04 Shadow Blood - Witch Fairy (22 page)

Chapter 26

Zac is quiet as we walk back to the room he’s been staying in.  I’m sure his young mind doesn’t know what to make of everything that’s happened in the past few days.  I wish I could use my magic to erase this all from his memory.

He drops my hand when we’re at his door.  Opening it, he bounds into the room.  “Oh, I almost forgot!  I made something for you.”

I sigh.  I don’t have time for this; I really need to get back downstairs.  He’s so excited, though, I can’t disappoint him.  “Okay, will you show me quickly so I can get back down there?”

He grins and races over to the bed.  “You have to close your eyes, it’s a surprise.”

I manage not to sigh in frustration as I put my eyelids together so he can surprise me with what I’m guessing will be a picture.  He loves to draw.  And that’s the last thought I have before everything goes black.

“Xandra, you have to wake up,” a familiar, and impatient, voice says.  “You cannot just lie there and let this happen.”

What is she talking about?  I open my eyes and try to focus on Adriel, but my eyes don’t want to cooperate.  I keep seeing three of her and I don’t know which the real one is.  Unless she really does have the ability to clone herself and they’re all real.  Probably not.

“Are you going to get up?” she asks.  Her arms are crossed over her chest and she looks really mad.

“Why are you here?” I ask as I attempt to sit up.  Wow, that hurts.  I think I’ll have this conversation lying right here.

“I am here because you have it all wrong, and if you don’t do something about it, he’s going to take your Witch and Fairy magic from you.”

Am I having a nightmare, or is she crazy?  “Will you please say something that makes sense?”

“Look,” she says, pointing her finger at something across the room.

In order to see what she wants me to see, I have to move my head.  Since it feels like it weighs a hundred pounds and is throbbing like an earthquake of pain, I deem the effort to be too much.  “Can you just tell me what’s over there?”

“Oh, for goodness sake,” Adriel says as she stomps over to me.  Ow.  Does she really need to make the floorboards shake like that?  Bending down next to me, she touches her hand to my head.  Instantly, the pain is gone.

Sitting up, I feel the spot on my head where the pain was the greatest and I find a lump the size of an ostrich egg.  At least, it feels that big to me.  I wonder what I slipped on to hit my head that hard.  “Thanks,” I say as I stand up.

“Now, will you please pay attention to what I am saying?”

What is her problem?  “Okay, already.”  I turn around to find out what’s so important that I see.

I think I’m going to faint.  I see the black creeping into my peripheral vision that’s going to take me into a dark oblivion, where I won’t have to force my mind to comprehend what’s happening.  This has to be a nightmare.

“What…what is he doing?”

“He is preparing to steal your magic.”

“But, why?”

“Do I have to spell everything out for you?”

I scowl at her.  “That would be nice, yes.”  I think she’s biting her tongue and counting to ten.  Or she’s considering putting the pain back in my head.  I can’t tell which.

“You are not very observant, are you?”

“Will you please stop insulting me and tell me what’s going on?”

She bites back whatever retort was on her lips.  “Your aunt has never been the one with the extra pieces of soul.  It is your brother who carries them.”

“You’re joking, right?  He hasn’t done one evil thing since he came back from hell.”

“I think you have been in my presence enough to know that I do not joke.”

Yeah, that’s true.  “But if he has the soul barnacles, why has Aunt Barb been acting like she has been?”

Adriel starts pacing back and forth.  “This is partly my fault.  I thought there was something wrong when we were leaving the Shadow realm.  I should have checked all of your souls to make sure nothing like this happened.”

That would have been nice.  Then I wouldn’t be looking at my brother holding a knife, that apparently has
my
blood on it, considering it’s my arm that’s bleeding, not his.  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

She sighs.  “There are rules that we have to follow, and since you are one large gray area in regards to the rules, none of us know exactly how much we can interfere or tell you.”  She gives me a pointed look.  “I was hoping you would figure it out on your own.  I have been watching and there were plenty of clues.”

“Clues?  What clues?  And what do you mean you’ve been watching?”

She looks a little embarrassed now.  “I have been keeping tabs on you; making sure you were alright.”

Aw, she does like me.  “What clues?”

She sighs and starts numbering things off with her fingers.  “The first was a clue I did not figure out until things started to fall in place.  The lightness said it would bring us to the larger soul and it brought us to your brother, who should have been the smaller of the two because his soul has not fully developed yet.  The next was your friend being able to sense black magic whenever your aunt was around.”

“What?”  I hate to keep saying that but I’m having a hard time keeping up.  Maybe it’s the closed head injury.

“Your brother has been controlling your aunt through a black magic spell.”

“How could he do that?  His magic is bound.”

She rolls her eyes but she continues. “Obviously, the extra bits of soul were able to unbind it.  And since he has Angel blood as well, he has enough power to perform black magic.”

“So, it’s not the soul barnacles Alita senses, it’s black magic?”

Adriel nods.  “Yes, which is why she only has pain around your aunt.”

“Were there other clues I missed?”  At this point, Rashnu’s words are coming back to me.  Things are not what they seem here.  She was trying to push me in the right direction.  A bigger clue than that would have been nice, though.

She starts pacing again.  “Your brother was trying to expose the fact that the lightness had attached to your soul by complaining that you had a distinct smell about you.”

Okay, now I want to smell my armpits again.  “Do I really stink?”

She chuckles.  “No, it was simply a ploy to push those around you to figure out something was wrong with you.”

“Why did he want to do that?”

“He wanted to make you vulnerable, make those around you doubt your sanity.”  I have been talking to voices in my head, so that was probably on its way to working.

But, I don’t think that anyone has made that leap yet.  At least, no one has told me that they doubted my judgment and sanity, have they?  “Anything else?”  She’s starting to look annoyed again because I’m not figuring these things out on my own.  I’m sticking to the head injury theory. 

“When your friend was going to check your aunt’s soul, your brother called out to you, preventing that from happening.  He then instructed her to escape.”

“Wow, you’ve been watching all this and you didn’t feel the need to clue me in?”

“As I said, I expected you to figure some of it out on your own.”

Okay, so I’m stupid when it comes to these things.  Not stupid, ignorant.  Why would I possibly have known all of this?  Maybe it’s time to get off this subject and move on.  “What do I do now?”

“You will need to perform the magic your father found.”

“Um, I don’t really think of Dagda as my father.”

“Odd,” is all she says to that.  “Regardless, the magic he found will return your brother to his natural state.  His soul will be cleansed of darkness.  You will then perform an exorcism to force the darkness back to the Shadow realm.”

“And the lightness?  What will happen to it?”

Adriel bites her bottom lip as she considers my question.  “In order for it to return to the Shadow realm, it has to be exorcised.”

“I assumed that.  What happens if I don’t exorcise it?”  I’m waiting for the voice of my soul barnacles to pipe in, but they stay quiet.

“Then the one piece of soul that found its way out of the Shadow realm with you will remain here.”

“One piece?”

She gives me a funny look as she continues.  “Yes.  As I was saying, it will be able to communicate, but it will not have form.”

Oh, I get what she’s saying now.  “So, I can choose to not send it back to the Shadow realm.”

A sly smile shows up on her lips.  “You did not hear that from me.”

“I knew you felt bad about the lightness being stuck in hell.  You’re not nearly as mean as you like to come off.”

She laughs.  “It is difficult to be an Angel of Death without a tough exterior.  I am supposed to be feared.”

I get that.  “What happens when you put me back in my time?”

“I’m sorry, but I cannot tell you what to do in the future, I can only discuss what has happened in the past.”  That’s not helpful.  “I did want to mention to you how lovely your wings are; I didn’t have the opportunity to say that earlier.”

I grin.  “Thanks.  You know, I think they’d come in pretty handy right now.”

“They may,” she says with a wink.  “I need to put you back in your time now.”

“Adriel, before you go, I want to thank you for everything you’ve done.  You’ve been a lifesaver.  Literally.”

“Perhaps the next time we meet, it will be under less dire circumstances.”

“I’d like that.  When you want company, feel free to pop me back into Angel time.  We could hang out.”  I went from not having anyone to hang out with, to hanging out with Angels.  Funny where life can bring you.  “Oh, before you go, do I lose my magic after this?”

“That is something Tabbris would be extremely angry if I told you.”  She smiles, and then she’s gone.

Chapter 27

Zac does a double take when he sees that I am now across the room.  Now that I’m back in this realm and time, the bloody knife in his hand is even creepier.  He doesn’t look like the same sweet little boy he did an hour ago.  Now his lips are twisted into a sneer, and lust for power is burning in his eyes.

“Zac, you have to put the knife down.”

“Bite me,” he says. 

“I don’t like hearing things like that coming out of my brother’s mouth.”

“I’m supposed to care what you like or don’t like?  I have your blood, I simply need to say the words and your magic is mine.”

That’s easily prevented.  I take his voice away.  “Now, are you going to come downstairs with me willingly, or do I have to use my magic?”

He mouths some things that prove to me that I do have the ability to read lips to a certain extent.  I guess I’m going to have to use magic.  First, I’m going to call for my wings.  I start to concentrate on calling them when I feel the pinches on my back.  That was fast.  Maybe I’m getting better at this. 

The pure, unadulterated hatred that radiates from Zac’s eyes is breaking my heart, even knowing that it’s not him running the show in his little sandy haired head.  That makes me even more determined to do this magic, whether I lose my mine or not.  I want my brother back.

Creating a rope, I have his arms and legs bound before he has the chance to even think about using magic.  The knife falls from his hand and he disturbs the candles he had placed on the nightstand and several fall to the floor.  I’m assuming those were part of the ritual he was going to use to steal my magic.

“Xandra, is everything okay in here?” Mom asks as she floats through the door.  Her gasp tells me that she figured out things are not okay.  “What are you doing to Zac?” she demands.

“It’s Zac that’s been doing all the bad stuff, Mom.  He put a spell on Aunt Barb so he could control her.  He made her say and do all those awful things.”  As I’m speaking, Zac is shaking his head and pleading with his eyes.

I can tell she’s torn.  Which child does she believe – the sweet, innocent little boy, or the teenage daughter who has been much different since coming into her magic.  It’s a much farther stretch to believe that Zac’s lying over me.

Wringing her hands as she tries to make the decision, she finally turns to me and says, “Are you sure?”

Wow, she picked me.  A feeling of warmth washes through me, making me love her even more.  “I’m positive.  I need to get him downstairs and into the circle.  Once the soul barnacles have been exorcised from him and sent back to the Shadow realm, his hold on Aunt Barb should disappear.”

There’s still a whole lot of doubt in her eyes, but she says, “Alright, bring him down as soon as you can.  I will let the others know what’s going on.”  In a surprise move, she disappears through the floor.  Not a situation to worry about seeming alive, I guess.

Turning to Zac, I say, “Sleep.”  His eyes close and he immediately falls to the floor.  Scooping him up, I tell my muscles to ignore how heavy he is, and I carry him down the three flights of stairs.  I could have used magic to transport him, but that wouldn’t feel right.  He’s still my brother, no matter what he has inside of him.

The living room is in an uproar when I come in.  Everyone is talking at once.  As soon as they see me, though, the room becomes silent.

“Get your hands off from him,” Aunt Barb snarls.  I’m assuming part of the black magic spell is that she needs to protect him.

I ignore her.  “Kallen, will you please remove my aunt from the chair?”

Without asking questions, he does as I ask.  He picks my struggling aunt up so that I can place Zac in that spot.  When I have him situated, I say, “Wake.”  His eyes pop open.

His lips are moving, but no words are coming out because I haven’t given him his voice back.  Turning my back on him, I ask Isla, “Where is the translation?”  I feel Dagda’s eyes burning a hole in me as he takes in my wings that he has never seen before.

She hands it to me without saying a word.  I think the whole room is in shock like I was when Adriel first clued me in.  I take the paper from her and turn back towards Zac.  Kneeling down on the cloth, I grimace as I silently read what I have to do.  I can tell why this is black magic.  No one performing good magic would be caught dead doing what it says here.  Except me.

Reluctantly, I remove the goblet from the tray.  Backing out of the circle, I say, “Who will offer blood to rid this body of its soul?”  Yes, the paper said to ask this question. 

Everyone in the room except for Aunt Barb and Zac volunteer.  Too bad for Aunt Barb, I need human blood and I don’t have any running through my veins.  Isla hands me a knife with a double edge and sharp tip.  As Kallen holds Aunt Barb still, I make a small cut on her arm, catching the blood that starts to flow in the goblet.  Without healing the wound, I walk back into the circle. 

Now, it’s my turn.  I really want to go as slowly as possible, avoiding the last few steps. but I force myself to keep moving along.  I use the knife to cut my own arm and I let the blood drip into the goblet.  After a few seconds, I place the goblet back on the silver tray and pick up the iron poker.  Using the same knife, I scrape pieces of iron into the goblet.  When it mixes with the Fairy part of my blood, it begins to sizzle and smoke.  That makes the next part even more unappealing, which I didn’t think was possible.

Rising again, I dip my finger in the blood mixture as I walk to the first candle.  Kneeling down, I place a streak of blood down its side.  Using the matches that I brought, I light the candle.  I repeat this, moving counterclockwise around the circle, marking and lighting each candle.

That last candle brings me back to the cloth and again I kneel.  Using the same finger I did with the candles, I dip it into the blood mixture and then stretch to mark Zac’s forehead, cheeks, hands and feet as he struggles against the ropes.  Once again, I place the goblet on the silver tray.

Closing my eyes for a moment to find my courage, I open them again and begin the magic.  “Blood of realms, encasing your soul, deeds of trespass taking their toll; from time unknown be free what’s hidden, your actions past lie unforgiven.  Sacrifices not freely given, willingly imbibed by this virgin. (If my mom didn’t believe me before, I guess she will if this spell works.) 

I pause a moment to say to the voice within me,
“When I set you free, move behind me by the salt.  I will clear a small spot for you to escape through, but if you don’t make it out in time for me to stop the evil from following you, I will have to send you back to the Shadow realm with it.

“You’re going to let me stay?”

“Yes.  Now, be quiet so I can finish.  Just be ready.”

Rising with the goblet again, I put it to my lips.  Yup, I take a big old drink.  Oh god, it’s disgusting.  And it burns.  I assume that’s the iron hitting trying to mutilate my esophagus.  Now, if I can keep it from coming back up, I can finish.  Then, I’m going to brush my teeth as soon as possible.

“Represented now, by candles black and white, this fragile connection between sin and light.  Power, held back by the devout, be mine now as the candles snuff out.”  Instantly, each candle extinguishes.  “Trapped by flesh, now released, connected by blood, your bond has ceased.”  At least it’s a short ceremony.  My toothbrush is calling to me.

I feel the pulling on my soul as the lightness is ripped free.  Zac’s little body is thrashing on the chair as the darkness struggles to stay connected to his soul.  This is my chance to let the lightness free.  Scooting back, I use my toes to scrape a line in the salt and I smile as the lightness scrambles through it.  The darkness has been expunged from Zac now and it tries to follow.  I quickly cover the line with the salt again, trapping it in the circle with me.  Now, I have to send it on to the Shadow realm. 

“You will not succeed, Witch,” the darkness says.  “We will not be so easily tamed.”  It begins spinning faster, making my hair fly around my face, getting it in my mouth.  I feel the darkness sucking at my soul now, trying to attach to it.  When it can’t latch on to one spot, it moves on to another as my soul repels it again and again.  I’m starting to get dizzy and disoriented standing here being bombarded.  With the blood in my stomach, I’m already feeling nauseated; being dizzy doesn’t help my condition at all.  I need to get out of this circle.  The only way that’s going to happen is if I can get rid of the darkness. 

The spell that was used by a member of my grandfather’s Witan comes back to me.  The spell he used to try to exorcize my dad.  As the darkness swirls around me, seeking a way in, my wings protect me.  I don’t know what would have happened without them.  I recite the spell.  “Spirit in unrest, soul in pain, come to me, find peace again.  Leave this world of longing and woe, sorrow filled days no longer you’ll know.  Yyour soul I release and you shall rest in peace.”  Okay, that last part was a lie, but it’s the only exorcism spell I know.  I’m pretty sure I did the magic right, because the darkness is gone.

“Very good, Xandra,” Rashnu says from behind me, making me jump.

I turn around.  “I guess that means that I did it right?”

“Yes, you did.  These bits of Shadow will be judged again and sent back to their realm.”

“And the lightness?”

She smiles.  “You seem to have found a way to circumvent them being sent back to the Shadow realm.”

I expect her to be mad, but she’s not.  “So, it can stay here?  Or is there someplace it can move on to?”

“I am afraid such a small fragment of soul would have to begin again, grow to maturity, before passing on.  I will leave it to you to explain this, and the bit of soul can choose to do that, or to stay as it is here, in this realm.”

I grin.  “Thank you.”

She inclines her head.  “You are welcome.  Good bye for now, Xandra.  Everything has returned to how it should be now.”

Then she’s gone.  I wonder if I’m ever going to be able to do that.