04 Shadow Blood - Witch Fairy (19 page)

I chuckle without humor.  “One of the complexities of the universe, I guess.  It seems that no matter how hard someone tries, it is impossible to completely darken a soul.  There will always be remnants of light. Perhaps to provide room for redemption.”

Alita shakes her head.  “You have lived through so much.”  A smile finds its way to her mouth, “It is no wonder you were behaving as you were.”

I can’t help a grin.  “Something Xandra doesn’t understand.”

She laughs.  “I suppose I would not be as understanding either, if it was my body you were using as a vehicle.”

She stands up and with a friendly smile, she says, “I am sorry to say this, because I would love to learn more about you, but you really do need to let Xandra’s body rest.  She has a lot to handle right now, and she needs her sleep.”

She’s right, I know.  That doesn’t make it any less difficult.  With a heavy sigh, I rise from the comfortable yellow chair and give Alita a quick hug.  “Thank you for listening to my tale.”

“Anytime,” she says as she heads for the door.  “Goodnight.”  She closes the door behind her as I crawl into bed.  Alone.

Chapter 22

What is that annoying tickle on my face?  It feels like a feather.  Are my Angel wings back?  That thought makes me wake up in a hurry.  What did the lightness do that caused my wings to show up?  My eyes open, expecting the worst, but there is only one feather.  It’s long and black and suspended in mid-air.  My eyes inspect the room for the one responsible for waking me up like this.  There he is.  Standing in the doorway with a worried look on his face.  Strange.

“Will you please get rid of the feather?” I ask as I sit up and bat it away.  “And why are you way over there?

Kallen looks hesitant, but he ventures into the room.  What’s his deal?  And then it hits me.  I put my hands over my face and ask, “What did I do?”

“
You
did not do anything,” he says as he comes closer.  “Your little friend, however, went to great lengths to torture me.  I slept in my own room.”

I frown as I look up at him.  “They are not my little friends.”

“Ouch, that hurt my feelings.”

“Shut up.”

“Was it that bad?” I ask as he nears the bed.

He sits down next to me and pushes my sleep tossed black hair away from my face.  “Bad, no.  Tempting beyond belief?  Almost.  But, if I am going to participate in anything involving your body, I want to be sure it is you in charge of it.”

He’s such a good boyfriend.  “Does that mean I can tempt you beyond belief right now?” I purr as I curl my fingers into the front of his t-shirt and pull him closer for a kiss.

He groans.  “It was difficult enough leaving your luscious, beautiful body last night.  If you tempt me with it as my precious Witch Fairy, I fear I would not leave this bed until I have made love to you.”

That thought sends goose bumps all over my body.  Would that be so bad?  Instead of responding verbally, I find his lips with mine and pull him with me as I lie back down.  When he groans this time, it’s in pleasure.

I’m going to kill whoever just knocked on the door.  Maybe not kill them.  But, I am strongly in favor of dumping a large vat of cold water on them, because that’s what it feels like just happened to me and Kallen. 

He pulls back from the kiss.  “I forgot to tell you the reason I came to wake you.  Tabitha believes she may have found a way to exorcise your demons.”

My lips press together in a thin line as guilt washes through me.  “Mine aren’t really demons. I hate that I have to send them back to hell.”

That earns me a raised eyebrow.  “You are not thinking of keeping them, are you?  I fear what would happen between us if you did.”

I give him a questioning look and color flows into his cheeks.  Ah.  “I guess it’s not always easy to tell who’s in charge of my body, huh?”

He lets out a breath I don’t think he realized he was holding.  “No, it is not at first.  I would hate to make a mistake as the ‘barnacles’ become better at behaving as you do.”

Oh, I hadn’t thought about that.  He makes a good argument for getting rid of them.  Not like I needed it, though.  I wait a minute for the inevitable argument from within, but it doesn’t come.  Hmm, guess they do sleep.

“Come in,” I say to the person who knocks for the second time.  It has to be Kegan or Alita.  Anyone else wouldn’t bother to knock; they’d open the door or float through it.

It’s Alita.  She peaks her head around the door.  “Xandra?” she asks.

I grimace.  I feel like I’m schizophrenic, or have split personalities or something.  “Yes, it’s me.”

She smiles and opens the door a bit further.  “I hate to disturb you two, but Isla asked me to hurry you along.”

Saved by the bell, or Fairy.  “We’ll be right down,” I say as I push the covers away, resigned to the fact that I have to get out of bed now.

“I’ll let her know.”  She closes the door behind her.

Kallen stands up and offers me his hand.  When I’m fully upright, he engulfs me in a hug.  Resting his chin on my head, he says, “I love you.”

I nestle further into his warm embrace for a moment.  “I love you, too.”

Pulling back, I say, “I’ll brush my teeth and comb my hair, then I’ll be right down.”

“Sounds good,” he says and he gives me a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving me to get ready.  Shoot, I forgot to ask him to dress me.  How weird does that sound? Having to be dressed by someone else at seventeen – in some ways my life has moved forward in leaps and bounds, and in others ways, it has regressed tremendously.  I really need to learn subtle magic.  Or I could get my clothes from back home.  But, what fun is that?  I have to admit, I like the idea of creating a whole new wardrobe at will.  Besides, most of my clothes back home are for cold weather, not the warm weather here.

After I brush my teeth and comb my hair, I make my way downstairs.  Passing every other room, I make my way to the kitchen.  Someday, maybe, I’ll check out a few more rooms in this massive house.  Not today, though.

Mom turns to me as I walk in.  She gives me a big smile as she says, “You look well rested.”

I shrug.  I don’t feel well rested, but I don’t want to sound whiny, either.  “I was able to sleep longer than I thought I would.”  A quick look at the clock on the wall tells me it’s a little after noon.  Which explains why Zac is eating a sandwich instead of oatmeal.

“Hungry?” Tabitha asks.  She’s at the stove, stirring thick soupy stuff that looks like it’s some sort of fish with a gummy white sauce.  She’s usually a great cook.  Maybe all the research is affecting her.

I wrinkle my nose.  “Is that my only choice?”  It smells awful.

Tabitha raises both eyebrows.  “Are you insulting my cooking?” she asks.

She sounds so serious, I do a double take, but I relax when I see the twinkle in her eyes.  “Nope, just asking,” I say as I sit down on a stool.

She chuckles as she stirs the frightful stuff.  “No, you do not have to eat this.  This is for Alita’s mother.”

“She eats that?”

Another chuckle.  “It is for her cat that is ailing.  It is a medicinal paste.  The fish makes it more appealing for the cat to eat.”

“Aw, that’s really nice of you.”

“I do what I can.”  I don’t miss the smile on her face as she turns back to the stove.  “Would you like a sandwich?”

“No, I’ll just eat Zac’s,” I say as I stretch my hand out towards his plate.

“Uh uh,” he says as he pushes his plate out of my reach.  “I haven’t had a sandwich that tasted this good before.”  I give him a sour look.  I’m the one who’s been making his sandwiches for the last three years.  He grins around a mouthful of bread and meat.

Mom puts her hand over her mouth to try to hide her chuckle.  “Zac, don’t insult your sister’s cooking.”

“Yeah,” I say, mussing up his hair.  “Otherwise, you’ll be making your own sandwiches back home.”

“When are we going home?” he asks.  “Can we go today?” 

He looks so eager, I hate to disappoint him.  I feel bad as I say, “Sorry, buddy.  We have to stay here for a little bit longer.”

“How come?”

Mom answers this time.  “Because Aunt Barb isn’t feeling well.  We have to wait until she gets better.”

“Can’t she stay here until she’s better and we go home now without her?”

Mom gives him an admonishing look.  “Zac, that’s not very nice.”

His bottom lip sticks out.  “I don’t like it here.  I want to go home.”

I don’t think I’ve ever heard him this petulant before.  Then again, he’s never gone to hell before.  “Zac, I know you’re going through a rough time and you want to go home, but Aunt Barb is, too.  We need to help her.  We’re her family, and we don’t leave family when they need us.”

“Listen to her, or you may regret your choices later in life,” a familiar voice says from the doorway.

“Zac, finish eating and we will take a walk on the beach,” Mom says in a tight voice.

“Would it help you to be more comfortable around me if I offered you a sincere apology?” Dagda asks her.

Mom’s face becomes distorted in rage.  “You tried to have my daughter killed.  Nothing you say will make me more comfortable around you.”

I feel like I should defend him, which is weird since he really did try to have me killed.  “He is trying to make up for it,” I say half-heartedly.

He nods in my direction and tips his coffee cup to me.  “I appreciate the lukewarm endorsement.”

I can’t help but laugh.  “I try.”

“Zac, finish your sandwich,” Mom says between clenched teeth.

I recognize that look in Mom’s eyes.  She’s about to blow. “Maybe you should just take it with you,” I say, picking up his plate and handing it to him.

“You certainly know how to clear a room,” Tabitha says to Dagda.

“Must be my charming personality,” he retorts.  Leaning over her shoulder, he says, “I see your cooking has improved over the years.”

Apparently, being king doesn’t save him from being swatted by Tabitha.  Except this time, she uses a wooden spoon. 

“I can have you banned from this realm, you know,” he says as he rubs his arm, but he’s more amused than angry.

“Not in your lifetime,” Tabitha says, as she turns back to the horrible concoction on the stove.

“Why are you here?” I ask him.  I’m afraid if he pushes Tabitha too far, she will do something he’ll banish her for.

He sits down at the counter across from me.  “I understand you brought back more than your brother and your aunt from the Shadow realm.”

“Yeah, lucky me.  Kind of the story of my life right now.”

“You do seem to have a penchant for trouble.”

I give him my best ‘I don’t believe you just said that’ look.  “Really?  You’re going to go there?”

At least he has the decency to look chagrined.  “I admit I may have started the ball rolling.”

“May have?”

He takes a sip of his coffee.  “Never admit to everything you may have done, you may need to deny it later,” he says with a wink and a grin.  I can see how some would find him charming.  I’m not quite there yet.