Blood of the Exiled (Witch Fairy Book 10) (15 page)

A small giggle escapes me.
 
He knew exactly what I was thinking.
 
I’ll have to figure out what
does
have the same body mass as grandpa just in case, as a last resort of course.
 
Or in case he annoys me beyond redemption.
 

As for the other thing he said, he wants to go sightseeing?
 
Did I hear him correctly?
 
That did not sound like a Kallen thing to say, but looking closely at him, I’m pretty sure he’s serious.
 
I consider for a moment.
 
It would be kind of fun to show Kegan and Alita what this realm is like.
 
That is part of why I wanted them to come.
 
Would it be better to wait until tomorrow and let both Gramps and me calm down a little?
 
I would like to say yes, but I know it doesn’t make a difference when I sit down and talk to my grandfather.
 
We are going to butt heads.
 
So, hell, why not take a day off for sightseeing?
 
“Okay.”

There is more shock in Kallen’s eyes than I care for.
 
What?
 
It was his idea, I just agreed.
 
Before I can change my mind, he turns to Jadyn.
 
“Is it possible to obtain transportation large enough to accommodate all of us?”

I giggle.
 
“That’s a stuffy way of saying ‘can we get a ride?’”
 
My gorgeous husband gives me an annoyed look.
 
“Sorry,” I mumble, still giggling, though I think it’s more suppressed frustration and anger that is causing it than his vocabulary.

“I will have a car brought around.
 
Would you like to drive yourself or shall I see to a driver?” Jadyn asks me.

“I don’t have a license.”
 
I don’t want a driver, but I don’t want to break any laws, either.
 
Even if I’m pretty sure one of us could use magic to convince a cop not to give me a ticket.
 
It would be wrong to use magic that way, though.

Jadyn nods.
 
“Then a car and driver will be at your disposal in fifteen minutes.”
 
She turns and strides from the room.

I guess we’re going sightseeing.
 

“You are sure this is safe?” Alita asks.
 
Her grip on Kegan’s arm looks painful.

I smile reassuringly.
 
“Yes, people drive on freeways all the time and make it back in one piece.”

“Some do not,” Adriel points out.
 
Yeah, she would know.
 
I give her a sour look anyway for not helping me appease Alita’s worry.

“You learned about cars,” Kegan says, patting her hand on his arm and ignoring how far Alita’s nails have dug into his skin.
 
He definitely loves her.

“Learning about them and actually being in one are quite different,” she says.
 
She has a point, I suppose.

“The driver is keeping a steady speed and seems to be driving cautiously,” Kallen points out, making it a really bad time for the driver to slam on the brakes because someone just cut him off.
 
I had insisted everyone put on their seat belts even though we’re in a limo so at least no one goes flying.

Yes, the five of us are in the back of a limo.
 
Tana wanted to stay behind, claiming fatigue, and I made Taz stay behind as well.
 
They don’t allow wild animals in malls.
 
I asked him to follow Jadyn around without getting into trouble.
 
I expect a mess when I get back.
 
We haven’t seen Nixie in a while.
 
I assume she is still following my grandfather, hopefully garnering useful information.

I still can’t believe we are in a limo and it bugs the hell out of me.
 
Why?
 
Because my grandfather is loaded.
 
He easily could have joined Lailah in keeping Mom and me safe.
 
He has a limo, several luxury cars, and a vacation home in Italy amongst other places according to Jadyn, and money to buy even more.
 
It would have been easy for him to buy an island or someplace equally as remote.
 
I dislike him a little bit more now and I didn’t think that was even possible.
 
Mom and Dad had to work so hard to make ends meet.
 
Zac and I were never lacking anything, far from it, but being a doctor in the rural mountains of Colorado is a bit different than being a doctor someplace like Los Angeles.
 
Dad did a lot of things for free and he was happy to do it.
 
I smile at the thought.
 

Dad is a generous soul and he loved working with his patients whether they were able to pay him or not.
 
He gave up his old life to run off with Mom and never looked back, which is more than her own father would do.
 
What would have become of Mom if she hadn’t met someone like Dad?
 
She was left all alone, no money, no home,
no
family to turn to.
 
Things could have gone very badly for her.
 
But all the while, the father who Mom ran away from, the one who was supposedly mourning her
loss,
barely had his life turned upside down at all.
 
I’m not bitter for her.
 
Really.
 
Okay, maybe a little.

“Where are we going?” Kegan asks.

I grin because he and Kallen probably won’t like my answer.
 
“We’re going to a mall.”

“A mall?
 
What is that?” Alita asks, looking like she could seriously use some Dramamine.

“We’re going shopping.”

“For what?”
Adriel asks.
 

I shrug.
 
“For whatever.
 
We might not even buy anything if nothing catches our eye.”
 
I have a purse full of money that Dad had insisted Kallen and I take when we came to this realm for our honeymoon.
 
We ended up not having to spend much of it.
 
So, if something does catch our eye, any of ours, I should be able buy it.
 
Dad may not have been paid as well as most doctors, but he was good at saving and investing.

Nonplussed, Adriel asks, “Then why would we go?”

I roll my eyes.
 
“Because it’s fun to go and hang out.”
 
At least, I think it is.
 
I didn’t really have a chance to hang out in malls when I was being isolated in the mountains.

“Hang out of what?” Kegan asks.
 
I give him a dirty look because I know he’s teasing me.
 
He likes to make fun of my ‘Cowan slang’ as he calls it.

“Careful, Cousin,” Kallen drawls.
 
“Or it might be you hanging out the car window.”

“There is nothing else we could do?” Adriel asks, making it clear she’s not the ‘girls’ day out’ kind of Fallen Angel.
 
If I suggested something like manicures, she would probably laugh out loud at me.

“Just give it a chance,” I say.
 
“We can get lunch and walk around.
 
If you guys are bored, we can see a movie or something.”
 
Jadyn said the mall has a Cineplex.
 
The Fairies have theater, theater with awesome props created with magic, but they don’t have television or anything like that.
 
From what they know of it, they consider it mindless entertainment that leads to sloth and obesity.
 
They’re partially right, I guess.
 
Still, I miss TV sometimes.
 
I miss the internet, too.
 
I’m trying to get Dagda and Isla to consider something like that.
 
So far, they’re not convinced.
 

The partition lowers, allowing us to see the driver.
 
“We will reach our destination in approximately five minutes,” he says.

Our driver is tall, dark skinned and handsome with chocolate colored eyes and an infectious smile.
 
But he isn’t a Witch.
 
He knows about Witches and magic obviously, but he is one hundred percent Human.
 
He has also been very polite to us.
 
If he knows who I am, he has not acted like he has a problem with it.
 
I smile and say, “Thank you.”
 
He meets my eyes in his rearview mirror and nods.
 
The partition closes again.

I spend the next five minutes explaining in more detail where we are going.
 
The more I talk, the more interested Alita is.
 
Even Adriel perks up a little bit.
 
Maybe she’ll get the hang of the shopping thing with enough exposure.

The driver pulls up to a mall entrance and gets out
to open
the door for us.
 
I feel kind of silly going to the mall in a limo, especially since people are staring.
 
When everyone has piled out, I turn to the driver.
 
“Thanks again.”

“You are welcome,” he says.
 
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small black phone.
 
He hands it to me and says, “This is programed with my number in it.
 
Please call when you are ready to be picked up.”

I take the phone from him.
 
I hadn’t thought about how we would get in touch with him when we wanted to leave.
 
The Witches don’t need to know about my teleporting ability.
 
Putting the phone in my purse, I say, “Thanks.”
 
The driver nods and retreats back to the car.

“What is that?” Alita asks.

“It’s a telephone,” I explain.
 
She seems to know what that is because she doesn’t ask for an explanation.
 
“Are you guys ready?” I ask, walking to the mall door.

Kallen reaches around me and opens the door for me.
 
He holds it open for everyone to enter.
 
Once inside, however, we stop moving.
 
The mall is packed.
 
It’s Saturday afternoon and this is apparently the place to be.

Ignoring the Fairies’ hesitance to move into the crowd, I ask, “Should we get food first?”

“I am still full from breakfast,” Adriel says.
 
It already seems like we’ve been here forever instead of it being only a couple of hours since we left home.
 
I’m still full from pancakes as well.

“Me, too,” Alita agrees.
 
I notice the guys don’t chime in.
 
They’re always hungry.

“Okay then, let’s go shopping.”
 

One of the first stores we come to is a shoe store.
 
I admit it, I love shoes.
 
Living in the mountains, though, limited what would be practical to own.
 
I had trainers, hiking boots and snow boots.
 
Boring.
 
This store has none of the above.
 
The shoes are gorgeous and in an amazing array of colors.
 
There are sandals, flats, heels, and boots – ones that can’t be worn for hiking or snow.
 
I look down at my boring trainers and then head toward the flats.

“Why would you buy shoes?” Kegan asks.
 
“You can make them.”

Alita and I both give him a dirty look.
 
He flushes a deep red and picks up a brown, four inch heeled sandal.
 
“These are nice,” he says.
 
Alita lets him off the hook with a kiss on the cheek.

Kallen and Kegan take a seat in a row of chairs and watch as Adriel, Alita and I try on pair after pair of shoes.
 
I finally settle on a pair of flats with a muted tribal design on them and a pair of strappy sandals with a modest three inch heel.
 
Any higher and I might fall on my face the first time I walk in them.
 
Alita also picks out flats and Adriel surprises us all when she picks out a pair of black stilettoes with a silver tip at the toe and a five inch silver heel that makes them look more like a weapon than a shoe.
 
I raise my brows but she just smiles wickedly.
 
I suspect Raziel is in for a treat.

After our purchases are made, we head back into the throng of people in the mall.
 
We soon find an electronics and video game store and Kallen’s eyes brighten.
 
He liked playing Zac’s games back in Colorado.
 
I suggest that he and Kegan go in there and we meet back here in an hour.
 
Jadyn suggested we get clothes to wear for dinners, meaning something fancy and formal.
 
That sounds like fun for me and torture for the guys so it seems the best plan.
 
This gives us time to shop without the guys rolling their eyes or yawning widely as we try things on.
 

There are very few clothing stores in the Fairy realm.
 
Well, none actually.
 
Fairies use magic to make their clothes.
 
Those who are not powerful enough, like Alita, must rely on their family or significant other to dress them.
 
I have the opposite problem.
 
I can’t make my own because I put too much power behind the magic, so I have to rely on my significant other.
 
I now sketch out clothing designs for Kallen to make me instead of wearing what he picks out all the time.
 
Sometimes his choices aren’t as appropriate as they should be.
 
It will be nice to surprise him with something pretty that he didn’t have to make for me.