Blood Prophecy (Witch Fairy) (13 page)

Chapter 10

“Where on earth did you get that?” Mom asks.

“From Grandpa.  It’s a little present from Annika.  I don’t think it looks anything like me.”

“It is much prettier than you are,” Kallen teases and I throw the doll at him which he catches easily with one hand with a laugh. 

Ignoring him and turning my attention back to Mom and Grandma, I explain.  “He stole a picture of me while he was here.  Grandma was right; he is a sneaky old man.”

Grandma raises her eyebrows.  “I do not remember saying he was old.”

A little color rushes to my cheeks.  I guess she would be around the same age as him.  “Anyway, he’s outside.”

Now, they’re all shocked again.  “He’s here?  Now?” Dad asks looking furious.

I nod.  “Yup, he’s down the road a little bit.  I’m thinking he can sense the protection spell.  He’s probably trying to figure out how to get around it.”

“You talked to him?” Kallen asks looking up from his study of the likeness.

“Yeah.  He tried to bend my will to him using that thing.”

He smiles proudly at me.  “Obviously, with no success.” 

“Do I get a gold star?” I tease.

“Perhaps,” he says with a promise in his voice that tells me he’s thinking more of kissing me than giving me a gold star.  My cheeks have turned pink again.

“I have a few things I’d like to say to the man myself,” Dad growls and heads towards the front of the house.

“Jim, no, you can’t,” Mom says and quickly follows him.  I can hear them arguing in hushed voices in the living room.  I can’t remember the last time I heard them argue.  I hate what this is doing to all of us.

The phone rings, bringing my parents back into the room.  They both still look angry but they don’t want to miss this phone call.  There’s really no doubt in anyone’s mind as to who it must be.  “Answer,” Dad snarls at the phone.  “What do you want, Sveargith?”

“Jim?” a feminine voice says in confusion.

Relief washes over Dad’s face.  It’s my Aunt Barb.  “Barb, sorry, I thought you were someone else.”

“I’m glad I’m not, because you seem awfully upset with whoever you thought it was going to be.  I just wanted to check in.  Is Xandra okay?”

“Hi, Aunt Barb.  I’m fine.”  I can imagine her sitting at the kitchen table of the apartment she has in Denver for when she has to stay over.  Usually, it’s because of work, not because a magical war is about to take place in the mountains.  My brother is probably in the other room glued to a video game.

“Oh, honey, it’s so good to hear your voice!  How did things go with that awful young man?”

Dad can’t hold back a snicker and Mom covers her mouth to hide her smile.  Kallen looks at me with raised brows, almost like a challenge to say something derogatory.  “Um, turns out he wasn’t so bad,” I say and Kallen’s eyebrows are practically at his hair line now.  “Actually, I kind of like him.”  I’m stammering.  Between Mom and Dad and Kallen, I can’t really concentrate on what I’m saying.

“You do?  Well, I guess that’s not too surprising.  He was a handsome young man.”

“Uh, Aunt Barb, he’s right here.”

“Oh, Xandra!  Why didn’t you tell me that?”  She’s obviously embarrassed now.  And now it’s Kallen’s turn to snicker.

How was I supposed to know she was going to talk about his looks?  “Sorry, Aunt Barb.  Things are a little crazy around here with Grandpa wanting to kill me and all.”

“What?!  Jim, Julienne, what’s going on there?  Is she serious?  I thought Fairies were after her.”

“She took care of them,” Mom says sadly, “and then my father decided he didn’t like the amount of power she has.”

You can almost hear Aunt Barb shake her head.  “Unbelievable.  You know, I’m still having a hard time with all this magic stuff.  But your son is here chomping at the bit, ready to get home and in the middle of it all.  I take it you want me to stay put with Zac here in Denver?”

“Yes,” Dad says firmly.  “The farther away from all this you two are the better.”

“Alright.  Keep us posted.”

“Of course, give Zac my love,” Mom says as they ring off.  I bet if she could shed ghost tears, there would be some falling down her cheeks.  She looks so sad it about breaks my heart.  She must wonder if she’s ever going to see them again.  Yeah, me too.

The teasing atmosphere from a few minutes ago is gone as Aunt Barb’s phone call dragged to the front of all of our minds what we’re facing and what’s at stake.  I need to change the subject.  “Grandma, is it the spell or me that’s making it so their magic doesn’t work on me?”

She looks thoughtful for a moment.  “Honestly, I don’t know.  I would suspect that the protection spell is doing most of that, but you are a powerful being.  You may have some natural defenses against their magic.”

I hope so because these people are determined.  The phone rings before I can say that out loud.  We all look at each other.  It has to be Grandpa this time and nobody wants to answer, so we’re all riveted to our spots with our mouths closed. 

After five rings, Dad finally says, “Answer.”

“Athear, are you there?”

A sigh of pure disgust leaves Grandma.  I don’t think she’s going to answer him.  So, I do.  “She’s here but she doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“I demand she come to phone so I can be sure you haven’t harmed her.”

“You aren’t in a position to
demand
anything.”  Dad is really fuming now.  Good thing he’s not able to wield sharp objects anymore.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Sveargith, I’m right here,” Grandma huffs.

“Are you alright?”

“Better than I’ve been in eighteen years.”  Ouch, that’s gotta make Grandpa feel pretty low.

“I’ve tried everything in my power to make you happy these last years, even when I finally admitted staying out of your life was really what you wanted.  But I still care about you and I’m worried for your safety.”

Grandma narrows her eyes at the phone even though Grandpa can’t see her.  “I’m sure you’ve had plenty of company to keep you from worrying too much about caring for me.”

Grandpa’s reply is indignant.  “I have been faithful to you for forty years.”  Yeah, Grandma looks like she believes that one.  With a Seductress as an advisor?  Again, even I’m not that naïve.  And again, eew, to the Grandpa dating image.  Especially since I’ve seen Maeva – Grandma’s way prettier.

By the looks on everyone’s faces, we’ve all heard enough of this conversation to make us feel mighty uncomfortable.  Kallen is the first one to say so.  “Perhaps this is a conversation best had in private.” 

Grandma blushes but says towards the phone, “He’s right.  This is not the time or place for this conversation.  We’ve had it a thousand times already.  Unless you are willing to come to a peaceful understanding, there is nothing left to say.”

“Please remember, Athear.  You forced my hand.”  Grandpa utters an oath and hangs up, leaving us in an awkward silence. 

“Um, what do you think he meant by that?” I ask but I’m not sure I truly want to know.

Grandma shakes her head wearily.  “I don’t know.  Your grandfather is a skilled Witch; it would be difficult to guess what he will try.”

“Is he skilled enough to get through the protection circles?”

I see the word no forming on Grandma’s lips but they’re moving in slow motion as the walls of the kitchen start sliding forward.  It seems to take my mind forever to figure out that it’s not the walls that are moving, it’s me.  I’m travelling backwards as my chair falls to the floor and a searing pain bursts from my abdomen, spreading like wildfire to the very tips of my fingers and toes.  Kallen has jumped down from the counter with a look of panic on his face as he reaches out for me, but he’s not quick enough, and I feel my head and back smack hard against the far wall, and the sickening metallic taste at the back of my throat must be blood.

Grandma and Mom rush from the room as Kallen drops to his knees next to me.  Dad is looking at me over his shoulder, and he becomes a shade paler as I feel blood slide over my bottom lip and onto my chin.  Even amongst the pain, it strikes me as odd that Dad would be bothered by the sight of blood.  He was a doctor, after all.  Unless it’s just the fact that it’s my blood that bothers him.

“Xandra, what happened?” Kallen’s asking me as the room, sound and time suddenly start moving in synchronization again overloading my senses even more.

“I don’t know,” I say the best I can around a mouth full of blood.

Grandma’s back now and she’s kneeling in front of me.  She has that awful clay stuff and she’s putting it on my forehead, but I can’t smell it this time because I’m pretty sure there’s blood in my nose.  I’m afraid to close my eyes, even though they’re burning from strain, the pain might consume my soul if I do.

“Xandra, you have to repeat after me – ‘I am your chalice, you are my shield, Divine power only you wield, please take from me the pain I feel, with Divine mercy my fate you seal.’”

Somehow, I manage to get the words past my lips as I try to swallow back the blood.  As the last words leave me, the pain intensifies to a crescendo and a blinding light encompasses me, forcing my eyes to close against my will, and then it’s gone.  The pain is gone.  The light is gone.  I’m sitting on the floor of the kitchen with Kallen looking frightened, which I’ve never seen before, and Grandma looking relieved.

That is, until Kallen turns to her with fury in his eyes.  “What just happened to her?  What have you done?”

Grandma’s skin flushes green as she sits face to face with one of the most powerful Fairies alive, and all of his anger is now directed towards her.  “I have never seen a bond like this before.  She is
physically
connected to the protection circle.”

“What does that mean?” Kallen demands.  As I’m lying against the wall reveling in being pain free, he’s getting ready to choke my grandmother.  I can see his hands twitching, ready to strike. 

“I think it means she was just hit by a car,” Mom says quietly from the doorway and all eyes zoom to her.

Dad looks seriously confused.  “Julienne, what are you talking about?”

“My father drove his car into the protection circle.  If Xandra is physically attached to the spell, then it’s as if she was hit by his car.”  Hmm, that would explain the blood.  And the pain.  Grandpa’s a real ass.

Grandma gasps and puts her hand over her mouth.  “No,” she whispers.  Mostly to herself, I think.  “He wouldn’t.”

“Was that your plan, Athear?  Connect my daughter to this spell so your husband could kill her easier?”  I’ve never heard Dad shout before.  And I’m amazed at how much anger and hatred he can put into his words.  I want my old, carefree dad back.

Grandma shakes her head as she pulls her hand from her mouth.  “I swear to you, this is a mistake.  I didn’t know that she’d become so ensconced in the spell.  This is unprecedented.”

“How do we fix this?” Kallen snarls and I reach out to take his hand before he can accost Grandma.  She is the only person who knows how this works, after all.

“I-I don’t know.”  Grandma looks so lost that my heart goes out to her.  Dad’s and Kallen’s, on the other hand, not so much.

Dad has a finger pointed in her face and she backs up an inch or two so his cold hand doesn’t touch her skin.  “You’re a liar!  Fix this, or so help me, I will spend the rest of my time on this plane making your life as miserable as you’re making my daughter’s.”