Witch Fairy book 3 (20 page)

“Something comfortable, please.  Something I can run in if necessary.”  Not that I plan on running after anyone, but I might as well be prepared.

Tabitha nods and in an instant, I’m wearing jeans and a form fitting short sleeve shirt in a dark blue.  “Alright, you scoot now.  You are the queen of this party.  They cannot start without you.”

“Great, I got a promotion up from princess.”  I walk over to her and give her a big hug.  “Thank you for not being like most of the other Fairies.”  I’m not sure she knows what I mean by that, but she hugs me back anyway.

The air in the kitchen is practically sparking with unspoken accusations and tension.  Dagda is pacing like a wild cat, Kallen and Kegan are brooding against the far wall, and Isla is sitting at the counter with a suspicious gleam in her eyes.  I might as well be the match that lights the fire.  “I’m assuming that you didn’t make a general announcement as to where you were going today?”

Dagda stops pacing long enough to glower at me.  I expect a snarky response, but he’s actually civil.  “I left word that I would be retiring to the country house.  The only ones who knew where I was going were the five Fairies I brought with me.”

I try not to say it.  I try really, really hard not to say it.  “And as I said earlier, you cannot trust anyone right now.”  Okay, I failed.  I wondered why he is down here all alone.  I guess it has finally hit home how badly people want him dead.

“It is just as likely that they were aiming for you,” Dagda replies.

“True, it’s probably a package deal.”  He raises his brows almost up to his hairline.  I guess he didn’t think I’d agree with him.  “Now, we have to make sure they don’t succeed.”

I turn my eyes towards Isla, and she doesn’t disappoint me.  “It would be too much of a drain on Kallen, Dagda or myself to place a house this size in a circle and maintain it.”  That’s depressing, that was my only idea.  “There is, however, a spell I came across years ago that could be the answer.”

I’m surprised.  “You want to use Witch magic, not Fairy magic?”  Fairies can eventually become immune to an individual Witch’s magic if given enough time and exposure.

Isla must be reading my mind, because she says, “I believe your Witch magic is not as susceptible to Fairies as other Witches’ magic.  The particular spell I am considering is supposed to be worked by at least five Witches, but I believe you will be able to perform it alone.”

I frown.  “Where did you read about the spell?”  What I want to say is, ‘do you have any idea how terribly wrong my spells can go?’  I shift pleading eyes to Kallen, silently willing him to help me out.  He shakes his head a fraction, which changes my eyes from pleading to threatening.  He ignores me.  Yet another talk we need to have.  Kegan’s words come back to me about how often I’m annoyed with Kallen, but I push them to the back of my mind.

“I have a grimoire that was given to me by a dear old friend who happened to be a Witch.  She loved the study of ancient spells and the art of crafting, and kept records of spells that had long been abandoned as impossible.”

I narrow my eyes but I try to keep my face as neutral as possible.  “Are you saying that you want me to do a spell that hasn’t seen the light of day in forever, and was abandoned by modern Witches because it’s impossible to do?”

“Grandmother…” Kallen says but Isla gives him a look that says he better not object.  Great, I have to perform an impossible spell to keep us all safe.  We’re all screwed.

“Isla, I understand that Xandra is able to wield a tremendous amount of power, but she is still an inexperienced girl,” Dagda says.  I don’t know if I should be grateful that he stood up for me, or insulted at the implication in his words. 

“Um, what happens if I don’t get the spell correct?”

“We will be overrun by rabid spiders.”

She has to be kidding.  “You’re kidding, right?”

“No, I am not.” 

My heart drops out of my chest; I swear I feel it hit the floor and explode.  “I have to do an impossible spell that has something to do with
rabid spiders
?”

Isla smiles at the dismay flowing copiously from my mouth.  “The spiders will only become rabid if you do the spell incorrectly.”  Oh, that’s comforting.  “On a weight-to-strength ratio, spider silk is five times stronger than steel.  Given enough of it in one place, it could be strong enough to defend against bombs, fire and even cutting or ramming.”

“And a couple of spiders are going to provide this much protection?”  Dadga didn’t quite sound belligerent; but it’s awfully close.

“That would be ridiculous, now wouldn’t it?” Isla replies.  “It will take millions of spiders.”

“Millions.  Of spiders.  And I have to call them.”  I so did not sign up for this.  When Dad became a ghost, I quickly taught Zac to be the spider killer in the house.  I don’t go near the things.

I look over to Kallen for moral support and both he and Kegan are trying hard not to laugh.  I even catch a smirk on Dagda’s before he’s able to cover it up.  They won’t think it’s so funny when we get eaten alive by rabid spiders. 

Half an hour later, Isla has gathered the grimoire I need for the spell and the items that go with it.  I’m sitting glumly on the terrace anticipating the feeling of a million little spider mouths tearing at my skin.  So caught up in it, I jump when I feel a hand on my shoulder.  Instantly, I’m flooded with magic.

Kegan puts his hands up and backs away from me.  “Whoa, it is just me.  I thought maybe you needed cheering up. But if it is target practice you need, I will leave that to my cousin.”

“Yes, only the strong survive when Xandra uses her magic.  You would wither like the delicate flower you are,” Kallen says as he comes up behind Kegan and lightly punches him in the arm. 

Meanwhile, I try really hard to push the magic back down.  Out of the corner of my eye, I see Dagda watching me and I don’t like it; he’s creeping me out.  I shift my chair so I’m pointing farther in the opposite direction. 

Kegan and Kallen exchange a few more barbs, but Kallen backs off after a minute.  He comes over and kneels in front of me.  “I believe Kegan was right, you do look like you need some cheering up.”  He brings his lips to mine in a sweet, gentle kiss.

In a flash, his lips are gone.  I open my eyes to see him sprawled on the floor of the terrace with Dagda standing over him.  “You will not disrespect me by treating my daughter like that in front of me.”

Kallen rises to his feet with a rage and starts to go after Dagda, but I stand up quickly and step between them, putting my hand on Kallen’s chest.    “Kallen, please, let me handle this.”  He is full of magic and so is Dagda.  I’m not at all curious who would win this fight.

When I’m reasonably sure that Kallen is going to stay put, I round on Dagda.  “First of all, don’t ever refer to yourself as my father.  I have one of those and you are not him.  And secondly, if I want to kiss the guy I’m planning become
hand-fasted
with, you have absolutely nothing to say about it.”

“She is correct, Dagda,” Isla says and it’s his turn to be startled.  He should be on guard a little better than that with people trying to kill him.  Then again, so should I.  “The hand-fasting is to occur when this
situation
will not mar the festivities.”

Dagda looks even more pissed now.  “Then why have I not heard his petition for permission?”

“As High Chancellor, it is my job to hear petitions for hand-fasting, not the King’s.”

He better not say it.  I’ll be really pissed if he does.  “I am not speaking as King.  I am speaking as the girl’s father.”  Wow, he actually said it.

He seems surprised when he goes flying off the terrace.  I don’t know why.  I did warn him.  I walk to the wall and peer over it with my arms crossed over my chest.  Dagda is sprawled in the sand.  I think he got the wind knocked out of him.  “You really should start listening to what I say. 
You are not my father.
  Do not act like you are.” 

Dagda picks himself up.  “You are pushing me too far.”

I shrug.  “Thanks for sharing.”

Isla says softly behind me, “Xandra, tigers and sticks.”  A little louder, she says, “We are ready to begin.  Dagda, if you want to be inside of the protected area, I suggest you come back up here.”  Dagda glares at me as he’s brushing the sand off his clothes.  But, I ignore him and start to focus on spiders eating me again.

Amidst the spider horror show going on in my head, there’s a nagging at the back of my mind that I can’t shake.  I keep thinking that I forgot about something.  If I could just fig…crap.  “Um, Isla?”

She turns towards me.  “Yes?”

“I still have Rhiannon pinned to a chair in the sitting room.”

There’s a tiny tightening around her eyes.  Other than that, there’s no reaction to the news, other than saying, “Let her go so you can focus all of your magic on the spell.  I will ask Tabitha to see to her until we are finished here.”  Yeah, finished getting eaten by spiders.  On the bright side, it looks like Rhiannon will be eaten, too.

I walk to the edge of the terrace where Isla told me I need to stand.  Dagda passes me on his way up the stairs and I can see that he’s just itching to retaliate, but he doesn’t.  That could be because he sent his last two bodyguards home just in case they were the ones who ratted out his location.  There’s no cannon fodder between him and me, now.

Kallen and Kegan jog around from the back of the house where they were finishing up laying crystals.  These will give the spiders a starting point for their webs.  Isla lights four black candles and places them around me in the north, east, west and south positions.  And for some reason, she just happened to have a giant jar of bugs just lying around the house for the guys to spread out between the crystals.  Yeah, that’s not suspicious at all.  She could have just said that she had a vision that we would have to do this.  I just hope in the vision that I did it successfully.  I don’t want to die a spider death.

Isla places the ancient grimoire in my hands.  I almost drop it.  I didn’t realize the thing weighs like twenty pounds.  I try not to glare at her for not warning me that it’s heavy, but I don’t think I succeeded.  That’s okay; I’m think I’m a little overly sensitive right now.

The book is already open to the spell.  I read it over once in my head before speaking it out loud.  When I’m done, I look around to make sure everyone is inside the protected area.  Tabitha is inside dealing with Rhiannon, but everyone else is on the terrace.  With a deep, worried breath, I begin to say the spell.

“As the wind blows south, east, north, and west, I call my plea to you, the great mistress.  During this, my hour of need, as malicious forces come to feed, grant me your power and wisdom, as in this realm I create a schism, between virtuous and baneful, well-being and peril.  With sand and earth, crystal and flame, I offer a sacrifice in your name.” 

Isla hands me a small silver knife similar to Mom’s athame.  I use it to cut my arm until a stream of blood begins to run down over my hand.  And, yes, it hurts as much as I thought it would.  Ignoring the pain, I turn in a circle, letting the blood continue to flow, and I use it to douse each candle.

“Brightest day, turns to blackest night, guide me with your eternal light.  Magic black, I am forced to use, justified as thine enemy pursues.  An unnatural course of nature and time, your sacred creatures I will bind.  Bend their will to run this course, protect us from this evil force.  In your name, eight legged creatures I will hold fast, arachnids, I beg, answer this call for your next repast.  Bring your silk, more precious than gold, a fortress now, your gift will hold.  Nature has bestowed upon you the power; spin me a web in this darkest hour.  Your mighty strings will hold all at bay, only I may choose who will stay.  Hear my call, come to feast, leave your gift, your will unleashed.”