Blood of the Exiled (Witch Fairy Book 10) (21 page)

The redheaded guy snorts and it surprises me when Grandpa glares at him.
 
“You will show the Queen respect.”
 
Yeah, he has the hots for Tana alright.

Tana gives him a soft smile.
 
“Thank you.”
 

Is she batting her eyes?
 
She is!
 
No, no, no mental images of the two of them together, I tell my brain.
 
Like usual, it doesn’t listen.
 
“Moving on,” I hurry to say, wanting to think about anything else.
 
“There were a lot more security people here earlier.
 
Where are they?”

“I sent them home shortly after the King declared you would be his guests,” Gunnar says tightly.

I see.
 
They were only on hand to keep us out.
 
Once we were in, they lost their functionality.
 
Does that mean Gunnar doesn’t see us as a threat, or is he just resigned to the fact that we’ll do what we want and he can’t stop us no matter how many security Witches he has on hand?

Getting back on topic, I say, “We need to figure out who is responsible for the iron attack.”

“Gunnar?” Grandpa says to his head of security.
 
“Assuming it was not you, how did this happen under your watch?”
 
Um, I’m not assuming it wasn’t him.

Gunnar’s mouth is in a grim line.
 
“I do not know.
 
I would review the security feed, but all of our equipment has been fried.”
 
Kallen’s mouth is also in a grim line now.

Feeling defensive, I say, “Well, if you hadn’t decided to use your equipment to spy on us, there wouldn’t be a problem.”

“I assure you,” Gunnar growls, “I am not interested in watching any of you.”
 
Ouch.
 
So much for my ego.

Staring down Gunnar, Kallen asks, “Did you check for a magical signature?”

Genuine confusion reigns over Gunnar’s face.
 
“What?”

I roll my eyes while Kegan explains.
 
“At the point where the iron was introduced into the ventilation system, there should be evidence of the perpetrator’s magic.
 
Even if it wasn’t used to spread the iron.
 
You should be able to sense it.”

Aiden smirks.
 
“Are Fairies part blood hound?”

“Are Witches inept fools?” Kegan counters.

Aiden stands so fast his chair goes flying.
 
“There were no fools here until you arrived.”

Kegan takes a step towards him.
 
“It can be difficult to see what is literally right under your nose.”
 
This is going to hell fast.
 

Kallen steps between the two of them.
 
“Sit down,” he says to Aiden.
 
Or else is implied.

“Aiden.”
 
Grandpa’s order is terse and also has an implied ‘or else’ undertone.
 
To Kallen, he says, “If you are escorted to the area, can you determine who’s magical signature is there?”

Kallen nods.
 
“I will be able to detect it and then can compare it to the magic of the others in this room.”

“I will take him,” Mohana says.
 
Gee, the seductress wants to show my gorgeous husband the way.
 
What a surprise.

Sensing my thoughts, Kallen leans down and whispers in my ear so quietly no one else can hear, “There’s not enough magic in the universe.”
 
He gives my cheek a soft kiss, making my skin tingle.
 
Straightening, he gestures towards the door and says to Mohana, “After you.”

“Are we expected to simply sit here and wait for them to return?” Fatin drawls.
 

I raise a brow.
 
“Concerned about what they may find?”

His eyes narrow.
 
“If I wanted to kill you and your friends, I would make it look like an accident.”

 
Good to know.
 
I guess.
 
“Then, do you have any suspicions?”

Fatin’s lip curls.
 
“I can think of a number of people who may want to see you dead, but none that I believe are truly homicidal.”

Liar.
 
“Except you and every member of the previous Witan.”
                

Tana clears her throat and moves around me to take a seat at the table.
 
“Perhaps we should leave the past in the past,” she says with a small smile to Grandpa.
 
Again, kettle black.
 
She needs to take a little of her own advice.

Since Kallen isn’t here, Adriel steps up to physically restrain me from killing Tana.
 
She is surprisingly strong for a Fallen Angel.
 
Her fingers wrapped around my arm are like steel.
 
I take a deep breath and try to get my heartbeat back to normal.
 
What is Tana playing at?

“Excellent suggestion,” Grandpa agrees.
 
Of course he agrees.
 
He wouldn’t want his new crush to think he was still capable of parricide.
 
Weenie.

“Okay,” I snipe, “Fine.
 
Where was everyone tonight?
 
Why are you all here instead of your own houses?”

“Not that it is any of your business,” Sylar begins, making me want to slap her.
 
“We live here.”

That’s a surprise.
 
“All of you?”
 
Her ‘are you deaf or stupid’ look answers my question.
 
Okay, moving on.
 
“Have the Witan always lived with you?” I ask Grandpa.

Discomfort is making him squirm a little in his chair.
 
Or he has to pee.
 
Could be both.
 
“No, it has not always been this way.”

There is something he isn’t saying.
 
It’s obvious he doesn’t want all these Witches living here.
 
Then why doesn’t he kick them out?
 
I’m going to pursue this with him later, when we don’t have an audience.

“We are accomplishing nothing,” Gunnar says.

He’s right.
 
We’re not.
 
But, he’s still a jerk.
 
“You’re chief of security.
 
Providing it wasn’t you who did the iron thing, shouldn’t you be heading up this meeting?
 
You know, doing your job and all that?”

If looks could kill, I’d be road pizza right now.
 
“You haven’t really given me the opportunity, have you?”

This sniping back and forth isn’t going to get us anywhere.
 
Besides, he’s right.
 
“Fine, you take over.”
 
I try to sound gracious, I really do.
 
Unfortunately, it’s not in my nature when dealing with a jerk like him, so I come off as bitchy.

Taking me at my word, Gunnar stands up.
 
I nod to the rest of my party and we sit down at the table with the Witches.
 
I’m curious to see how he handles this.

“I need to know where you were this evening around the time of the attack.”
 
Didn’t I just say the same thing?
 
I must have mumbled that out loud because Gunnar glowers in my direction.

“I was taking a bath,” Sylar says.

“I was in my room reading,” Fatin replies.
 
He was probably reading up on how to kill someone and make it look like an accident.

Gunnar looks at Beren and Divina.
 
“We were taking a stroll around the property,” Beren says.

Yawning widely, Glinda says, “I was sleeping.”
 
Gunnar looks at the clock and then back to her.
 
It’s awfully early for her to have been in bed when it happened.
 
Feeling his doubt, she says, “I haven’t been sleeping well.
 
I was tired.”
 

Gunnar doesn’t believe her, but he moves on.
 
He turns to Aiden, who looks back at him with rage in his eyes.
 
“You think I did this?”

His anger doesn’t faze Gunnar at all.
 
“I need to know where
everyone
was.”
 
Hmm, trouble in paradise?

“I was doing a perimeter check, making sure the defensive spells are still strong after the
disturbance
this afternoon.”
 
That’s the first time I’ve been called a disturbance.
 
It’s a lot better than what some of the other beings I’ve met have called me.

Trying to move things along, Adriel says, “I was reading in my room and the rest of our party were finishing their dinner in the sitting room upstairs.”

Gunnar looks from Adriel to me.
 
“Is that true?”

Adriel’s eyes become blue flames.
 
Trying hard not to scoot my chair away from her growing rage, I say, “Um, Gunnar, you really shouldn’t imply that an Angel is lying.
 
They don’t respond well to that.”

Turning his gaze to Adriel again, Gunnar takes an unconscious step back.
 
“My apologies,” he says.
 
He’s not as stupid as I thought he was.
 
Adriel doesn’t respond with anything except the hateful stare she has trained on him.

Alita draws in a sharp breath and puts a hand to her temple.
 
Uh oh, someone’s in trouble.
 
I lean closer to her.
 
“Who?”
I ask, expecting her to point at Sylar again.

As if reading my mind, Sylar gets defensive.
 
“It is not me.”

Alita shakes her head then grimaces.
 
“No, not her.
 
No one in here.”
 
A cry is ripped from her and she slumps against Kegan, unable to hold herself up through the pain.
 
His arms wrap around her and he holds her tight, whispering calming words into her ear.
 
It doesn’t help.
 
In a heartbeat, she loses consciousness.

That’s when I see it.
 
Black smoke is slowly seeping in under the door.
 
“What the hell is that?” I ask the room in general.
 
Whatever it is, it’s powerful.
 
The back of my mind is vibrating now.

Tana mutters several oaths before saying, “From what I can tell, it is a breathless curse.”

Feeling snarky as the black smoke begins to rise in the room, I say, “I’m not up on my dark magic studies.
 
What is a breathless curse?”