Doppelganger Blood (9 page)

In an attempt to be inconspicuous, I decide to open the realms inside again.  Mostly because I really don’t care what happens to Grandpa’s house if something goes wonky.  Wow, when did I get so bitter?  But also because I forgot the other times I was here and opened the realms in the open that this realm has satellite technology.  What would the government think if a satellite got a good picture of what I’m doing?  Probably best not to find out.

I
attempt to send the receptionist home after I get off the phone.  At first, she isn’t certain she should be taking orders from me.  When I explain what I am going to do, she grabs her purse out of the bottom drawer of her desk and leaves without any more hesitation.  She practically runs Gunnar down in her haste.

With a raised brow, he says, “You really know how to clear a room.”

I shrug.  “It’s a gift.”

With a grunt, he says, “He wants me to go with him.”

The insult of my grandfather not believing I would keep him safe is about to hit me when it dawns on me that if Gunnar comes with, I won’t have to babysit the old man.  I know he’s not going to play nice with others.  “Not a problem.”

Clearly uncomfortable, he adds, “He will also be accomp
anied by a member of the Witan.”  Gee, I wonder which one.

I internally debate whether it’s worth arguing over.  It’s not.  But I’m sure Mom will be thrilled.  Hopefully, she won’t float in on anything like I saw earlier.  Rolling my eyes, I say, “Whatever.”

Clearly relieved I don’t argue, he asks, “What gear should I bring?”

I assume he means firepower.  “You can bring guns if you want, but unless you have a rocket launcher, most of the supernatural population will not be affected if you try to use them.  They’ll either be too fast or block a bullet with magic.”

Grinning, he says, “But I can bring my rocket launcher?”

It figures he has one.  He does take his security job seriously.  “Sure, why not.”

“What’s the weather like?”

A very practical question.  “Moderate to hot.  You won’t need winter wear.”

He nods.  “This might not be so bad after all.”

“Sure you don’t want to send me?” Aiden asks, coming in on the tail end of our conversation. 
Gunnar obviously told him what’s going on.  “Fairy chicks are hot.”

“I got this,” Gunnar says dryly.  Good thing, I don’t think many of the ‘Fairy chicks’ are into Witches.  Most of them are still hung up on the whole full blooded Fae thing.

Disappointed, Aiden asks me, “Am I really going to miss out on seeing Dragons?”

I nod.  “
Dragons, Giants, Mermaids and a bunch of others.”  Aiden’s disappointment sharpens.  I probably shouldn’t have confirmed all that.  I could have lied to make him feel better.  Then again, he wasn’t the nicest guy in the world when I arrived last time.

Am I mistaken, or is that a hint of fear flitting through Gunnar’s eyes?  His voice is gruffer than usual when he says to Aiden, “Did you call the meeting to go over new safety measures to be put in place while I’m gone?”

“Yeah, first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Is my grandfather about ready?” I ask, seeing Jadyn and Conor heading our way.

“I don’t believe it’s him holding things up.  I’ll see if I can hurry them along,” Aiden says. 

“Thanks,” I say, getting impatient.  I can’t believe Grandpa is bringing her along.  It dawns on me that I never
asked Kallen what she did to irritate him when the two of them ran an errand together.  It doesn’t really matter, I know I have nothing to worry about on his side.

When Aiden is out of earshot, Gunnar asks, “Does this realm travelling hurt?  Will I get sick?”

I laugh.  He’s a big guy, I doubt much could hurt him.  “Not the way I do it,” I reassure him.  The old fashioned way?  My stomach does a little flip just thinking about it.  It’s cute how color flushes into Gunnar’s cheeks, obviously embarrassed for asking.

“Will there be
Skin Walkers from other realms present?” Conor asks in place of a greeting.

“Hello to you, too,” I drawl.  Um, no, no one mentioned anything about bringing
any other Skin Walkers.  Maybe their trickster habits make them unlikely allies?  “Not that I know of, but if they are located then maybe.”  Conor is as convinced of this about as much as my words were unconvincing.  I need to work on my hedging.

“When your race left the Cowan realm, they scattered,” Adriel says.  “It may be difficult to find many organized communities, but if one is found they will be given the same options you have.”  She is much better at hedging.  Conor brightens a little with the hope her words bring.  What does it say about me when an Angel of Death is more reassuring than I am? 

It’s another ten minutes before Grandpa finally shows up and we pass the time with idle chit chat.  The serious stuff can wait until we are in the Fae realm. 

I groan when I see Grandpa walking through the room leading to this one.  Mohana is on his arm, holding on tightly.  Does she think I’m going to try to prevent her from coming? 
Common sense kicks in and I realize what she’s ultimately doing.  She’s vying for Queen status.  No wonder she doesn’t mind Grandpa’s desire for Grandma.  All she wants is a crown.  I like her about as much as a tapeworm at the moment.  The sad thing is, Grandpa’s lonely enough to fall for it.

Behind the pair is a household staffer carrying two large suitcases and a garment bag.  Behind him, a woman is carrying another suitcase and large satchel.  “That’s all you brought? Surely you have a few more suitcases you can fill up.”  Was that snarky?  Yeah, it was.

Mohana sniffs.  “We do not know how long we will be away from home.  We need to be prepared.  There is no harm in looking one’s best.”  She gives me a once over as if implying I’m on the other side of the fence on the issue.

“We’re not going up against the fashion police,” I snark back.  I know she’s trying to irk me but I fall for it anyway.

“Ladies,” Grandpa says, patting the hand Mohana has resting on his arm.  “This is no time to fight over such trivial things.  If you feel these items are necessary, my dear, then we shall bring them.”  The staffers set the luggage down and quickly disappear.  I wish I could do the same.

“Pick your battles,” Adriel mumbles to me. 

She’s right.  In the big scheme of things, Mohana could bring fifty bags and it wouldn’t change the outcome of the fight on our hands.  Maybe she’ll keep herself so busy changing clothes that Mom won’t see her with Grandpa.  I know, I’m a dreamer.

Not bothering to say more about the luggage, I close my eyes and concentrate on the driveway in front of Dagda’s Palace.  When I have a clear picture in my mind, I tear the fabric of the realms.  A gasp has my eyes flying
back open.  I didn’t think about the traffic that would be going in out of the castle.  On the other side of my passageway, we can clearly see a Dragon lumbering our way.  Great, it’s a humongous red and silver Dragon meaning it’s Ryu.  He halts his lumbering when he sees me.  He is definitely within firing range.  Our eyes meet and I debate how fast I can seal the realms back up.  Would it be fast enough to prevent my party from getting third degree burns?

“Xandra,” he rumbles with a slight nod of his head.  He doesn’t sound like he’s going to char us.  Maybe he and I have a truce while this business is handled?

“It talks,” Gunnar whispers, more to himself than any of us.

Ryu inhales deeply and then says, “Witches.”  He inhales again and then his eyes open a little wider.  I wouldn’t have thought it possible with his tight facial scales
, but he manages.  In surprise, he says, “Skin Walkers?  Interesting company you keep.”

Ignoring his comment,
Jadyn nods her head slightly in affirmation of her race.  “Hello.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to bring these nice people into the Fae realm.
  I’d like to do it at a safe distance from you.”  That was almost pleasant, wasn’t it?  “Ow,” I hiss when a piece of my flesh is once again caught between Adriel’s thumb and forefinger.  “Please,” I add aloud to Ryu.

The
Dragon surprises me when he says, “Of course.”  He moves several feet away making enough room for us to pass through.

“Is it safe?” Grandpa asks
, eyeing the gigantic beast.

“If he was going to torch us, he would have done it already,” I say, hoping this is true.  “But Adriel will go first if it makes you feel better.”  That way she can’t pinch me if I feel the need to be snarky again.  After a sour look in my direction, Adriel takes her cue and walks through the passageway without coming to harm.  “See, nothing to worry about.”

“I will go next,” Gunnar says with only the slightest hint of hesitation in his voice. 

The security guard squares his shoulders and bravely walks forward.  Jadyn and Conor go next and then Grandpa and Mohana.  Taz and I are last, of course.  An exclamation of
surprise has me spinning around after I close the passageway, concerned Ryu is making trouble.  No, it’s only Mohana getting her first look at the Palace.  It puts Grandpa’s mansion to shame. 

Fortunately, Ryu is way too big to fit through the front doors so we won’t have to worry about him once we’re inside.  I wonder where Dagda is housing the
Dragons.  Wherever it is, I plan to stay away from there.  For some reason, my mouth is an oozing bottle of super-snark when I’m around them.  “We should go inside,” I say and get no argument from any in my party.

I know things are bad when the doorman is happy to see me. “Thank god,” he says, showing me something besides
disdain for the first time.  “The King has been anxiously awaiting your return.”

I wonder how much time has passed here.  Time is different from realm to realm so even though I was only in the Cowan realm for half an hour, here it could have been a whole day.  “Where is he?” I ask.

“Throne room.  Watch your step down there.”

Peering over the balcony again, I can appreciate his sentiment.  The great hall is crawling with people and, for lack of a better word, creatures. 
Apparently, each of the leaders has brought a large entourage with them.  And I was annoyed with Grandpa for bringing two extra Witches?  I probably should have encouraged him to bring more.  Taking a deep breath, I begin walking down one of the staircases leading away from the door.  Trying not to look as awed as the rest of my party, except Adriel of course, I take in the cultural explosion.  What can only be a Sasquatch is standing near the river in a heated conversation with a Centaur.  That’s not good.  Isla said the Centaurs and Sasquatch have been at war for years.  I should check this out.  I don’t want to see the river polluted with blood.

“Wait here a minute,” I say at the bottom of the stairs. 
When I get closer, I see Isla has beat me to it and is already trying to mediate.  The Sasquatch is so hairy, I couldn’t see Isla on the other side of him.  Or her.  I can’t tell.  I expected a monster but instead, the Sasquatch has silky, snow white hair over its entire body except its face.  With high cheek bones, full, pouty lips and an aquiline nose between deep yellow eyes, it’s the perfect model of androgyny.  Beautiful without any overtures toward either gender. 

“You agreed to a truce,” Isla is saying for what I suspect is not the first time.

Catching her eye, I ask, “Can I help?”

Before she can respond, the
Centaur clomps a heavy foot down and demands, “Who are you to interrupt our private conversation?”  I guess he and I aren’t going to be besties. 

Before I can say anything to make the situation worse, Isla says, “This is Xandra.  It is her
doppelgänger who is wreaking havoc in our universe.”

Hmm, I’m not sure that helped the situation any more than anything I would have said.  Not knowing what to say next, I go with, “Yeah, sorry about that.  Apparently, I’m a real bitch in the other universe.”

Isla glares at me for my choice of words, but surprising all of us, the Centaur throws his head back and roars with laughter.  His laughter is contagious and the Sasquatch joins him.  Even Isla gets the tiniest of upward movement on her lips.  “So, now that we have that settled,” I say, “how about we each retreat to neutral ground before things get messy.”

This sobers them up.  Crossing his arms over his perfectly chiseled chest, something mythology back home got right, the
Centaur eyes his furry foe.  “Aye, that is for the best.”

“
For now,” the Sasquatch says in a silky voice which still doesn’t give me a clue to its gender.

It finally hits me that if the
Sasquatch is here, that means Kallen and Kegan are back.  Looking over my shoulder, I groan.  I have to figure out what to do with Grandpa and the others before I go searching for them.

Reading my mind, Isla says, “The King would like a word with your guests.”

I barely stifle another groan.  “Where is he?  Still in the throne room?”

“I believe he has retreated to his office.”

Oh good, there will be fewer witnesses when Dagda and my grandfather attempt to kill each other.  Motioning to Adriel and the rest, I indicate they should follow me.  It takes a few seconds for the others to respond as their eyes continue around the great hall.  Apparently there is a way for Dragons to come into the Palace because one with blue and green scales and who is much smaller than Ryu is near the far wall speaking to a Goblin.