04 Shadow Blood - Witch Fairy (15 page)

I think she’s about to say no when Zac starts screaming so loudly, we can hear him all the way down here.  “Xandra, help!” 

I take off at a run and Mom and Dad forget about their human like behavior as they zoom through the ceiling.  I hear footsteps behind me; I think Isla is hot on my heels but I don’t turn around to check.  When I reach the top of the stairs, it feels like my heart is in my throat.  He has to be alright.  He has to be.

Zac’s door is wide open and Kallen and Alita are already in the room.  And there’s Zac.  He has tears streaming down his face and he’s rocking back and forth in Kallen’s arms.  “What happened?” I ask.

“I believe he had a bad dream,” Kallen says and my heart falls back into my chest. 

I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding and I join them on the bed.  Mom is in front of Zac, cooing like she did when he was younger, trying to calm him down.  Dad is standing next to her looking helpless as he says his own calming words.  Zac crawls over to me and I wrap my arms around him.  Over his head, I mouth ‘thank you’ to Kallen.

“You had a bad dream?” I ask Zac.  He nods his head.  “What was it about?”  Like I don’t already know.

“I was there again,” he says through gasps as he continues to sob. 

“I’m so sorry, buddy.  I can’t imagine how awful it was for you.”  I can, because I was there, but his experience was much worse than mine.  Even with the soul barnacles.

“We knew you’d grow to like us.”

“Not a chance.  You’re gone as soon as Tabatha figures out how to do it without hurting my soul.”

“You’re not very nice.”

I sigh in frustration. 
“I’m a little busy here.”

“Fine.”

“Thank you.”
  I can’t believe I’m being polite to the voice in my head.  People are put on medication for things like that.

“Do you want to tell us about it?” I ask him as I smooth back his sandy brown hair from his forehead.  “Did anything hurt you while you were there?”  He hasn’t really said much since he came back from the Shadow realm.

He shakes his head.  “No, but they kept saying they were going to.”

If I could go back to hell and kill those Shadows all over again, I would.  “I’m so sorry, Zac.”

“Zac, how did you end up in the Shadow world with your aunt?” Kallen asks gently.  Something we’ve all been dying to know.

He sniffs loudly.  My shirt is drenched with snot and I don’t even care.  Well, maybe a little bit.  I’m trying not to think about it, though.

“I was playing with some of Aunt Barb’s stuff,” Zac says between sniffs.  “She told me not to, but I did anyway.  She tried to take the helmet thingy I was holding, and then we were in that place.”  I don’t want to make a big deal out of the snot, but I wish someone would hand him a tissue.

“It wasn’t your fault, Zac.  You didn’t know what could happen.  I don’t even think Aunt Barb knew what would happen.”  At least, I hope she wouldn’t leave something like that lying around if she knew what it could do if someone touched it.  I’m still thinking this was all a fluke accident.  No matter how she’s acting right now.

“Okay,” he says in that little voice kids get when they don’t really believe what you’re saying but they want to humor you anyway.

“Xandra is right, it was not your fault,” Kallen says.  I smile at him over Zac’s head. 

“Zac, it’s late, why don’t you try to lie down,” Mom says.

“What if I have that dream again?”

“We’ll be right here with you,” Dad assures him.

After a moment, Zac nods and crawls off my lap, scooting up to the pillows.  I stand up and pull the covers over him.  On impulse, I lean over and give him a kiss on the forehead – something he’d normally throw a fit if I did.  That gives me an idea of just how upset he is right now.  “Goodnight, buddy.”

“Night, Xandra.”  He closes his eyes, but I doubt he’ll be sleeping any time soon. 

Turning around to Mom and Dad, I say, “I’m going to go talk to Aunt Barb.  Maybe I can figure out why she’s acting so…” I turn around and look at Zac, “um, interesting.”  Lame, I know, but, I don’t want Zac to have anything else to worry about.

Mom nods and I can see some lingering anger in her eyes.  “I think that’s a good idea.”  There’s a promise in her expression that says if Aunt Barb doesn’t have soul barnacles, she’s going to have to answer to Mom.  Never thought I’d hope my aunt had something wrong with her.

Kallen stands up from the end of the bed and joins me.  Isla stirs from her place at the door where she has watching the scene play out.  She nods to my parents and leads the way back to the kitchen.  This is turning into the longest night ever.

“You’re right.  I think you need a nap.”

“Shut up.”

“You’re getting veeeeeery sleepy.  You’re lids are getting heavy and all you want to do is sleeeeeeep.”

“Are you seriously trying to hypnotize me?”

“Is it working?”

“No.”

“Eh, it was worth a shot.”

Tabitha needs to hurry up and find a way to get rid of these fragments.

Chapter 17`

And I thought Kallen could mutter some pretty foul curses under his breath from time to time.  Now, I know where he got it.  I’m not even sure I know what two of the words Isla just said mean.

The reason for her words becomes apparent as soon as we enter the kitchen.  Where Tabitha is lying on the ground.  Surrounded by a pool of blood.  Oh god, please don’t let her be dead.

Isla is already on the floor next to her feeling for her pulse.  The relief on her face when she turns to us is palpable.  “She has a pulse and is still breathing.”

That’s all I needed to hear.  I’m next to her in a flash and I fill myself with magic.  From the amount of blood on the floor, I don’t think her pulse will be there much longer if I don’t intervene quickly.  Closing my eyes, I send my magic flowing to her as I imagine the gaping wound at her temple healing.

What I don’t expect is the sudden bombardment of images.  I almost pull back until I realize what I’m seeing.  I think I’m seeing what happened to Tabitha before she fell; through her eyes.  There’s Aunt Barb in front of me and her mouth is curled into a sneer.  She’s saying something but I don’t know what.  I only have visuals.  A hand reaches out to her, trying to catch her arm, but Aunt Barb pulls back and her left arm goes behind her, feeling along the counter as she inches away.  A smile that I hope to never see on another person again washes across her lips.  Her arm swings forward as something comes flying at me.  I try to move out of the way, but I’m not quick enough.  And then I’m falling.  My head hits the floor and then there’s nothing.

“Xandra!” Kallen is shouting in my ear.  “Wake up.  You must save Tabitha!”

Gee, glad he’s all concerned about
me
.  And why am I on the floor instead of healing Tabitha?  I look up at him and I’m sure that question is written all over my face.  He puts his hands on my cheeks and looks closely at me.  Aw, he is concerned about me.  “You fainted.  You pulled magic and started to heal Tabitha, and then you fainted.”

“Pictures,” is all I can mumble because he has my cheeks squeezed and I can’t talk properly.

Isla puts her hand on Kallen’s arm and he lets go.  “Tabitha is a powerful empath, among other things.  When she touches someone, she can feel what they are feeling and see what they have recently seen.  Because your magic is so powerful, when it touched her, her gift must have used it as a conduit.”

I nod stupidly, like I actually know anything about this.  “You have to try to ignore the images, Xandra, because you’re not used to them and they will become overwhelming if you focus too hard on them,” Kallen says oh so helpfully.  Thanks, kind of figured that one out on my own.

Pulling magic again, I sit up and close my eyes, trying to keep from falling back down again.  I’m pretty dizzy right now.  Gently, I push my magic back through Tabitha and as quickly as possible, as I relive her last conscious moments again, I imagine her healing.  Since I know what to expect this time, my brain is prepared and I don’t faint.  As I’m finally imagining her skin closing back together, she begins to stir.

“Tabitha,” Isla says, worry still ringing loud and clear in her voice.  “What happened?”

Tabitha opens her eyes but instead of answering Isla, she looks at me.  “Xandra, the more I get to know your family, the more I wonder where you got your sweet and personable genes.”

I can’t help but laugh.  “Me, too.”

Tabitha starts to sit up and Isla and I help her.  She puts a hand to the spot where there was once a gash and is now crusted with blood.  “Looks like I’ll be taking a bath before I return to the library.”  Looking at Isla, she says, “I did not get a chance to read her soul, but considering her actions, I am guessing she has travelers.  And she has great aim.”  She rubs her head again.  I’m sure she has a headache.

“Let us help you up,” Isla says.  Her face is looking pretty grim at the moment.  When Tabitha is standing on shaky legs, she turns to Kallen.  “Help her back to her room.”  To me, she says, “You are about to learn to do a locator spell.”

Witch magic?  My spells tend to go wonky in my realm.  Here, where the magic is purer, it goes ten times as wonky.  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”  The look she gives me tells me she doesn’t care the tiniest iota if it’s a good idea or not. 

“Your aunt has tried to murder my oldest and dearest friend.  If she is willing to go this far, in my home, then who knows what devastation she will cause elsewhere.”  Okay, she has a good point.  I’ll shut up now and do whatever spell she wants me to.

Kallen gives me a quick kiss on the cheek.  “I’ll be right back,” he says.  He puts an arm around Tabitha and he walks her out of the room.  Her legs still seem a bit shaky, but other than that, she seems fine.  I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if I didn’t have the power to heal her.  Isla’s right, Aunt Barb as she is at the moment, has to be stopped before she does kill someone.

Isla is opening cupboard doors and removing various items.  When she’s done, she brings them to the middle of the kitchen and sets them on the island counter top.  She has four candles, some dried leaves that smell wonderful, and a bowl that she has filled with water.  Next, she grabs a knife from the wooden stand near the stove and uses it to scrape Tabitha’s blood from the tile floor.  Eew.  She brings it to the water and drops the scrapings in.  The water begins to turn murky and brownish.  She arranges four candles around the bowl in the north, south, east and west positions.  Next, to my surprise, she leaves the room.  Considering the look on her face, I’m smart enough not to ask where she’s going.  I’ll just wait here for her to get back.

Five minutes later, she walks back into the kitchen holding a hairbrush.  Presumably Aunt Barb’s.  She rips some hair out of it and throws it in the bowl.  Next, she pours a small amount of what looks like oil from a decanter.  After sprinkling it with the dried leaves that smell like lavender, she places a match in front of me.  From the highest cupboard in the room, she retrieves a large, black, leather bound book.  She places the book next to one of the candles and she rifles through the pages until she finds the one she’s looking for.  I still find it odd that a Fairy has a Witch’s grimoire, but who am I to judge.  She twirls the book around when she has the spell and puts it in front of me.

“Grandmother, do you need assistance?” Kallen asks as he walks back into the room.

Isla looks up.  “How is Tabitha?”

“I tried to get her to lie down, but she refused.  She is back in the library, more determined than ever.”

A teeny, tiny, microscopic movement at the corner of her lips almost implies that she’s trying to smile.  “She is a stubborn woman.”  Probably a bad time to say ‘so are you.’  Besides, I know she means it as a compliment.

“Are you sure you should be doing this spell?  You have a lot of power building up in here.  Don’t want you to blow up the place.”

“Who are you, my mother?”

“Yes, you’re grounded.  Go to bed right now.”

“Nice try.”

“I do what I can.  Seriously, though, this is a strong spell.”

“I think I can handle it.”

“No, you don’t.  I can hear your thoughts, remember.”

“Shut up.  It’ll be fine.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Good thing Tabitha’s being so persistent in her research.  “Is everything all set?” I ask Isla.

She nods.  “Yes.  You will light the candles in the order it reads and then you will light the bowl.  While you say the spell, the oil and lavender will burn, and when they clear, you will be able to see the location of your aunt in the water.”

Sounds simple enough.  I’m going to ignore the snort that just rang through my head.  I position myself in front of the grimoire and when Isla nods to me, I light the match.  I light the candles starting at the north position and then rotate around clockwise.  Next I light the oil.  I probably should have been expecting the towering infernal as soon as the flame hit it, but hey, did I really need all those hairs in my eyebrows?  Thin is in, right?

Ignoring the smell of burning hair, which I hope is coming from the bowl and not my face, I begin to recite the spell.  “Element of earth, lend me your will    ,” I blow out the north candle. 

“Element of air, lend me your eyes.”  The east candle goes out.

“Element of fire, lend me your strength.”  I blow out the south candle.

Now, the really important one.  “Element of water, the force of heart, your knowledge and guidance to impart, an enemy of mine I need to find.  Casting aside restraints of mind, show me now as I am blind.  Lift the veil, from earth and sky; show me where my foe does lie.  Surround me in your glorious depths, upon your waves let me ride, let your surface be my window, your depths to be my guide.”

I think I need a word that’s a little stronger than wonky.  When a tidal wave erupts from a small ceramic bowl and fills the room with water in a matter of seconds, wonky just doesn’t cover it.  And since I don’t have gills, I need to figure out how to make it go away or we’re all going to drown.  I try to pull the magic back, but I can’t.  Great, what now?

Kallen has swum over to me and he’s motioning to the door that leads outside.  Isla is already there, trying to get it open.  Since the door opens into the kitchen, it’s not budging.  The force of the water is holding it close.  I feel her pull magic, but since my magic is so much stronger, she can’t force it open that way, either.  Kallen swims to the entryway leading into the rest of the house, but it’s like there’s an invisible wall that won’t let anyone or anything past, even when he tries his own magic there.  Perhaps I should have modified the spell.  Surround me in your depths was probably not the best thing to ask for.  Because here I am, surrounded in its depths.  Spells are so literal.

My lungs are starting to burn as I continue to deprive them from oxygen. I’d magic a scuba diving suit and tank, but I don’t think I can manufacture oxygen out of magic.  I’m pretty sure it’s only a naturally occurring kind of thing.

My vision is starting to get black around the periphery and I’m getting a terrible headache.  I’m not going to last much longer, I think as I float to the bottom of the water, previously known as the kitchen floor.  It’s then that I notice the images playing on the surface.  The images that tell me exactly where my aunt is.  As soon as the images register in my mind, the water rushes back into the ceramic bowl on the table in a matter of seconds.  Isla, Kallen and I drop to the floor with a thud.  I sure wish Isla would have thought to use mattresses instead of ceramic tiles in here.

I push myself up and crawl over to where Kallen is laying on his back taking in deep, gasping breaths.  “Are you okay?” I ask.

He shakes his head and between breaths, says, “When will I learn to leave the room when you do Witch magic?”

“That would be wise for us all,” Isla says as she pushes herself to a sitting position and leans against the cupboards along the back wall of the kitchen.

All three of us look like drowned rats and I can’t help a small laugh.  “Yeah, probably a good idea.”