Shadow Blood: Kallen's Tale (Witch Fairy #4.5) (8 page)

Who wants to keep things from going in certain directions?  Her, obviously.  I shake my head and reference her earlier behavior.  “Oh, how fickle you are.” 

That earns me a splash of bubbly water in the face.  With deep regret, I make her a bikini.  A very small bikini.  “Better?”

“Much,” she says, making her way back to my lap. 

This time, she straddles me and wraps her arms around my neck.  This is not a good way to ensure good behavior on my part.  Regardless, I put my arms around her waist and pull her even closer.  “How much better?” I ask as my lips begin to work a path from behind her ear to her jaw.  I feel goose bumps rise on her skin despite the warm water.   

With hands on my cheeks, she guides my lips to hers.  Her gentle kiss grows like wildfire and every part of my body is telling me how much I want her.  When she presses her chest tightly against mine and reaches behind her back to untie the string holding her bikini together, I almost lose all self-control.  She leans back just a little.  Just enough for my hands to find her naked skin.  She gasps in pleasure when I do and arches her back, offering the perfection of her body to me. 

And now she is across the room.  Neither my body nor my mind is happy about that.  What the hell?

Chapter 12

Out loud, I say, “What the hell?  How and why are you over there?”

With an apologetic look, she says over her shoulder, “I’ll explain later.” She tears open the bathing room door and disappears.  I have no idea what happened, but I know it cannot be good for her to be acting like this. 

Drying and dressing myself with magic as I chase out after her, I finally catch up.  I grab her arm and stop her forward motion.  “Xandra, what is going on?”

In a voice she has never used with me, she says, “Kallen, I need you to let go of me.”  The steel in her voice tells me there is no time for explanations right now.  I drop my hand from her arm and follow her into her brother’s room. 

There, sprawled on the floor with blood oozing from his head, is Zac.  His head has received some serious blunt force trauma.  I do not even know if he is still alive.  He is quite small to have lost that much blood. 

Xandra rushes to his side, ignoring the large book lying next to him and begins to heal him.  From the looks of things, his injuries are fresh.  Very fresh.  How did she know he was hurt?  When I look closer at Zac, I can see the gentle rise and fall of his breathing.  We are not too late. 

Kneeling down next to her, I ask, “Xandra, what can I do?  I have sent a message to Grandmother.  Can I do more?”

She shakes her head as silent tears make paths down her pale cheeks.  Zac is in her lap and the healing process has begun.  Thank god she is able to do this.  I do not believe Tabitha’s impressive healing powers would have stood a chance in this situation. 

It is amazing to watch Xandra’s power at work as Zac’s head begins to heal.  It is just a moment before the gaping point of impact is knitting itself back together.  After that, it does not take long before he stirs in her arms.  Xandra is so focused on what she is doing she is completely oblivious to the fact that a large audience has formed in the room, watching in awe as she works her magic.

When Zac opens his eyes, he and Xandra are rushed by two worried spirits.  A group family hug takes place when Zac is able to open his eyes again.  His face turns even paler as the cold of his parents seeps into his little body.

For the very first time, Xandra pays attention to the woman on the floor a short distance from her brother.  Turning to Tabitha, she says, “Will you please look him over to be sure I’ve healed everything?”  Her voice has an eerie calmness to it that I have to admit scares me a little.  Not for myself, but for Alita.  She is the other unconscious body in the room.

Blocking her path, I say, “Xandra, there has to be an explanation other than what the scene implies.  Alita never would have done such a thing.”

“Kallen is correct,” Grandmother says from my side where she can help block Alita from Xandra. 

There is no belief in Xandra’s eyes, only anger.  With a gust of magic, she tosses Grandmother and me out of the way as if we are no more than a stray cat hair she is flicking from her shirt.  We are surrounded by magical walls holding us in place.  Situations like this are the only time that I resent the fact that Xandra is more powerful than me.  I am now rendered useless in defending Alita and possibly saving her life.

Tabitha attempts to reason with her.  “Xandra, you must listen to them!”  Xandra’s response is to take Tabitha’s voice away. 

An eerie half smile touches Xandra’s lips as she stands over Alita.  I feel the magic as it first floods Xandra’s body and her face turns to stone.  With no emotion other than anger, she sends her magic out.

In the bravest act I have ever seen from Kegan, he shouts, “Xandra, NO!”  He knocks her to the floor and then covers Alita’s body with his.  With Xandra’s current state of mind, I do not believe this is anything more than a minor annoyance.  She could fling him across the room with barely a thought. 

In a voice made of pure titanium, she says, “Kegan, I don’t want to hurt you, but I am not going to let her get away with hurting my brother.” 

Every second adds another brick around Xandra’s mind, making it blind to the obvious.  I have to find a way to stop her before she does something she will regret forever.  “Xandra, she could not have done this.  Alita does not have a mean bone in her body.  Please, before you do anything rash, wait until we hear her side of the story.  If she truly did this, I will hold her still so you can torture her to your heart’s content.”  She knows this last part is a lie, but she pulls back her magic nonetheless.  Thank god.  This tells me that she knows in her heart that Alita is as innocent as she appears in her unconscious state.

“Xandra,” Zac says quietly.  “It wasn’t her.”

Xandra’s shoulders slump in relief and disappointment as her mind wraps around the truth.  Alita is her best friend; I can tell how desperately she did not want it to be her.  On the other hand, that means someone else in this house is responsible which is a daunting thought.  “Then who?” she asks her brother.  Zac is in the middle of avoiding Tabitha’s administrations and is only able to shrug his shoulders as he attempts to scramble out of her reach. 

“Xandra, dear,” Grandmother’s voice cuts through the air.  “If you do not mind, I would like to make sure that Alita is not also in need of medical attention.”

Guilt crawls onto Xandra’s face as she realizes that Alita may also be in need of healing.  Immediately, she lets go of the magic holding Grandmother and me in place so Grandmother can rush to Alita’s side.  Kegan unwraps himself from around her so that Grandmother can do what she needs to do.  She begins to examine her, moving her limbs about, feeling her forehead.  Then she smells her breath.  That is not a good thing.  She is checking for signs of poison.

Her eyes look defeated when she looks up.  “It is zyleakia poisoning.  It has progressed too far for an antitoxin.”  When zyleakia poison is in the lungs, the breath of the victim has a very distinct, bitter smell.  When it has reached this point, it is too late to recover from it.

Xandra is confused.  “What is zyleakia?”

I put my hand on her shoulder and turn her towards me.  “It is a vine with deep purple leaves that are lethal.  Zyleakia is one of the poisons used in deadly Fairy darts.”  Some Fairy darts are only meant to slow a foe down.  Zyleakia would not be used in one of these.

Shaking my hand off, Xandra kneels next to Alita.  Grandmother says, “Xandra, it is too…” but she holds her hand up to stop her.

I know what Xandra is going to do and I have no doubt that it is going to work.  “Grandmother, I believe Xandra knows what she is doing.”  After a second, Grandmother nods and then steps back from Alita.

Xandra’s magic shoots forward and Alita’s body is sent into convulsions from the onslaught.  Kegan attempts to rush forward again, fearing that Alita is in danger, but I grip his arm tightly, keeping him from interfering.  It is hard to watch as Xandra’s magic moves through Alita, burning the poison from her blood.  At this point, I am not sure what will be harder for Alita to survive – the poison or the magic.  But I know that Xandra will do her best to cause as little harm as possible.

I feel the poison in the air as Xandra’s magic pulls it from Alita’s body.  It is not until I see the look of resignation on Xandra’s face that I realize the dilemma she is now facing.  She could not destroy the poison inside of Alita because Alita’s body is not strong enough to have that much magic rush through her.  She could only pull it out.  And now, she has to put it somewhere so she can destroy it.  She cannot possibly mean to do what I think she is considering.  She does.

“Son of a…!” are the words that choke through her mouth as the poison enters her system.

Is she insane?  We could have found another alternative.  Why is she always so rash?  She has no idea how strong this poison is.  “Xandra, what have you done?” I shout as I try to catch her before she falls but I am not fast enough.  She is now lying in a heap on the floor.

“I’m in pain, not deaf,” she grumbles as an enormous amount of magic swirls through her body and begins to burn the poison in her veins.  Her face is contorted in pain and if she did not look so miserable, I would kill her for doing this to herself.

I have no idea what to do for her.  I reach out to touch her but she pulls away from me.  My touch only increased the pain as her body is wracked with fiery blood.  She definitely knows how to make me feel helpless.  I would have gladly taken the poison inside of me instead of her being the one in pain.

In the blink of an eye, her Angel wings are on her back with a distinct black feather mixed in amongst the white ones.  And for the second time tonight, she is not where she was half a second ago.  I find myself being less and less shocked by her Angel powers.

Chapter 13

Kegan helps Alita to a sitting position when the shock of Xandra’s magic wears off.  She is still a little green but she will be fine.  Looking up at Xandra, she says, “I am sorry I could not do more to save him.”

Xandra kneels down next to her trying to keep the guilt off her face.  It was only a few minutes ago that she was ready to end Alita’s life.  Or at least maim her a little.  Taking Alita’s hand, she says, “I’m sure you tried your best.  What happened?”  She is not succeeding in hiding her guilt in either her expression or voice.

Alita is not any better.  Her face is a terrarium housing nothing but guilt.  “I had gone down to the kitchen to make some tea and came back upstairs to read more.  The tea tasted a little bitter, but I assumed I simply had not put enough sugar in it.  After several sips, I began to feel weak and dizzy.  My eyes would not focus.  I vaguely remember someone picking me up off the floor and carrying me in here.  I could not see the person’s face, it was covered I believe.  I saw your brother lying on the floor with blood around him.  I remember nothing after that.”  She bows her head and her short, black hair nearly covers her face.

Alita’s words are not lost on any of us.  “Zac’s fine and there was nothing you could have done to prevent this.  But, you’re saying that
you
made the tea that had the poison in it?” Xandra asks.

Grandmother and Tabitha both start their day with a cup of tea.  If Alita had not tried it first, it would have been them who were poisoned.  I do not know if Xandra would have been able to heal both of them, if she came upon them soon enough. 

Alita looks up at Xandra, meeting her eyes for the first time since she regained consciousness.  “Yes, I made it.”  She looks at Tabitha.  “It was the tea from the green jar.” 

Tabitha nods curtly.  “I will see to its disposal.”  She looks to Grandmother and they have one of their non-verbal discussions before Tabitha leaves the room to find the poisonous tea. 

“Kegan, please help Alita back to her room.  Kallen, I would like you to accompany me as I search the house and grounds.” 

I would much rather stay with Xandra, but Grandmother is right.  She and I are the best for this task.  Xandra has her wings that should not be seen and she does not know the grounds like Grandmother and I do.  I nod in agreement.

“What can I do?” Xandra asks.

Grandmother tilts her head and gives Xandra’s wings a pointed look.  “I believe that your wings will be better kept inside at the moment.  Perhaps your place is here, with your parents and brother.  I fear that Zac was not the only target.” 

Her words are seeping into Xandra’s mind and for the first time I believe, Xandra is realizing that Zac truly may not be the only target.  But she is not completely convinced.  “Why go after Zac and frame Alita if I’m the target?”

Her mother lays a ghostly hand on her shoulder and goose bumps form on Xandra’s arm.  “It could be that whoever this is wants to hurt you as much as possible before coming after you directly.”

Xandra shakes her head and sighs.  “I guess that makes sense.”  She flops down on the floor like a jelly fish.  “I’ll be here if you guys need help.”

I can feel the anger roiling around inside of her; mixing with her magic.  Never a good combination.  I already pity whoever did this.  If Xandra unleashes that mixture on them, they will wish they had jumped naked into a pool of lava with sand crabs clamped onto their naked bits.  I kneel down in front of her and place my hands gently on her cheeks.  “We will find who did this,” I say.