him when the two of them ran an errand together. It doesn’t really matter, I know I have nothing to worry about on his side.
When Aiden is out of earshot, Gunnar asks, “Does this realm travelling hurt? Will I get sick?”
I laugh. He’s a big guy, I doubt much could hurt him. “Not the way I do it,” I reassure him. The old fashioned way? My stomach does a little flip just thinking about it. It’s cute how color flushes into Gunnar’s cheeks, obviously embarrassed for asking.
“Will there be Skin Walkers from other realms present?” Conor asks in place of a greeting.
“Hello to you, too,” I drawl. Um, no, no one mentioned anything about bringing any other Skin Walkers. Maybe their trickster habits make them unlikely allies? “Not that I know of, but if they are located then maybe.” Conor is as convinced of this about as much as my words were unconvincing. I need to work on my hedging.
“When your race left the Cowan realm, they scattered,” Adriel says. “It may be difficult to find many organized communities, but if one is found they will be given the same options you have.” She is much better at hedging. Conor brightens a little with the hope her words bring. What does it say about me when an Angel of Death is more reassuring than I am?
It’s another ten minutes before Grandpa finally shows up and we pass the time with idle chit chat. The serious stuff can wait until we are in the Fae realm.
I groan when I see Grandpa walking through the room leading to this one. Mohana is on his arm, holding on tightly. Does she think I’m going to try to prevent her from coming? Common sense kicks in and I realize what she’s ultimately doing. She’s vying for Queen status. No wonder she doesn’t mind Grandpa’s desire for Grandma. All she wants is a crown. I like her about as much as a tapeworm at the moment. The sad thing is, Grandpa’s lonely enough to fall for it.