Witch Fairy book 3 (6 page)

Isla must have gotten over her irritation of finding Kallen and I both on the couch because she has a smile on her lips, and in her eyes, when she turns to me.  “Are you ready to bring us home?” she asks.

My brows knit together.  “What do you mean?”

“I mean, are you ready to open the realms for our return?”

Good lord, no one told me there’d be a pop quiz on magical abilities.  “Um, I’m not sure if I can do that.  I was drunk the last time I tore through the realms.”  On Fairy darts, not alcohol.  And does no one understand that I don’t always know how I’ve done things in the past?

“Nonsense, of course you can.”

Dad scowls at Isla and then floats between us with his back to her.  “You be careful, understand?  We love you and we expect you back in one piece.”

“Okay, Dad.”

Zac comes running in with Aunt Barb behind him.  “Xandra, can I come with you?” he demands as soon as he sees me.

I smile and shake my head.  “No, I’m sorry.  It’ll be too dangerous.”

His bottom lip comes out in a pout.  “You get to do all the fun stuff.”

That makes me laugh.  “Tell you what, when you’re my age, I’ll take you out on the most dangerous mission I can think of, okay?”  If I live that long, anyway.

Zac’s face brightens.  “You promise?”

“I promise.”

“Yeah!”  He throws his arms around me in a quick hug.  “You’re the best.  Good luck with the Fairies.”

“Thanks.  I’ll tell you all about it when I come home.”

“Okay.  I’m going back to my game now.”  With that, he tears back out of the room to get back to whatever video game he paused to say good-bye.

Everyone else gives me hugs, as well.  Aunt Barb’s and Grandma’s are considerably warmer than Mom and Dad’s, but I’m glad for all of them.  As Mom pulls back from her ghostly embrace, she winks at me.  “Remember what I said.”

I nod.  “I will.”

Dad pats Kallen on the back, or at least, it appears as if he does.  “You take care of my daughter.  Don’t let anything happen to her.”

“I will do my best.”

Dad smiles.  “I believe you will.”

“We really must be going now.  We are due back and I do not want anyone to worry.”  I think Isla has taken the ‘most impatient person’ trophy away from me.  And what does she mean by we’re due back?  Wow, she was really sure of herself that she’d be able to convince me to do this. 

“There are others who know I’m coming?”

Isla gives me a curt nod.  “You have been expected for quite some time by a select few.”

“You mean people you’ve shared your visions with?”  I don’t know why, but I’m starting to get annoyed with her.  I feel as if I’ve been expertly manipulated and I don’t like it.  And it definitely feels like an invasion of privacy that others may know what I’m going to do next when I don’t know that.

She inclines her head.  “Yes.”

I’m about to say something but Kallen interrupts, trying to head off the argument he can see brewing.  “It will be fine.  Grandmother would not have shared anything with someone she did not trust wholeheartedly.”

Glad he’s that confident in her because I’m not.  I know I sound snarky when I say, “Fine, let’s go meet the Fairies who want to kill me this time.”

Isla narrows her eyes at me briefly, but she doesn’t say anything.  Instead, she turns on her heel and walks out the door, fully expecting us to follow.  And we do, of course.

Chapter 5

Isla stops just outside the door and Kallen and I almost run into her.  “Alright, Xandra.  Take my hand.”  She holds her right hand out to me since Kallen is on the other side of me.  I know I shouldn’t be reluctant, but she has been kind of aggravating the past couple of days.  Still, I place my hand in hers anyway.  “Now, I will send you an image of where we need to end up.  Keep that image in mind while you open a passage to the Fae realm.”

I don’t know if I’m supposed to close my eyes, but I do.  That way I won’t have to see her face right away if I don’t get this right.  Yeah, I admit it, I’m a little insecure.  But I’m working on that.

When the image hits my mind, it jolts me back to what I should be thinking about.  The image is crystal clear, as if it’s my own memory.  I had no idea that Isla had the ability to do this.  Then again, Kallen has the ability to send other Fairies verbal messages with his mind.  Focusing on the image, I reach out in front of me and wrap my fingers around an imaginary tear in the wall of our realm.  I pull it back towards me as if ripping paper.  I keep going until I’m sure that I’ve pulled it back far enough.

Several gasps cause me to open my eyes.  Before us is a large opening in the fabric of the woods.  Where there should be driveway and large trees, there’s suddenly a beach with what appears to be the ocean behind it.  The exact image that Isla had sent to me with her mind.  I did it.  I can’t believe I actually did it.  Sober, even.

Isla turns a proud face to me.  “Perfect.  Shall we?”  She gestures toward the Fairy realm.

I’m not completely sure I’m ready for this, but I nod anyway.  With a last look at Mom and Dad, I take a step forward – then I stop abruptly and Isla runs into me.  Now she looks annoyed, not proud. 

“I almost forgot.”  I reach my hand out and run it through the passageway and the air shimmers around my touch.  The shimmering turns into ripples that are rapidly receding towards the edges of the opening.  Looking back at Isla, I say, “It would have burned us if I hadn’t cleared the residue.”  I’m not sure what else to call it, but it burned the Fairies I sent through it before.  I’d rather make it to the Fairy realm unscathed; not covered in painful blisters.  “It should be okay now.”

Kallen and Isla look at me expectantly.  I suppose I should be the first one to try it.  Tentatively, I put one foot forward through the opening.  When I’m not scalded, I move forward as the woods disappear and there’s sand and ocean as far as I can see.  I turn back towards Kallen and Isla with a smile.  They both step forward, Kallen more nervously than Isla, and pass through.  With a final wave to everyone I’m leaving behind, I pull the seams of the realm back together and then my world is gone.

Okay, I know I didn’t really have a clear picture of what I expected from this realm, but this definitely wasn’t it.  Maybe there was a little part of me, way in the back of my mind, that expected Fairies to live in tree houses or caves or something.  But, as I turn slowly away from the ocean, a great stone mansion comes into view.  Only, it’s not like a mansion that would be in my realm.  This one is open and airy with several tiers that all include terraces full of flora, and breezy curtains over doorways leading deeper into its depths.  The stone finish is whitewashed and bright; inviting you inside with a warm welcome.  This is definitely not a tree house.  Behind the house, though, is a forest of trees and giant cliffs stretching as far as the eye can see.  There’s not a tree house or cave in sight.  There’s not even another house to be seen anywhere.  Isla’s house must be fairly secluded.

I know my mouth is hanging open when I turn back to Kallen and Isla.  Kallen must have known that I’d be blown away because he has a huge grin on his face.  “Is this the palace?” I ask.

Isla smiles and shakes her head.  “No, this is our humble home.”  She said humble, but the pride in her eyes tells me she knows the house is anything but that.

“Come on,” Kallen says as he takes my hand in his.  “I will show you around.”

“Put her things in the yellow room,” Isla tells him as she walks on ahead of us.  “She will have a lovely view of the sun setting each night.”

When she is out of ear shot, Kallen leans down and says quietly, “It is also the farthest room from mine.”

I giggle.  “Yeah, I think our days of being able to sleep together are over.”

“Do not give up so soon.  I can be rather stealthy when I need to be.”  He gives my hand a squeeze and winks at me.  I just bet he can be.

Wooden steps are built into the sand and lead to the first tier of the house.  The closer I get, the more beautiful it becomes.  There are potted plants everywhere and ivy fighting for space on the terrace walls.  A large marble table, polished to a shine, sits just off to the side with four comfortable looking chairs around it for alfresco dining.  There is a fruit basket in the middle with fresh, ripe apples, oranges and bananas.  I wonder if those were laid out by whoever is expecting our return.

Pushing back the sheer silk curtain, Kallen leads me into a spacious area that must be the largest living room I’ve ever seen.  Okay, I haven’t gotten out of the mountains much, but it’s bigger than I’ve ever seen on television or in the movies.  There are overstuffed couches and chairs scattered around the room in cozy patterns, and a large, soft white rug of fur in front of the fire place.  But considering how warm it is here, I doubt there’s much need for a fire.  Isla must have moved on to a different part of the house because she’s nowhere to be seen in the enormous room.

“Where are we?” I ask Kallen.

He gives me a funny look.  “We are in my home.”

I roll my eyes.  “I mean, where are we in the world?  We obviously aren’t in Colorado anymore.”

“Ah.”  He seems to think about it a moment and then says, “We are near what you would call northern Australia.”

I huge grin spreads over my face.  “So, the water is warm enough for swimming?”

“Yes.”  He leans forward to whisper in my ear.  “Fairies prefer to swim sky-clad.”

A rush of heat moves into my cheeks as I think about swimming naked with him.  I swat at him as he chuckles.  I would say something, but my lips don’t seem to be able to make words.  Maybe that’s because I’m still thinking about him lying sky-clad in the snow yesterday.  Something I’d very much like to see again.

The brief silence is ended by the sound of something whizzing through the air.  Kallen whirls around as a shimmering circle of magic surrounds me.  Simultaneously, a loaded crossbow appears in his hand, and it doesn’t stay loaded long.  The arrow is shot forward towards a masked man wearing all black; the same man that had shot the arrow that is now sticking out of the wall behind me.

As I watch, stunned into inaction, both Kallen and his attacker dissolve the crossbows in their hands in favor of broad swords.  The clink of steel on steel snaps me out of my stupor.  Kallen is a master with the sword as he forces his attacker towards a corner.  I think he has him but in a lightning fast move, the guy in black drops to the floor and does a somersault, landing on the other side of Kallen.  Kallen whips around but is half a second too slow and the tip of his attacker’s sword comes dangerously close to his chest.  Close enough for a tear to form in his t-shirt and a narrow line of blood to appear on his chest. 

But that doesn’t slow him down at all.  With an arm that moves faster than I would have thought it could, he lunges and parries until his attacker is once again forced into having his back against the wall.  This time, Kallen is ready for him when he tries to roll and he catches the guy’s chin with the tip of his sword.  “I do not think so,” he tells him, the exertion of the last few minutes evident by his heavy breathing.  A smug smile forms on his face.  “Looks like I win.”

What Kallen doesn’t see as he looks smugly into his attacker’s eyes, is the gleam of steel next to the man’s thigh.  He has a small dagger and he’s about to jab it into Kallen’s leg.  It’s time for me to stop watching and start helping.  Stepping forward, I leave the protection circle Kallen had thrown up around me.

A gasp tells me that the attacker had probably not seen me before he attacked Kallen.  Which means to him, I just walked out of thin air.  Pulling magic from the earth, it floods me with overwhelming power, power that shoots from my pores as I struggle to contain it; power that brings me to my knees as I prepare to send it forth.  The target clear in my mind, the magic surges forward, leaving me gasping as it exits my body.

“Xandra, no!” Kallen screams and he’s on top of me, knocking me down on my back, panic etched into his face.  “Stop, he was not going to hurt me!”

What does he mean, he wasn’t going to hurt him?  I saw the arrows and the swords.  I saw the steel gleam of the dagger.  Of course he was going to hurt him.

A scream of agony from the corner of the room tells me that my magic has found its target.  Satisfaction fills my soul knowing that I protected the guy I love.  That is, until he grabs my chin with his hand and forces my attention to focus on him.  “Stop it!” he practically screams.  “He is my cousin.”

“Cousin?  Why is your cousin trying to kill you?” I ask even though he’s squeezing my cheeks together.  I steal a peek into the corner where Kallen’s attacker is writhing in pain in now silent screams.

“He was not trying to kill me.  We do this all the time.”

“Do what all the time?”  I am so confused.

Between a clenched jaw, he says, “If you will stop torturing him, I will explain.”

You know, he’s not very grateful that I’m willing to protect him.  “Fine,” I snap.  I pull my magic back and I gasp at the impact of it.  I struggle to push it back to earth as quickly as possible, afraid it’s going to slip easily out of my control.

When it’s finally gone, Kallen rolls away from me.  He’s lying on his back taking deep breaths and it takes him a moment to speak.  Finally, he turns toward me and says, “Magic is stronger here.  There is less interference.”

“What do you mean?”  I’m holding my chest that still burns a little from pulling the magic through me.

“I mean, without all the pollution and chemicals that exist in your realm, magic here is not diluted.  What would have injured someone in your realm, will kill someone here.”  He’s still panting slightly as he sits and then stands up.  Walking over to the corner where his attacker is still in a fetal position, he kneels down next to him and the mask on his face disappears.  I’m shocked to see what could very well be a mirror image of Kallen.

Pushing myself up from the floor, I walk over next to him.  “Who is he?”

Kallen frowns up at me.  “I have already told you.  He is my cousin.”

“He doesn’t have a name?  And why would your cousin attack you?”

He narrows his eyes.  “Because we have trained together since we were children.  I probably would have done the same thing if he had returned home after a journey.  It is what we do.”

I sigh in exasperation.  “Wouldn’t it be nicer just to say hello?”

The look on his face tells me I don’t want to know what he’s thinking right this moment.  Fortunately, I’m saved from having to say anything as a groan floats up from the limp body of his cousin.  “What happened?” he asks as he rolls over onto his back with his eyes firmly closed.  I would imagine he still has a headache, amongst other pain, from all the magic I pushed into him.  “What did you hit me with?”