04 Shadow Blood - Witch Fairy (9 page)

Isla sits at the head of the table, of course, and Tabitha usually sits at  the other end.  Kegan and Kallen usually sit across from each other.  My guess is they’re not allowed to sit next to each other.  Who knows what would happen then.  I sit next to Kallen and Kegan’s eyes light up when Alita takes the chair next to him.

“Can we eat?” Zac asks as he comes bounding into the room and sits in the chair next to mine.

Mom smiles indulgently.  “Almost,” she says.

Aunt Barb takes the seat next to Alita.  “What a lovely house you have,” she says to Isla. 

Isla inclines her head.  “Thank you.”

I’m focused on Kallen’s hand on my thigh, but out of the corner of my eye, I see Alita put her hand to her forehead.  Giving her all my attention now, I ask, “Alita, are you okay?”

She tries to nod, but stops abruptly because it obviously hurts.  “Perhaps I should lie down again,” she says softly.  Kegan gives a quick glance to Isla who nods her head.  Standing up, Kegan offers Alita her hand and puts a hand around her waist as she stands up unsteadily.  They make a slow exit as Alita looks like she’s going to fall down any minute.

“Poor girl,” Aunt Barb says.  “It would be awful to have such a delicate constitution.”

Delicate constitution?  She’s been in the Fae realm for a few hours and she’s already speaking like a grammar police fearing native.  “She’s not usually like this,” I say.  Aunt Barb gives me a doubting look which makes me feel defensive.  “She’s not,” I say more adamantly.

“Xandra, dear, I do not believe your aunt was trying to insult Alita,” Isla says like I’m a two year old.  It makes me want to fling a deviled banana lamb chop at her.  I refrain.  Barely.

Intoxicated by the delicious food, there’s very little conversation while we fill our plates and start eating.  I thought Zac would hesitate over the food since it’s nothing he’s ever had before; but, he shovels it in his mouth like he can’t get enough of it.  Around a bite of lamb, he says to me, “You smell funny.”

Everyone’s forks stop where they are.  Some in mouths, some half-way there.  I’d be mad, but his crinkled little nose tells me he’s not joking.  I casually try to smell near my shoulders to see if I have a particularly bad, no deodorant, kind of thing going on, but it’s hard to pull off casual when everyone’s eyes are on you.

“Zac, that’s not very nice,” Mom admonishes.

He shrugs.  “I wasn’t trying to be mean.  She smells different.”

Kallen’s trying hard not to laugh at my sudden discomfort.  “What does she smell like?” he asks.

Zac purses his lips and thinks a minute.  “It’s like a mixture of skunk and rabbit farts.”

Kallen laughs so hard, small bits of food escape from his full mouth.  Tabitha’s not much better.  She was drinking a glass of wine and some of it just came out of her nose.  Even Isla is biting her lip in an effort not to laugh.  Dad covers his laugh with a cough, which is too obvious because ghosts don’t cough.

“Zac, that wasn’t very nice,” Mom admonishes again.  She’s the only one managing to keep a straight face.  Barely.

Zac’s lower lip comes out a bit.  “Fine, maybe not the skunk part, but she does smell like rabbit farts.”  I’m going to crawl under the table now.

Kallen tries to look serious when he says to Zac, “You know, I have noticed that as well.  I simply did not have your finesse for identifying the odd odor coming from your sister.  Thank you for such an apt description.  Ow!”  He’s not laughing anymore as he reaches a hand down to rub the shin I just kicked really hard.  He’s lucky I didn’t use my magic to make cleats before I kicked him.

“Perhaps we should focus our attention on dinner once more?” Isla says, thankfully trying to end my humiliation.  With laughter still tinkling in their eyes, everyone starts eating again.  I am so taking a bath after dinner.

The rest of dinner is fairly quiet.  Kegan comes down eventually, but without Alita.  Apparently, her head is even more painful than before.  Zac doesn’t accuse me of having any particularly offensive odors again, and Kallen is much nicer as every once in a while he rubs his leg.  Guess I kicked him harder than I thought.

After dinner, Kallen, Kegan and I take Zac for a swim.  Mom stands on the shore watching nervously, afraid Zac’s going to be swept away from us and carried out to sea.  No amount of reassuring wipes away the worried look on her face, so we cut the swimming shorter than any of us would have liked.  Especially Zac.

After dinner, I check on Alita again.  She claims she’s fine, and she looks fine, but I’m not convinced.  “There has to be a reason for your head to hurt like,” I say.

She shrugs.  “I do not know how to explain it.  One moment, I am fine.  The next I have a terrible pain in my head.  As soon as Kegan brings me up here, the pain is gone.”

I can’t help but grin.  “I’m beginning to think that you’re faking it so Kegan will baby you.  He’s awfully worried, you know.”

She smiles shyly.  “I would not do such a thing.”

I laugh.  “No, you wouldn’t.  You’re way too honest.  But still, I don’t think you object to all the extra attention from him.”

Pink colors her cheeks as she smiles.  “No, I cannot say that I do.”

“Now, if we can only get him to get over this whole blood prejudice thing.”

She sighs.  “It is not his prejudice.  It is his family’s.  They are hoping to overcome the Cowan in his blood by arranging a marriage with a full-blooded Fairy.”

I roll my eyes.  “The whole idea of arranged marriage is ridiculous.  I can’t believe you guys still do that.”

Her smile is sad now.  “Perhaps that will be the only way I am able to marry.  If my father is able to throw in a cow or something as well.”

I shake my head and laugh.  “If it comes to that, I’ll bring you back to my realm.  Guys would be drooling over you there.”

Her smile gets a little brighter.  “It is good to know I have options, then.  Imagine, a world where I am not equivalent to a leper.”

“Who is a leper?” Kegan asks as he comes in without knocking.

“I am,” Alita laughs softly.

A dark cloud falls over Kegan’s face.  “Who has said that to you?”

I shake my head.  “Calm down.  She’s only teasing.  We were talking about her coming back to my realm with me because she’d have guys drooling over her there.  And none of them would care what blood flows in her veins.”  I give him a pointed look and he has the decency to look embarrassed.

“It is not me that objects to anyone’s blood lines,” he says.

He looks so sad, I take pity on him.  “I know.”

Brightening a little, he asks, “Are you two up for a game of gleek?”

I wrinkle my nose.  “What is gleek?”  It better not involve anything gross.

A deck of cards appears in Kegan’s hands.  “It is a card game,” he says as if the deck would not have clued me in.

“You should look at those cards closely before agreeing,” Kallen says from the doorway.  “My cousin cheats.”

“Only when I am playing with you.”

“Will we have to listen to the two of you insulting each other if we play?  If so, I believe I feel another headache coming on,” Alita says with a glint in her eye.

“I give you my word.  Though my cousin may try to aggravate me, I will ignore his childish attempts and be on my best behavior,” Kegan says.  Almost with a straight face.  Dealing out the cards to me and Alita, he says to Kallen, “What a shame this is a card game for only three people.”  I don’t know how they can stand being punched in the arm so often.  It makes my arms hurt just watching them.

After a couple of hours of playing cards, my eyelids start to close despite my continued attempts to keep them open.  “I think I’m done for the night,” I finally say through a yawn.  “I’m ready for bed.”

“I believe I will turn in as well,” Kallen says with a smug little smile.

“What a surprise,” Kegan murmurs under his breath.  That just makes Kallen’s smile smugger.

I say goodnight to Alita and Kegan and take Kallen’s hand as we walk to my room.  As soon as the door is closed behind us, he pulls me close and whispers in my ear, “Any chance I can convince you to stay awake a little while longer?”

“Maybe,” I say innocently.  “What did you have in mind, more cards?”

I let out a small whoop as he scoops me up.  “No, not cards.”  He starts walking towards the door to my bathing room where an Olympic size bath tub is kept filled with warm water from a fountain.

“Monopoly?” I ask.

He raises his brows.  “I do not know what that is, but I am sure it is not what I am thinking.”

I tap my finger against my chin as I pretend to think of something else.  It’s hard not to smile when the tub fills with bubbles.  “Video games?”

He chuckles as he walks into the tub with me still in his arms.  “I am afraid that is another reference from your realm that I do not understand.  But perhaps we should do that instead of taking a nice warm bath together.”  He starts to turn around.

“Don’t you dare carry me out of this room,” I growl.  He laughs and continues walking down the stairs until we are both in the water.

I scowl at him when he sits down on the underwater bench that circles the tub with me on his lap. “You know, taking a bath fully clothed is not very comfortable.”

“Is that better?” he asks when I’m suddenly naked.

I scurry off his lap.  “Very funny.”  He can’t see me because he’s filled the tub with so many bubbles, but that’s beside the point.  “I don’t find this any more comfortable.”

Feigning insult, he says, “I was simply trying to be helpful.”

“Uh huh, I think I have to have at least a bikini on if we want to keep things from going in certain directions.”

He shakes his head.  “Oh, how fickle you are.” 

I splash him with water and he laughs.  But I am suddenly wearing a bikini.  “Better?” he asks.

“Much,” I say as I make my way back over to him.  I sit on his lap, straddling his legs, and wrap my arms around his neck. 

He puts his arms around my waist and pulls me closer.  “How much better?” he asks as his lips start to nuzzle my neck.  Goosebumps rise on my arms regardless of how warm the water is.

Gently pulling his face back to mine, I capture his lips.  My hunger for him grows each time our tongues meet.  With a small moan, I press my body closer to his as I reach behind me to untie my bikini top.  Now it’s his turn to groan as his hands begin to explore, causing me to gasp and arch my back.

And then he stops moving.  Completely.  His mouth, his hands, they’re like stones.  My eyes shoot open, thinking the worst.  But he’s not dead, he’s just in a different time.