1.5 True of Blood: Kallen's Tale (2 page)

Once outside, I fill my lungs with the scent of the ocean and the forest
between which our house lies
.  The clean, fresh scent of the world I have inhabited since I was a small child.  I remember very little of the Cowan realm,
where I was born,
but I know that it has changed considerably since I left.  There are
those who can create windows to see into the other realms; windows that do not open, they are only for observation.  I know about the pollution, the greed and the creation
of
odd technology that the Cowans have
developed to
supposedly
improve their lives
. 
Things that would not be necessary if they were magical beings.
 

Yes, there are Witches in the Cowan realm, but their magic is limited.  They bow down to
this
technology as well
;
losing th
eir knowledge and weakening their craft as they
conform more and more to the Cowan ways.  It will
probably
not be
many decades
until
their magic is extinct
. 

What irks me the most
about this situation
?
I cannot believe that Dagda is going through with this.  For the most part, he
has always been
a sane and rational man.  B
ut, b
eing bested by the Witch King did something to him;
killed a part of his brain
.  His need for revenge is beyond simple pride
, at this point
.  H
e has come to think of the Cowan realm as an enemy.  This is a war to him, a battlefield to be conquered, even though the opposing forces are ignorant to
the
fact that he
, or the war,
even exists.  Centuries have passed in the Cowan realm, as their time advances more quickly than ours.  No one remembers the Fairy King who could not better a Witch King after agreeing not to use magic.
  There are no enemies there to pursue.

How did I
suddenly
become
a key figure in this prophetic nightmare
?
  I have my own grudge against Cowans, as irrational as it might be. 
As much as I do not want to be
Dagda’s
savior, I want to be a savior for the Cowans even less. 

My parents were fast asleep when thieves set their house on fire. 
It was my screams that woke
them;
the smoke had reached my room first.  My father rose to check on me, discovering that his home was being devoured by a raging inferno. 
An inferno too far advanced to be doused with magic. 
Opening the window of my second story bedroom, he dropped me out onto the ground.  It was
a
fifteen foot drop; I broke my ankle.  My father then went in search of my mother
, but was not able to save her, or himself
.  They both perished in the flames.  Their bodies were found huddled together in the corner of their bedroom where the flames had chased them; where the smoke had choked them.

Isla came for me that
night
.  She had
fore
seen the fire, but her vision had come too late to warn my father.  It was only me that she was able to save.  She returned with me to the Fairy realm and has taken care of me ever since.  I
truly
owe her my life.  I
simply
did not know that the cost would be so high.

“You look deep in thought, cousin,” Kegan says, strolling towards me on the path through the forest that leads to his home.  “I came to see if you were up for a rematch.”

Half of my mouth lifts into what I hope resembles a smile.  “I am afraid you will need to find another sparring partner.  I will
soon
be taking a journey from which I will not return.”

He laughs.  “
Right,
and I will be
hand-fasted to
the next full-blooded Fairy I meet.  Come on.  If you are so scared that you will lose, you need to come up with a better excuse than that.”

“I am afraid it is not an excuse.  Isla has asked me to travel to the Cowan realm
to save it from destruction.  I will be leaving
tomorrow
.  I was coming to say my goodbyes before I am sent off.”

Disbelief washes over his face, chased off by shock
,
which is chased off by
comprehension
.  “You are serious?”

“As much as
I
would like to say I am not, if only to get that morose look off your face, I am serious.”

“Nothing can be done?”

“Apparently not.”

“Perhaps if I talk to Grandmother?”

Kegan is more like a brother to me than a cousin.  We may fight, and argue, and constantly try to best the other
at everything
, but no amount of this lessens the bond between us.  I will
truly
miss him.

“If Tabitha was unable to talk sense into her, I do not hold out hope that you will.”

I turn and w
e start walking back towards my home
without speaking
.  The silence
between us is
an
usual thing
,
and it is wearing on my soul.  “At least your ch
an
ces for hand-fasting will be increased with me gone.  Females will finally have to look at you, instead of me.” 
Ow
.  It really hurts when we punch each other in the arm, but I still laugh.

“It is your full-blooded status they value, cousin.  Not your looks or charm.”

I chuckle.  “There may be some truth to that, but nevertheless, it is me they desire.”

Kegan rolls his eyes and shakes his head.  “Your
feast of
modesty
fills me to the brim
.  I may have to stop somewhere along our way and throw up,
though,
as it is not easily
di
gested.”

Again,
I can
no
t help but laugh. 
Kegan and I could be twins.  Our fathers were identical twins, and we both resemble them with our tall lean forms, inky black hair and the vibrant green eyes of
the Fae
.  Based on looks alone, he is correct.  We would be on an even playing field.  It is
only
Kegan’s
Cowan blood that makes him less appealing. 

“If Grandmother cannot be swayed, perhaps she will allow me to accompany you.”

I shake my head.  “I appreciate that, cousin, but it is bad enough that I am forced to walk this path.  I will not willingly bring you along to suffer the same fate.” 
He does not look pleased with my answer, and w
e walk the rest of the way in
a
silence
heavier than the last
.

Entering the kitchen once more, I see that Tabitha has been busy.  She has a small bag on the
counter
in which she is putting Fairy darts
from a batch she
recently
made
.  She makes them
when needed
from the plants and flowers she grows in her garden, and they are the strongest poison in the land of Fae. 
A lethal weapon if used in the extreme.

She looks up when we come in.  “I have packed several of these
,
and you are not to hesitate to use them.  I, for one, would not mind
if
Maurelle
is
to be the one to
have a couple of these flung at her
.  It is disgusting
the way she
ha
s been sniffing around you these past several years.
 
And now this.
”
  She shakes her head in disgust.

Suddenly, I feel like a dog
that can’t get another dog to stop smelling my
butt. 
“And
Olwyn
?”
I ask, not able to keep
the humor
out of
my voice.

She waves her hand in the air.  “He is nothing. 
Simply an oaf with overgrown muscles.
  He would not know how to hurt a fly unless someone stood by his side and gave him instructions.  He is nothing but
Maurelle’s
toy that she lugs around for his brute strength.”

“Tabitha, is there no changing Grandmother’s mind?” Kegan asks
, leaning over her shoulder to see what else she is putting in the bag
.

Tabitha shakes her head.  “That Fairy refuses to listen to reason.  Sometimes, I think she has a heart of stone.”

“I prefer to think of it as made of crystal
, for it can be broken
,” Grandmother says dryly from behind me.  Tabitha must have known she was there. 

There are very few Fairies who dare to speak this way to Grandmother, as she is the most powerful Fairy in this realm
. 
Which
mak
es
her quite intimidating
.
  T
abitha
, though,
has never let that stop her from speaking her mind.
  One of the many things I love about her.

“Grandmother, there must be a way to avoid this,” Kegan says.

Turning towards her, I see h
er eyes are beginning to fill with tears again
.  W
hich
, by the look on his face,
is as much of a surprise to Kegan as it was to me earlier.  “This must be done,” she says quietly.  “Kallen, I am sorry, but
this
truly
must be done
.”

My life is about to go to hell and there is nothing I can do about it. 
Except be angry and resentful.  Two emotions I suspect will make my stay in the Cowan realm even
more
intolerable
. 
“Then
you will have no more argument from me
.”
  Icicles could have been made with th
e
se words, as cold as they sounded.

Isla looks like she
i
s wavering, but, squaring her shoulders, she says, “
I appreciate that.  We will proceed first thing tomorrow morning.” 

Kegan looks like he is about to argue, but I shake my head.  “There is no point,” I say.  I turn on my heels and walk back outside.  Kegan is soon to follow.

We make our way down to the sea shore that abuts the house I grew up in
,
and
I let the
cool
salt water wash onto my feet as we wander along
, hoping it will soothe the fire burning in my heart
. 
We walk in silence again, neither of us knowing what to say. 

Relieved to see a friendly face a
s we round a bend,
I shout a greeting to
Alita
over the crashing waves. 
Tall and willowy with shoulder length black hair and a pretty face, she has been
a good friend of both
mine and Kegan over the years.  We basically grew up together. 

Today, i
t appears she has been
walking along picking up shells
. 
She has made a basket with
part of
her bright yellow sarong that compliments
her
figure well. 
I barely notice, as
she is like a sister to me.  Kegan, on the other hand, has always thought of her in a different light.  Unfortunately, his father will not approve a match
,
as
Alita’s
blood is more tainted than
Kegan’s
.

“What has the
two of you so out of sorts?” she asks when we are in hearing distance.
  “I have never seen such long faces.”

“Nothing,” I say, as Kegan says, “Kallen is being shipped to the Cowan realm.”

Shock washes over her pretty face as she drops the shells she
was
holding in her sarong.  “Why would you say such a horrible thing?” she asks Kegan.  “It cannot be true.”

I shrug, trying for nonchalance.  I fail.  “It can be, and it is.  I leave tomorrow.”
  Bitterness litters each word.

“Oh, Kallen, I am so sorry,” she says, rushing over to give me a sympathetic hug. 
Over the top of her head,
I do not miss the touch of jealousy in
Kegan’s
eyes as he narrows them at us.