Blood of Destiny (Witch Fairy #6) (21 page)

I’m on a rock in the middle of the ocean while my family is being held hostage by exiled Fallen Angels.  I don’t think I deserve condescension at the moment. “Okay, so teach me.”  I’m back to snarky, I know. 

She inclines her head and nods.  “Of course.  When we Fall, we can only be called back by another Angel if we need to return before our mortal life runs out.  A powerful Angel.”

“Okay, where are we going to get one of those? Do I have to bring you back to Ambriel?”

Ray laughs louder than the wind.  “We don’t need to get one.  We’re looking at one.”

Seriously?  Are they thick in the head?  “But I don’t know how to use my Angel magic yet.”

“As you need it, it will come to you,” Raziel says.  Is that the same principal as that baseball movie with the line ‘if you build it they will come?’

I’m doubtful on that one.  It seems like I’ve been in a lot of situations where that wasn’t true.  But, I’ll give it a shot.  “What do I do?”

“You start by teleporting us back and then you call for your wings.”

That brings another question to mind.  “Are you the one who told Ambriel that I could teleport without my wings?” I ask Raziel.

He nods.  “I am.  Quite a useful skill, I might add.  Armaita and her fellow up risers are going crazy because their friends among the Angels cannot track us.”

That makes me smile.  “Good.  And she has friends?  Really?”  She’s so sneaky and underhanded.  It’s hard to believe she’s popular.

Raziel nods again.  “She was able to convince many that her version of the story was the correct one.  It was because she continued to mislead the other Angels by telling them half-truths that she was finally exiled.”

“Um, didn’t we just discuss that whole lying by omission thing and that you use it too?”

He shrugs as if to say, ‘eh, we’re Archangels so we can make up the rules as we go along.’  “The truth was explained to Armaita in the correct context.  She chose to convolute it and spread only half-truths.  She knew what she was doing.  The only truth that she still clings to is that she wants our power so she can change things to how she wants them.  I can assure you, that would not be good for lesser beings.”

“That makes sense.  Okay, are you guys ready?”  I want off this rock and back to somewhere warm.  They all say yes and I reach out and touch each of them with a hand or foot when a searing pain sets my brains on fire.  What the hell?

“Xandra, you need to hurry,” Kallen’s voice is saying in my head.  “Your parents are going to be the first casualty if you do not return soon.”  Of course they are.  This whole threatening my family thing is getting really old.  Why can’t these people fight me without dragging everyone else into it? 

“We have to hurry.  Kallen just told me they’re going after my parents.”

Raziel holds my eyes with his.  “Xandra, it will not happen today, but soon you will have to let your parents go.”

I so don’t want to think about that right now.  Pushing it to the back of my mind to mull over later, I make sure that I’m touching everyone still.  I am.

It’s time to go fight some Angels.  I have to say, I’m really happy that the Archangels are on my side, not theirs.

Chapter 22

We teleport back to the terrace.  The landing is a little smoother since I teleported instead of using the rock and falling onto the terrace.  Well, I should say it’s smoother for
me
.  I didn’t really do a good job considering the amount of clearance we would need for all four of us, so Zoe lands on a table, Ray’s head hits a chair and Raziel almost breaks a leg when he lands with one foot on the terrace and the other on the terrace wall.  Ouch.  Bet that was one of those things he hates knowing is going to happen.  I think he’s okay.  His limp isn’t too bad.  Though, his right leg does look a little bit longer than his left one now.  Maybe it was always like that and I just didn’t notice.  I probably should have landed us on the beach.

If the Archangels had meant for me to make a stealthy entrance, they’re out of luck.  The noise that we made on the terrace brings the exiled Angels outside.  “Impossible,” Armaita mumbles under her breath.

Dusting off the dirt from the last rock I was dropped on, I say, “Yeah, yeah.  Can’t be done.  Only Angels who have not Fallen can teleport.  I know.”  Finishing with the dirt, I look up at her.  “My mother always said that if I keep trying, I can do anything I put my mind to.”  I shrug.  “Guess she was right.  You should try a little harder; maybe you can do it, too.  It’s a pretty useful skill.”

Armaita ignores my last remark.  “Thank you for returning these three.  Though, I am sure that they have filled your head with the same lies they expected us to believe.”

I nod.  “They did.”  I turn around to face the Archangels.  “Shame on you for spreading such tales.”  I catch Ray quickly hiding a smirk.  Good.  I have a plan, they just need to play along for a few minutes.  Hmm.  Maybe I should have told them about it before we left the rock.  Oh well, too late now.

Turning to Armaita again, I say, “I wanted a chance to talk to them without you interjecting comments.  I think I understand what you mean now.”  There’s a suspicious glint in her eyes so I have to amp this up a bit.  “Will you please bring them inside?” I ask as I brush past Armaita and her minions. 

I wonder how you go about getting minions?  Do you put an ad on the internet or something?  I wonder if Craig’s list has a minion section.  And do you have to be evil to have them or can anyone get some?  I should probably worry about that later.

 Back in the huge living room, my heart almost breaks as I take in the scene.  Everyone is still immobile.  Except now, Mom and Dad are hanging lifelessly in the middle of the room.  I whirl back around and almost knock Armaita over.  “What the hell is going on?  I leave for five minutes and you decide to torture my family?  Way to keep me on your side.”  Good lord, how stupid is this Angel?

Armaita glares at the Fallen Angel next to her.  “My apologies, Xandra,” she says turning back to me.  “My fellow Angels were a bit overzealous in their concern that you would not be returning to help us.”

I put my hands on my hips.  “Which one did this?”  I don’t know what they see on my face at the moment, but they all take a step backwards.  Cowards.  “I asked which one of you did this.”  Each word is like a knife falling out of my mouth.  If the air was a steak, the blades of my words would have cut right through it.

Armaita takes a tentative step forward.  “Xandra, no harm was meant…”

“My parents are dangling and immobile in the middle of the room as if they are about to be sacrificed.  How is that harmless?” I shout.

“I told you not to do it,” the other female Fallen Angel says to the male.  I really have to get better at asking names.  Nah.  No sense in cluttering up my mind with information I will never need again.

The guy looks nervous now as his eyes dart between his friends and me.  I can see the betrayal burn through him as he realizes what his cohort just did.  He’s about ready to run.  I don’t think so.

Since the guy reminds me of a cowboy, I think I’ll use cowboy accessories to stop him.  I make a lasso of magic.  I even swing my arm around as if I’m holding the other end.  Then I fling it forward and it falls over his head and encircles his arms and waist.  I pull it tight and I jerk him back into the room.  “Undo what you did to my parents.  If you don’t and I have to do it, I’ll teach you how cowboys back home break horses.”  I have no idea what that means.  I think I’ve watched one too many westerns.  They’re Dad’s favorite genre.  Of course, the Fallen Angel looks up at me with confused eyes.  I choose to ignore them.

“You have thirty seconds,” I say to him and then I turn to Armaita.  “How did you get out of Angel hell?”  There’s that suspicion in her eyes again.  “Look, right now I believe your side of the story.  But if you keep jerking me around and keeping things from me, I’m going to start questioning where your loyalties lie.”

There’s a war waging in her head.  I’ll give her a minute to think about that.  It’s been at least thirty seconds now and my parents are still dangling.  I shake my head.  “I can’t believe you’re going to make me do it,” I say to Mr. Cowboy Angel. 

“I-I’m trying,” he stutters.

“Sure you are, Cowboy.  Sure you are.  Tell you what, I’ll get my parents down and you can take their place.  Magic is a give and take and all that.”  I thought he looked scared before.  Wow, look at him now.  Oh well, I warned him.

“Magic for magic, spell for spell, reverse the work of this ne’er do well.”  Hey, I got to use ne’er do well in a sentence.  I always wanted to work that in somehow.  “Take him in their stead, his own magic in which to dwell.”  Okay, that was cheesy.  But he does look hilarious hanging from the ceiling by his shoes.  I hope they fit well.  If not, it’s going to really hurt when his head hits the floor.  Eh, I’ll worry about that later.

As soon as they’re released, Mom and Dad rush over to me.  “Xandra, are you okay?” Mom asks, touching me with her cold hands as she exams me. 

“I’m fine, Mom.  Really.  I just have to tie up a few loose ends.”  I turn and give Ray, Zoe and Raziel a glare.  “Why don’t you and Dad go into the kitchen.  Things could get a little messy in here.”

Mom gasps.  “Xandra…”

I cut her off.  “Mom, if there was ever a time to listen to me, this is it.”  To my surprise, she nods and she and Dad float out of the room.  That’s probably the biggest shocker of the whole evening.

“Now, Armaita, I understand you want me to take my place as a goddess.  In fifty words or less, tell me why I should not banish you to Angel hell again for doing this to the people I had at one time come to care about?”

I can almost see the little neurons in her brain firing as she hurries to come up with an answer that won’t have her dangling from the ceiling.  “Xandra, if your destiny is reversed you won’t even know these beings.  The betrayal, the hurt, every ounce of pain you have felt because of them will be gone.  I did this,” she waves her arm around the room, “to keep these creatures from attempting to sway you from the truth and the life you should have had.  Please do not see this as a disloyalty, I was trying to help.”

“I’m sorry, that was sixty-four words.  I stopped truly listening at fifty and I’m not convinced.  Since I am an action person instead of a talker like you, I think we should come up with a way to call us even.”

“Of course,” she says warily.  What a smart Fallen Angel she is.

With a rush of magic, I scoop up her other friend.  I muffle her scream by taking her voice away and then I deposit her on an arm chair.   I then immobilize her, making it impossible to move any part of her body except for her eye lids.  I’m not cruel, after all.  A person has to blink every once in a while.  “There, we’re even,” I say with a warm smile to Armaita.

She searches my face for a moment.  “You are serious.”

I give her a ‘yeah, duh’ look.  “I thought my words have been pretty clear up to this point.”

As confidence that I am on her side seeps into her, she begins to relax.  “Then I am your humble servant.”

“Of course you are.  I will demand that of everyone.  Any sign of disloyalty will not be tolerated.  I will also be the one absorbing the energy of these three Archangels.”  Shock is on everyone’s face.  Well, except for my family and friends who are still immobile.  And the one dangling from the ceiling.  His face is reddish purple and I don’t think he’s capable of forming any look except terror at the moment.  The one on the couch looks shocked, but I think that’s more about the binding than what I’m saying.

“But,” Armaita says in disbelief, “you will already be omnipotent.  What use would you have for their power and light?”

I give her my best ‘are you stupid’ look.  “Because I won’t want anyone else to have more power than they already have.  If I learned anything in this life it’s that the more power you have, the more you have to defend yourself against attack.  I am not going to give anyone extra ammunition to use against me.”

“As a reward for returning you to your destiny, I thought…”

I sigh loudly so she stops talking.  “You thought what, that we’d be girlfriends?  Honestly, I don’t like you.  I can guarantee that we won’t be hanging out much.  Well, at all if I’m going to be completely honest.  But I do still appreciate that you have set me on the right path again.  That’s why I’m not going to banish you for being just plain annoying.”

Her disbelief is turning to anger now.  “This is not how it is supposed to be.”

I nod.  “Tell me about it.  I can’t wait to get back to my real destiny.”

“That is not what I meant,” she grinds out.

“Oh, that’s okay.  I’ve only been half listening to you all along anyway.  It doesn’t matter much if I miss parts of the conversation here or there.  I’ve found that you don’t really have anything interesting to say.”

Ray, Zoe and Raziel are standing in the corner of the room looking at me as if I may have lost my mind.  I probably have.  At least pieces of it here or there.

A piercing cry echoes through the room.  I turn to find Tabitha on the floor holding her heart.  There’s a little dribble of blood on her lips that is rapidly becoming a river flow.  I turn back to Armaita.  “What are you doing to her?”

She’s shifted from angry to vengeful.  “I am squeezing her heart until every last bit of blood has left her body.  I will continue to do this with each of them until you change your mind about how things will be.”

“Wow, you must be a lot of fun at parties.  ‘Hey guys, look at me – I can torture a practically comatose Fairy.’  Do you get a lot of friends that way?”  While I’m talking, I send my magic out to Tabitha.  I can feel Armaita’s and it’s strong.  I wrap my magic around hers and attempt to pull it back gently.  There is a lot of damage to Tabitha’s heart and I don’t want to make it worse by being too forceful.  By the time we end this little fight, it might be too late for Tabitha so I think a distraction is in order. 

Pulling more magic, I fling it at her friend sitting in the armchair.  I do the same thing to her that she is doing to Tabitha.  Is she willing to let her friend die to prove a point to me?

With a feral growl, she pulls her magic back from Tabitha.  “You have forced me into a corner, Xandra.”

Great, the backed in the corner analogy
. 
That’s original.  I suppose I have to play along.  Pushing as much boredom into my words as possible just to piss her off a little bit more, I say, “What do you think you’re going to do about that?”