Doppelganger Blood (14 page)

A flash of blinding white light illuminates the great hall.  My Angel magic is fueling this spell.  I can’t help but smile as my wings firmly attach themselves to me.  There is no other magic which feels as pure as this.  As it flows from me, it takes away the anger, it absorbs the pain of those around me.
  When this is done, I will have one more black feather among the beautiful white ones and that’s okay.

“Finally,” I hear my own voice say.  Except, I didn’t say it. 

Opening my eyes, I have no words with which to respond.  There, only a few yards from me, is my doppelgänger.  She is basking in the white light of my Angel magic.  Whirling and dancing, I watch as the scars from her face disappear.  She is using the power of the Angels to heal herself.  She doesn’t know how to call my Angel wings in this universe.  She probably wore hers all the time in her universe will.

When I
am able to connect the right synapses in my brain to make my vocal cords work again, I say, “You started the fighting.”

In this universe, I have definitely not mastered the façade of pure evil this other me now wears.  Coming closer, she says, “Your bleeding heart could not let this continue.”  She sweeps her arm around the now quiet room.  Her lips form into a malicious smile.  “But now it’s my turn.”

Wresting the Angel magic from me so fast I fall to my hands and knees, she wields it like a bulldozer, shoving every being in the room toward the river.  I fight to get it back, but I cannot loosen her grip.  I watch in horror as bodies fall into the rushing water.  They are not washed out of the palace, though.  She dams the river and covers it with magic.  As the water rises inside of the enclosure she made, those within are doomed to drown.

“What the hell, Xandra!” I hear Taz’s shout from across the room.  I know it’s my Taz when he says, “Take it back!”
  I have no idea where he’s been but I’m awfully glad to see him.

In the bravest act I have yet to see
the Tasmanian devil perform, Taz lunges into the magic like a sponge and begins soaking it up.  As it fills him, as it fills
my
Familiar, the other me screams in frustration.  The force with which she is trying to take the magic back is sure to bring Taz’s insides with it.  I can’t let her harm him.  Taking advantage of her distraction and loss of control, I am able to wrest the magic back to me.  Without hesitation, I shove it back to the earth and use my will to keep it there, setting everyone in the water free.  Try as she might, my doppelgänger cannot regain control.  Knowing this as well as I do, she disappears yet again.  Like a coward.  I really wish I knew where she goes when she does this so I could follow her.  It would be so much better to fight in a place where collateral damage would be minimal.

Drenched bodies are beginning to emerge from the water.  I
drag myself to my feet and rush to the one I’m most concerned about.  Kallen wraps his wet body around me and kisses the top of my head.  “Thank you,” he whispers.

Stepping back, I scan the crowd for Adriel and Dagda.  I find them both safe, assisting others out of the water.  The
Sasquatch appear to be quite heavy when all of their hair is wet.   Isla is on the other side of the river doing the same.  I’m not sure when Kegan and Alita arrived, but I spot them helping as well.  The fear clutching my heart eases now that I know those I care about are safe.

Oh, crap.  Where’s Grandpa?  I stand on my tippy toes trying to scan the crowd better.  Reading my mind, Kallen points to my favorite bench along the river.  There is my grandfather, gasping for oxygen in between vomiting up water.  A sure sign of how much Mohana loves him?  The fact that she’s standing a good twenty feet away disgusted with the sight of him like this.  Wake up, Grandpa.  This is the Witch you want to be with? 

“I am going to assist Dagda,” Kallen says, letting me go after a quick kiss and joining the efforts to retrieve everyone from the water.  I suspect a few were carried away when the dam broke.  Hopefully they can swim.  At least well enough to get to the river bank.  I should probably organize a search party.  But, since I have collapsed into a useless heap of exhaustion on the floor, I won’t be doing that.  I’m certain Kallen or Dagda will think of it if they haven’t already.

The palace staff is passing out towels to those who can’t dry themselves with magic.  The
Giants, Centaurs, Fauns and Sasquatch fall into this category.  The Goblins can surprisingly perform this small magic.  The Dragons prefer to air dry.

I’m surprised when Gunnar comes and bends down on one knee in front of me.  “Thank you,” he says quietly.  “I couldn’t fight the enchantment on my own.”

I smile as best I can.  “Glad I could help.”

Surveying the room, he chuckles.  “You do know how to make a mess, don’t
you?”  Some of the marble is cracked and broken but I think this is mostly from yesterday even though I’m certain the Palace staff worked all night on repairs.  What’s left of the tables and chairs is nothing but broken bits of firewood now.  Most of the wood fell into the river.  Food is everywhere, smeared on the floors, on the walls.  None of it is still edible.  So much for breakfast.

“Another of my many gifts,” I mutter.

“I believe this belongs to you,” Tana says softly.  She is cradling Taz in her arms.  There’s a tinge of guilt in her voice since she’s the one who created my Familiar with black magic, but she knows I’ve grown to like the little guy.  She lays him down next to me.

“Thanks,” I say.  I probably should have searched for him but it seems like I would know if he was seriously injured, wouldn’t I?

As if reading my mind, his scratchy little voice says, “No thanks, no medical care.  I almost died!” He coughs trying to sound as pathetic as possible.

“Yes, you and fifty or sixty others.”  A flash of guilt hits me. 
He is mine to take care of and I should do a better job of it.  “Are you hurt?” I ask.

“Only in my heart,” he grumbles.

“I need to check on the King,” Gunnar says, rising to his feet again.  I believe watching me have a conversation with Taz makes him uncomfortable. 

I turn my head toward the bench.  Grandpa has stopped retching, but Mohana is still keeping her distance.  I really hope this is a wakeup call for him.

In less than a heartbeat, everyone in the room stops moving and silence fills the hall.  “Do you have pity in your heart for him?” a soft, Angelic voice asks.

“Yes,” I reply turning my head to face my grandmother.
  I wonder if I will ever get used to seeing her in her Angel form.

She reaches out and places a hand on my cheek.  “Trouble certainly has found you this time, hasn’t it?”

“You could say that.”

I find comfort in her pretty, tinkling laugh.  “You are strong, Xandra.  Strong enough to face anything, even yourself.”

The doubt on my face must be palpable by now.  “I can’t really fight her.  I don’t know what to do to stop her.”

To my surprise, Grandma sits down next to me on the floor.  Her glorious wings folding to adjust
to this new position and her beautiful, blonde hair cascading down her back between them.  Despite her years with the Witches, she looks more like a teenager now than a grandmother.  “I fear there is no easy answer.”

“That’s helpful,” I grumble. 

She responds to my snark with another tinkling laugh.  “I would give you all the answers if I could, my darling.  Unfortunately, this is unprecedented.  Even the Angels are at a loss.”

Should I tell her what Haniel said about bestowing
Divine Grace when the time is right?  Probably best if I don’t.  I sure would like to know when the time is going to be right, though.  What is the Seraph waiting for?

“Do you hate Grandpa?” I ask.

Grandma is quiet for a moment.  “Hate is a harsh word.  Disappointed is a more apt description of how I feel.”

“You asked me if I pity him.  Do you?”  My question is met with silence.  “You know, don’t
you?”

When she speaks, there is a combination of anger, disgust and shame mixed into her words.  Shame for Grandpa, not herself.  “He is a foolish old man.”

She doesn’t have to tell me twice.  I already knew.  “How can Mohana do it?  How can she face having to disguise herself as someone else to get him to love her?

“
You are not so naïve, my darling.  You know it is not love she seeks.”

“Did you come to tell me you know?” I ask.

“Mostly I came to comfort you in your time of great stress.  But I thought it may ease your mind to know you do not have to keep his secret from me,” Grandma says softly.

“It is a relief, thank you.”  One less thing to worry about.  I’m still disgusted, though.

Laying a hand on my cheek again, she says, “Forgive him his shallow heart and weak mind, Xandra.  These were forced upon him by destiny, they were not of his choosing.”

“Did you feel like forgiving him when you lived with the Witches?” I ask.

Her laughter peals again.  “You are too wise, my darling.  I will change my plea.  Suffer his shallow heart and weak mind with grace, for they are not of his choosing.”

“I’ll try.”  That’s the best I can give her.

Leaning over, she kisses my cheek lightly.  “Take care, darling.”  The room is once again flooded with sound and movement.  I am so ready to go back to bed.

I have not moved from my spot on the floor when Dagda comes to talk to me.  He drops to one knee so I don’t need to crane my neck as much.  “How are you?” he asks.

“Frustrated, annoyed, anxious, scared and everything in between.”

“Then you are handling this better than I would,” he teases.  “Are you well enough to meet with the other Kings and Queens in the war room?”

“Can I say no?”

“Only if you are truly not well enough.”

I groan.  “Fine.”

Dagda stands with more grace than I do.  He has to grab my elbow to keep me from stumbling.  “Are you certain you are well?” he asks, true concern in his voice.

I nod.  “I feel a little weak but I think it’s because of the whole unable to heal fully thing.”

Kallen joins us and he automatically slips his arm around my waist.  “You do not have to meet with them if you do not feel well.”

“I’m fine, really.”  He is not convinced but starts walking
with me anyway.

I am flanked by my husband and my biological father as I enter the war room
which is already filled with beings.  Dagda organized this with amazing speed.  All eyes turn to us as we take our seats.  Each of the Kings and Queens have a guard standing behind their chairs, but no others.  Their entourages are not invited apparently.  Good.

I scan the faces at the table.  Isla is to Dagda’s right. 
Standing next to her is the Centaur King, a brute of a man with dark hair and the sleek bottom half of a stallion.  His skin is a deep tan color.  Next to him is a Faun.  He is barely tall enough to see over the table.  To his right is the Goblin King sitting in what looks like a booster seat.  I can smell him from way over here.  I feel sorry for the Faun being so close to him, but not for the Elf Queen who sits to his right.  To her right is the Sasquatch King or Queen.  I really should find out which.  Unable to fit at the table, Quinn and Ellu are behind the others sitting in chairs more suitable for their size.  There is another door on the far side of the room and Ryu is sticking his large head through it.  It’s all that will fit.  I assume the others will arrive shortly.

“What have you done to us?” the Elf Queen demands
, her voice no longer sultry and amused.

“Done to you?”  What is she talking about?

“How have you taken away my enchantment?”  Oh.  I forgot about that.

“Why am I not able to raise a weapon
against my foes?” the Sasquatch King or Queen asks.

Before anyone else can say anything, I shake my head and exclaim rather loudly, “Really?  Every single one of you was almost killed out there,” I point a finger toward the door
, “And what has you the most upset is that I made it so you guys can’t hurt each other for a day?  How ungrateful and selfish are you people?  You know what, if you want to kill each other before the other me comes for you, go ahead!”  I pull magic to reverse the spell.

“Stop!” the
Centaur King bellows.  “Leave it be.”  Looking around the table, he says, “The girl is right.  We have a much greater foe to be concerned about.  If we do not have to worry about being attacked in our sleep by each other,” his eyes stop to rest on the Sasquatch, “perhaps we will have the brainpower to save our realms and ourselves.”

I sit back in my chair and fold my arms over my chest.  I’m staying out of this
part of the conversation.  They can argue amongst themselves and tell me what they decide.  I don’t care either way at the moment.  Kallen’s hand finds my thigh under the table and massages it softly, trying to help me calm down.  After a moment, I take a deep breath and drop my arms.  I place my hand over his and he curls his fingers around it. While I am tamping down my murderous feelings, Jadyn and Conor quietly enter the room and slide into two of the chairs left at the table on the other side of Kallen. Their presence, being allies of mine, helps me relax a tiny bit.

Feeling more diplomatic than I did just minutes ago, I speak over the crowd.  “I promise, tomorrow you may kill each other at will,” okay, not so much diplomatic as pragmatic, “but today, can we please concentrate on the bigger picture?  If you don’t, you are all going to die.  Soon.”  It dawns on me that Dagda and Isla are being conspicuously quiet.  Why are they letting me do all the talking?

Seeing the concern and confusion on my face, Isla leans across Dagda to say under the din of arguing rulers, “You must lead here.  Not the King of the Fae.”

What?  Oh.  It’s a political thing.  All the Kings and Queens present need to feel like equals.  One King being in charge implies he is the King of all, not just his own realm.  Seeing I figured it out, Dagda gives me a grim smile.  “You can do this.”

Maybe we should have done the pep talk thing before entering the war room.  I have several questions that are not for the general assembly.  Like, when did this become about politics instead of saving lives?  Since I can’t ask my questions, I guess I just have to wing it.  “Let me put it this way,” I say over the arguing that has amped up again.  “Which of you wants to die first?” 

This gets their attention.  “Why are you asking this, Witch Fairy?” Ryu asks from the doorway. 

Moving my eyes around the room to look at each of them in turn, I say, “Because I will only lift the spell today for those who wish to return to their own realms.  There you will be left to your own protection.  Meaning, you will die.”

“Not five minutes ago you agreed to lift the spell if we so choose,” Ellu barks. 

Shrugging, I say, “I’m fickle.  Deal with it.”

“Now we must do as you say?” the
Sasquatch asks.  “Twice you have fought against this
doppelgänger
and twice you have lost.  Why should we listen to you?”

“How can you consider it a loss when Xandra saved the lives of everyone here?  Could you have lifted the magic willing us to drown?” Isla asks.

“The way he was flailing about, it is a wonder he did not drown regardless of the girl’s help,” the Centaur jests.  Well, at least I know the Sasquatch is male now.  Unless the Centaur is using the generic ‘he’ due to his own lack of knowledge considering the Sasquatch’s gender. 

“The girl is our only hope,” Ryu says, surprising the heck out of me.  “No one in this room could stand against her.”  Technically,
most of him is in another room but I won’t quibble over details.

The
Centaur crosses his arms over his bare, muscular chest.  Why don’t they wear shirts?  Their lower halves are covered in fur to keep them warm but you’d think the rest of them would get cold.  “Are you suggesting a mere girl could stand against the might of the Centaur?”

I roll my eyes.  “Let’s play a game,” I say suddenly, the
idea crashing against my brain like the tide coming in.  Isla and Dagda are just as suddenly concerned they put the wrong person in charge.  Even Kallen is having trouble keeping his face calm and supportive.  Before they can mentally fit me for a straitjacket, I continue.  “I only took your ability to fight with each other away for the day.  I did nothing to keep you from harming me.”  Doubt abounds on their faces.  I guess they need proof.

Rising, I walk around the table to the
Centaur.  He’s at least twice my size and ten times my weight.  Good thing I have magic.  “You cannot raise your sword against the Sasquatch, correct?”

“Aye,” he says, searching for a trap in my words.

“Raise your sword against me.  Attack me.”

He considers me for a long time.  Finally, he says, “
You do not know what you ask, girl.  I have hunted prey larger and stronger than you in the past and I have the skins to prove it.”

“Ew.  No need to overshare,” I grumble.

I can always count on Kallen coming to my aid in situations like this.  Even though my back is to him, I hear the swish of the arrow leaving the crossbow he created.  Apparently, this never gets old for him.  So, it has become second nature to defend myself from these attacks and my charming husband knows this.  His arrow hits a solid wall of magic and clatters to the floor.

Shocked, the Elf Queen says, “You raise arms against your own wife?”

“Only because I know she will always win,” Kallen replies.

Aw, I love the confidence he has in me when he doesn’t think I’m crazy. 
But my eyes have not left the Centaurs during this exchange.  “Your turn,” I say to him.  “Attack me.”

After another moment of consideration, the
Centaur complies.  He pulls his sword from its sheath and brandishes it in front of me.  Okay, he’s not quite doing what I asked.  I roll my eyes in an attempt to annoy him into action.  “Don’t just wave it about, try to stab me with it.” 

With all eyes on him, the
Centaur has no choice but to answer my taunts.  With a mighty swoosh, his sword rushes toward me.  I let it get about three inches from my chest before I throw up a wall of magic.  When his sword hits it, the sudden stop of the sword’s forward motion wrenches the Centaur King’s shoulder back painfully.  His grip on his sword is lost and it clatters to the floor like Kallen’s arrow did.

Rubbing his sore shoulder, the
Centaur King asks, “What trickery is this?”

I turn my back to him and walk to my seat.  “No trickery, I’m simply stronger than you.  And if I’m stronger than you, so is my
doppelgänger.”

“It proves nothing for you to win a battle
against such a creature.  The Centaurs are weak,” the Sasquatch claims. 

If I fight the
Sasquatch and win, the Giants will say they are weak and on it will go until I have proved absolutely nothing to any of them.  Something irrefutable is called for.  This is so annoying.

With a swish of my hand, the large round table disappears.  Dagda is trying hard not to be upset.  Ignoring his narrowed eyes, I step into the middle of the now empty space.  “I will stand right here and each of you may attack me at will.
  All at the same time if you like.”

“Xandra, we don’t really have time for this,” Isla says tersely. 

“They need to understand,” Kallen says.  He’s amused by my antics.

“What will this prove?” the
Goblin asks in his squeaky little voice.  He already knows I’m stronger than he is.

Dagda has relaxed back in his chair.  He’s as amused as Kallen is.  “It will prove the
unlikelihood of anyone besides Xandra being successful in ridding the universe of this new threat.”

“I will stand against you,” the
Sasquatch says.  He’s eager to prove the weakness of the Centaur.

“Great,” I say.  As he, or she, approaches me, I put an invisible wall of magic in place all around me.  Since it is invisible, the
Sasquatch is as surprised as the Centaur was when his sword hits an immovable force.  At least he is able to keep his sword in his hand.  Stalking around me, his white hair swishing softly with his movements, he tries to find a weakness in my defenses.  He doesn’t.

Eager for her turn, Addylyn sends out her enchantment.  I don’t feel a thing. 
When she can tell I’m not affected, Addylyn moves closer to me but of course it doesn’t make a difference. Ellu joins them in their attack. Wanting this chance at me for my doppelgänger almost killing him, he rises from his Giant chair and comes to pound on my wall of magic. All he manages to do is frustrate himself. The Faun doesn’t seem interested in participating. Jaden and Conor are definitely not going to test my limits. Quinn, who already knows how strong my magic is, remains seated.  Ryu keeps his flames to himself.

After I give them enough time to wear themselves out, I go on the offensive. Expanding the walls of my magic
to press against them, I shove them back toward the chairs. But this is not all I’m going to do. Pulling more magic, I send it forward like lightning and capture each of the Kings and Queen who chose to attack me. My magic slams them back against the walls of the room and holds them there several inches off the ground. They fight in vain against my power. Just for fun, I use my magic to tickle them. Even Isla is amused by this.

“I believe you have proven your point,” Dagda says
after a moment.

And I was just beginning to have fun. Pulling my magic back, I release
the Kings and Queen. As I glance around the room at some pretty angry faces, I wonder if all I have done is manage to make new enemies. The Elf Queen certainly doesn’t look like she wants to be my friend anymore. The Sasquatch just may try to kill me in my sleep tonight.

“Do you understand now what you are up against?” Quinn asked the room. “This girl standing before you already has you at her mercy and you don’t even know it. The problem is her doppelgänger is her identical twin. Can any among you know
with certainty you could best yourself in a fight?”

Wow, I didn’t realize
Quinn was so perceptive. I stop being impressed when I see the leering smile on his face that’s all for me. Still, his words seem to go a long way in quieting down the other leaders.

“I, for one, a
m certain I would not have the first clue how to do it and I can become anything I want,” Conor says. “The expression ‘you are your own worst enemy’ applies well to this situation.” I’m not sure that’s a saying anywhere other than the Cowan realm.