1.5 True of Blood: Kallen's Tale (22 page)

Chapter 24

Maurelle
and
Olwyn
finally come walking out of the woods and I am surprised by two things. 
One, t
hey are not in their animal forms, and
two,
they are clothed.  They must have had the clothes stashed somewhere because they are unable to make their own.

The first thing
Maurelle
notices, of course, it that Xandra and I are holding hands.
  With a sneer to try to hide her jealousy, she says,
“I see you prefer being the lion’s toy rather than seeking safety with the lambs.”

“Yeah, because you’re so harmless
,
”
Xandra replies.
  She is certainly not giving the appearance that she is scared.

“Your hair is quite mussed.  I wonder what you two have been up
to?
”
Maurelle
says
, again putting her jealousy above everything else.  She is attempting to grin to hide that fact, but it is not working out for her.  She simply looks more unattractive.
  “Are you going to hide behind your Fairy
lover like you did last time?”

I am once again tempted to take care of them myself. 
“I did nothing to you the last we met
.
”

Maurelle’s
snorts like a hog
.  “As if a half-breed Fairy so young could hold that much magic.”

I
shrug.  “I made the mistake of assuming that
myself
and it almost got me killed.  I forgot that she is a Witch Fairy, not a weak Cowan Fairy such as
yourself
.  Just how much do you know about the power of a Witch Fairy,
Maurelle
?”
  I do not believe she knows much about anything.

Her confidence seems to falter for a moment but she recovers quickly.  “Intimidation with lies isn’t going to work, Kallen.”

I
shrug again.  “Suit yourself
,
but I have warned you.”

I feel Xandra’s calm façade slipping.  That is confirmed when she gives me a worried look.  Unfortunately,
Maurelle
notices, as well.

“Oh, the little Witch Fairy is scared, how cute is that,” she laughs.  “
Do not worry
, little one, we only want to bring you home to Daddy.”

Xandra’s grasp on my hand tightens as
a kernel of anger develops in her eyes.
  “So Daddy can kill me and use my dying blood to open the gateway.”

“Oh my, the cat is out of the bag now, is it?”
Maurelle
says.  Trying to be flirtatious again, she says to me,
“Very naughty of you, Kallen, sharing all of our little secrets with the Princess.  You will have a lot to atone for when King Dagda returns to this realm and finds you.”

She does not get the response she was looking for, and her confidence begins to slip.  “
Atonement can only occur when one is repentant
.
”
Dagda can go to hell, for all I care.

“Kallen, Kallen, Kallen, you are too proud for your own good.  I wonder how your grandmother will feel about your lack of atonement when she is made to pay for your sins as well.”

Even though there is no substance to her threat, it still angers me that she dared to say that at all. 
“My grandmother is the strongest Sheehogue Fairy alive; she cannot be brought down by a Pooka.”

Maurelle
face scrunches up, making her look like
a
prune with lips
.  “You are just no fun to play with,” she says acerbically. 
She decides Xandra is a better target.
  “I bet you are much more fun to play with.  Do you know where we were before we came looking for you?”

Xandra shrugs. 
“I don’t know.  Shopping?”
I have to bite my tongue not to laugh.  Her feistiness is returning, I see. 

Unfortunately,
Maurelle
is
a more experienced opponent.
  “We paid a little visit to that awful family of yours.  I must say, you should be grateful that your features are those of the Fae because their mousy hair and blue eyes are just not attractive at all.”

This starts a back and forth between the two of them, with
Maurelle
saying anything and everything to convince Xandra that her family is at risk.  That is simply not possible.  They would not have had enough time to go after her aunt and brother
, and still track us in the mountains.  I try to explain all this to Xandra, but she is falling more and more into
Maurelle’s
trap.  Why will she not trust me?

Instead
, she falls for it.  She honestly believes that the idiots standing before us are capable of the things they are saying. 
“What do you want me to do?”
Xandra asks
.

Okay, I did not expect her to completely capitulate. 
“Xandra, you cannot give up.  It is more likely than not that she is telling you
lies
!”

She shakes her h
ead.  “I can’t take that chance.”

I cannot believe I am doing this in front of
Maurelle
, but this is not the time to try to save my pride.  If logic will not work, I am going to try pleading. 
“By saving your brother’s life, you will be dooming the lives of this entire realm.”

She looks heartbroken. 
But determined.
 
“He’s my brother, Kallen.  I can’t let him pay with his life when I can do it with mine.  Your grandmother was right; I am going to willingly open the realms.”

Maurelle
is talking, but I do not even hear her.  I turn Xandra towards me and I cannot help trying to shake some sense into her. 
“Xandra, listen to me.  It does not have to happen this way.  Every little decision affects the future and can change its outcome.  Give us the opportunity to make this turn out a different way.”

Tears make
twin rivers
on her cheeks. 
“I can’t.”  Turning to
Maurelle
,
she
say
s
, “I will go with you but you have to free my brother first.”

Maurelle
knows how to play this game. 
“Why would we release our only leverage before you have completed your task?  Would you have us believe that Kallen would not try to jump in and rescue his little half-breed lover?”

Xandra looks up at me with her beautiful eyes. 
“Tell her you won’t.  Promise you won’t.”

Beautiful eyes or not, she cannot possibly convince me to let
Maurelle
and
Olwyn
continue on their deluded path.  I will jump in, even if that means killing both of them in cold blood.  They will not harm Xandra. 
“You may choose not to fight, but I will not.”

“I’m not choosing not to fight, I’m choosing to save my brother’s life
,
”
Xandra says.  Oh god, this is not the time for her
convoluted
crazy talk.

“Dig deep down into your heart, do you really believe that these two,”
I ask, pointing
to
Maurelle
an
d
Olwyn
, “will do anything they promise?  They are mercenaries, Xandra.  If your brother is still alive
,
he will be the first one they kill just because they won’t want to have to deal with bringing him home!” 
How loud do I have to say this before she opens her ears and listens to
me.
 

I am about to shake her again
when I feel my skin being pierced.  The poison is in my blood so
fast,
I immediately sink to my knees in pain.  What the hell?  I cannot believe this has happened.  I am not going to be her knight in shining armor.  I am going to be dead, and she is going to open the gateways.  I have failed.

Chapter 25

Xandra is in front of me
,
but her voice sounds a million miles away.
  “Kallen, are you okay?” 

The poison is spreading fast.  I cannot take in a real breath.  I feel my heart slowing down.  My vision has become blurred.  I have to try one more time to make her listen.  I force the last bit of oxygen in my lungs out, as I whisper,
“Don’t let them make you do it
.
”
I cannot hold myself up like this any longer.  I fall forward, catching myself with my hands before my face hits the snow.  I am not going to be able to stay conscious much longer.

I can hear Xandra and
Maurelle
talking, but I am only catching every few words. 
Maurelle
says something about glamour, and it hits me what happened. 
Olwyn
was not really there. 
Only his image.
  I am such a fool.  I underestimated them.  I was so sure that I am superior to
them,
I played right into their hands. 
My pride has become my downfall.  I want to tell Xandra to run before they do this same thing to her.  I wanted to help her, protect her, but all I did was give her false hope and lead her into a trap.

Maurelle
is still talking.  She is saying something, threatening Xandra, and Xandra is not happy.  I may be close to death, but I can still feel the amount of magic she is pulling.  Perhaps, one of us will survive after
all.
  Everything goes black with that thought.

All I can feel is pain.  It feels as if everything inside of me is being siphoned out through every pore. 
But,
my
heart is starting to beat faster.  I can feel the snow under my cheek and hands. 
T
he pain moves farther outward, until I feel the very last bit of pain leave my skin.  What
just happened
?  Am I dead and this is what comes after, lying in the same spot I died, too weak to move?  That seems like an awfully cruel cosmic joke.  As my senses return, I find that I can still hear Xandra’s voice.  Okay, that is a little better.  Perhaps I still get to watch over her.

I cough as I begin pulling more and more oxygen into my lungs. 
Real oxygen.
 
Oxygen that is burning my lungs because they had grown so weak.
  I do not think I am dead.  I do not know how or why, but I seem to be alive.  I guess the cosmos are not so cruel, after all.
  It seems that Xandra has somehow removed the poison from me with magic.  I have never known a Fairy who could do something like that.  Not that I am
complain
ing, she is amazing
.

My hearing has completely returned now, as I push myself up.  I get to my hands and knees, but I have to rest.  My body is still weak.  Xandra seems to have control over
Maurelle
, at the moment
.  I search for
Olwyn
, wondering if he has shown himself yet, and I find him sprawled in the snow.  I am not sure if he is unconscious or dead.  I hope the latter.

Maurelle
is admitting that she lied about taking any member of Xandra’s family hostage.  A smile touches my lips when I hear Xandra tell her that I was right and she should have listened to me.  She also says she wants to push me off a cliff sometimes.  I am hoping that is some new
type of endearment.  Admittedly, my brain is no less fuzzy than it was before
, so I am not thinking clearly
.

I am able to kneel now, and I have a perfect view of the scene playing out between the two.  I barely refrain from chuckling in delight as Xandra begins to question
Maurelle
about my past – particularly in regard to females.  She was jealous earlier.  I can hardly believe it.
  I suppose this is not the time to be thinking of that, though.  My ego disagrees.

Xandra stumbles slightly
, worrying me
.  I wonder if the amount of magic she is using is taking a toll on her.  Her voice sounds a little odd, as well, and she is rambling.  Nerves, maybe? 

Nervous or not, she definitely has
Maurelle
scared for her life. 
“You know what seems like the best solution?”
Xandra asks her
.
 
“I think I should just send you home.” 

No, no, no, this is no
t the
time for her to get crazy. 
“Xandra, you can’t do that!”
I shout
,
as I rise unsteadily to my feet and walk towards her
.  I have to help her get herself back under control.  I hope I am strong enough after being poisoned.

Xandra turns and smiles sweetly at me
.  “Don’t worry, I’m not going to let the other Fae out, I’m just going to send them back in.”

No way.
  She cannot possibly be this naïve.  I shake my head adamantly. 
“Xandra, it doesn’t work that way.  If you open the realm to send them back
,
then it stays open.  And remember,”
my voice softens,
“
y
ou would have to die for that to happen.”
  I am not going to let her die. I have been given a second chance to save her
,
and I am going to succeed this time.

To my surprise, Xandra looks mad.  I am right in front of her now, and she begins to poke me in the chest to emphasize her words.
“Wow, you have no faith in me whatsoever, do you?  Just because you’re three hundred and fifty years older than me, you think
you know everything, don’t you?
You promised me that you wouldn’t underestimate me anymore.”

She is crazy.  Looking more closely at her face, I notice that her eyes are somewhat hazy.  Her words are slightly slurred, and she seems just as unsteady as I am. 
“Are you feeling alright?  You are not sounding or acting like yourself.”

“Well, no,”
she says as if I am stupid
.  “Those two,”
she points at
Maurelle
and
Olwyn
, “they got me drunk!  Can you believe that?”

What is she talking about now
? 
“
What do you mean they got you drunk?”

“They shot me with those little
darty
things and now I’m all discombobulated.” 
She
giggle
s
.  “Isn’t that a funny world?”

Oh god.  She has been poisoned as well.  I am going to rip
Maurelle
apart with my bare hands if Xandra does not recover as I did. 
“How many of the
darty
things did they shoot at you?”

She tries to show me with her fingers.  She holds up four and then pushes one down.  As if she has solved
a complex math problem
, she says proudly,
“This many
.
”

Not possible.  Three darts would kill her. 
Instantly.
  She has to be mistaken…I hope she is mistaken.  I need to get her out of here before she does anything completely insane, and so I can figure out how to heal her as she did me. 
“Xandra, I think we should go back into the cabin so you can lie down.  I can handle these two from here
.
”

She shakes her head and the movement makes her wobble on her feet.  I am prepared to catch her if she falls.
  “I can’t yet.  I have to send them home.  They’re too dangerous to have here.”

“Xandra, please, please don’t do this
.
”
Once again, I find myself in a position where I will have to beg her to see reason.  I do not care at the moment.  My pride can be damned.

She reaches out for me and I think she is going to let me help her back inside.  Instead, she grabs the front of my shirt and pulls.  Perhaps she wants to whisper something to me?  When my face is even with hers, she kisses me.  A passionate, open mouth kiss that not only confuses the hell out of me, but also makes me want to bring her back into the cabin for other reasons than her not feeling well.

Breaking the kiss, she says,
“Now, you have to be quiet so I can concentrate
.
”

That clears my head instantly.  I open my mouth to say something, but no words are coming out. 
None.
  I have enough oxygen to speak
,
since my breathing has returned to
normal, but I cannot utter a single sound.  Dammit!  She used her magic to steal my voice.

Turning towards
Maurelle
,
Xandra
say
s
, “I want you to tell my father that he should do his own dirty work.  If he wants to try to force me to open up the Fae realm then he should at least have enough respect for me to come himself instead of sending weak little Cowan Fairies after me.  Okay?” 
The fear in
Maurelle’s
eyes is beginning to dissipate as she too realizes that Xandra is about to do the unthinkable.

Xandra closes her eyes and stretches a hand out in front of her.  I have no idea what she is doing now.  Until she begins to pull
her arm
back and I am suddenly looking at
Dagda’s
banquet hall.  Oh god, she did it. 
Without her blood.
  I am too shocked to move, even though I should be trying to close this passage she has opened.

Dagda looks as confused as I feel.  “
You did it.  You’ve set us free.”

Xandra’s only response to that is,
“I thought you’d be taller.”
  Despite the dire circumstances, that still educes a chuckle from me.

“How is this possible?
” Dagda asks.
 
“
It is supposed to be your blood that opens the realm.” 
He reaches a finger out, but pulls it back as if burned.
  “What have you done?”

Xandra laughs.  It sounds eerie in her current state. 
“What’s the matter, Dad?  Not happy with the way I opened up your realm?  Oh well, you’ve been a real disappointment to me, too, and I just found out about you a few days ago.  But I have something for you.” 
She lifts
Maurelle
and
Olwyn
from the ground with her magic.  Magic she has not been taught to use properly.  Next, she tosses them through the
passage.  Dagda has to quickly move out of the way to avoid being hit with their bodies. 
Maurelle
screams as angry welts develop on her skin.  That is probably nothing compared to what Dagda is going to do to her for failing to complete her task.

Xandra stumbles a little bit.  I think she is close to passing out.  That does not stop her from threatening Dagda, though. 
“If you push me, if you send more after me, if you do anything I don’t like, I will become the prophecy.  I will rip your realm apart and this one too if that’s what it takes to stop you.  You don’t get to decide if I live or die but I get to decide if you do.”  Turning to
me, she says
, “This is your chance to go home if that’s what you want.  My biological father won’t hurt you
,
and I can protect you from the pain of passing through the torn realms if that’s what you choose to do.”

Home.
  I can walk through that passageway and go home. 
Where my family and friends are.
  Where everything I have ever known is.  Where magic is the norm, not the exception.  Funny thing is
,
I do not want to go home anymore. 
“Is there another option?”
I ask
.

There is undeniable sincerity in her voice as
she says,
“Yes, you can stay here with me.”

I cannot stop the grin from spreading over my face, nor do I want to. 
“I choose to stay.”

“Okay, then.” 

A second later, the passageway is gone, and Xandra is falling into my arms. 
Unconscious.