Blood of Egypt (Witch Fairy Book 8) (21 page)

Chapter 34

We’re soggy and exhausted, but not crushed and dead under the brutal force of the Nile.  I’d say that makes for a successful night.  I just hope that Belial doesn’t choose tonight for our fight.  I’m hoping to get some sleep before I have to face him, not to mention having Eliana up and feeling better as well.

Josh carries Eliana to the couch and lays her down gently.  After Kallen dresses the two of us in dry clothes, though he can’t do much about the mud, I hurry to the kitchen and grab a bowl and a couple of towels.  I fill the bowl with cool water, add some ice cubes and carry it back to the living room, careful not to slosh it on the floor.  Josh has taken the lightweight jacket Eliana had been wearing off from her, but I can tell from across the room that she’s already spiked a big fever.  As I get closer, I actually feel the heat radiating from her body.  I can’t imagine how her mother felt when this happened to her the first time with Re, because she had no idea what was causing her to be so sick.  We all know and it’s still scary to watch.

I set the bowl down on the floor next to the couch and dip a towel in it.  After I wring it out, I hand it to Josh and he presses it against Eliana’s forehead.  “She’s going to be okay,” I try to reassure him. 

“I know,” he says.  He doesn’t look like he knows that.

“If you do not find it too intimate a suggestion, I could dress her in cooler clothes,” Kallen says.  A touch of pink hits his cheeks, but it is one less thing that Josh has to worry about.  It would take some effort to change her clothes the old fashioned way.  Josh nods and suddenly Eliana is in shorts and a loose tank top. 

Josh gives Kallen a grateful smile, “Thanks, man.  I’m glad you guys are here; I don’t think I could handle this by myself.”

I think he could, but I’m glad he doesn’t have to.  Instead of replying, I simply hand him another cold towel to replace the one that has already become warm against Eliana’s forehead.  This is a process we continue for the next several hours.  I may need sleep, but there’s no way I’m going anywhere until I know she’s okay.

Kallen is doing everything he can, as well.  He has created a fan of sorts, kind of like a giant fig leaf, which is gently blowing a cool breeze over Eliana.  He is also keeping me supplied with fresh water as the bowl warms.  He brought ice cubes from the kitchen, too, for Josh to rub along Eliana’s skin.  It’s scary how fast the ice melts. 

I have no idea when I fell asleep, but was fighting heavy eyelids for a while and apparently couldn’t keep them open any longer.  I’m not surprised to find myself in Eliana’s dream again.  She looks much better here than she does on the couch.

I rush to give her a hug.  When I finally let her go, I ask the important question.  “You’re going to make it through this, right?”

She smiles.  “I think I am.”  Those are not the reassuring words I was looking for.

“Do not worry, Xandra,” a pretty voice says behind me.  It reminds me of how the Angels sound.  I turn around and find who I assume is Isis standing a few feet away.  She is the female equal to Re’s beauty.  “Binding is difficult on the human body, but Eliana is strong.  You have my assurance that she will soon be back to her normal self.”  Those are the reassuring words that I was looking for.

Relief washes over me, until she adds, “Belial is near.  It will not be long before he seeks his revenge.”  She smiles and shakes her head.  “You are certainly a being who knows well how to make powerful enemies.”

I can’t be mad at her teasing, because it’s true.  So, I mutter, “Yeah, I think it’s my charming personality.”

“I believe it has more to do with your power than any action on your part.  You follow a difficult path, as does Eliana.  Know you always have an ally in this realm.”

I muster a smile.  “Thanks.  Um, when do you think Eliana will wake up?”

I don’t get to hear the answer because I’m being shaken.  Apparently, Kallen wants me awake.  I try not to be annoyed with him when I open my eyes.  “I was talking to Isis,” I say, wanting desperately to go back and hear her answer.

“I am sorry, but your presence is needed here.  The Witches are coming and I suspect they have been endowed with more power than they had earlier.”

Gee, I wonder where they got the extra power.  I really hate Belial.  “How close are they?”

“Can you hold them off until Eliana…” the words catch in Josh’s throat.  He isn’t sure she’s going to recover.

At least I can fix that.  “I have Isis’ word.  She’s going to be fine.”  His relief is powerful enough to make me smile.  “You take care of her and we’ll take care of the Witches.”  And the Archangel.  I don’t add that out loud, but I really hope Eliana wakes up soon.

Chapter 35

The Witches are close.  I can tell now that it’s the three from the car.  I can’t believe this, after everything I did, they still won’t face the fact that they won’t win.  Oh, they are going to be so sorry they chose to come back.  My thoughts are mirrored on Kallen’s face, as well.

A simple honeymoon.  That’s all we wanted.  See some interesting sights, make love for hours on end, and do absolutely nothing except be happy with each other.  Instead, we get Egyptian Gods, Archangels and Witches with the usual amount of doom and gloom that accompanies them.  It sounded like fun when I used to read fantasy books back in Colorado, but it sucks in real life. 

As they get closer, it’s even more obvious that they’ve been infused with something more than just Witch juice.  There is definitely a twist of Archangel in there.  I didn’t even know that Archangels could share their power.  But even if they can, I bet they’re not supposed to, since it gives an unfair advantage.

I barely have time to finish that thought when a sound so piercing that it makes every piece of glass in the house shatter, attacks my ears.  I’m able to keep the glass from cutting any of us, but the idea that all the beautiful and priceless artifacts in the house just turned into a pile of shards pisses me off to no end.  And the noise?  Did they seriously think that I wouldn’t be able to silence it?  Amateurs.

They’re outside the house now.  The closer they get, the more my blood boils.  Walking to the foyer, I swing the door open and fling so much magic at the three Witches standing out there, they become airborne and fly at least a hundred yards.  I’m not messing around with them.  I want them out of the picture as quickly as possible.

It’s even more proof Belial has done something to them when they get tossed the length of a football field onto asphalt and get up again.  It looks painful, but they do it.  Damn it.

“Xandra, my love, we are not in a realm of magic.  There are humans about who may find such things odd,” Kallen says behind me.

Crap, he’s right.  Fine, then we’ll bring the fight inside.  It’s not like the house isn’t already messed up.  So, with my magic perfectly focused, I latch on to the three Witches and practically drag them to the house.  I feel them trying to resist, but to no avail.  It’s not long before they’re standing in front of the door.  I drag them the last few feet so they are in the house and then slam the door shut behind them.

“Now!” the female Witch says and the three begin to chant over and over.  “We call upon the power of darkness to lay claim upon this Witch’s soul.”

“Oh my god, are you guys idiots?” I ask.  “That’s not even a spell.  And it doesn’t rhyme.  One of the basic tenets of Witchcraft is ‘to bind the spell every time, let the spell be spoken in rhymes’,” I say in disgust. 

“But,” the female Witch says, “we were told…”  Her words die out as I start laughing.

“Let me guess, the spell was whispered in your ear by a being who wouldn’t show himself to you but promised you could get revenge for me making an ass out of you earlier.  Right?”

“How did you know?” one of the male Witches asks in surprise.  I guess he didn’t know it was a rhetorical question.  Idiot.

“You are the smart one, Little Witch Fairy.”  I know that voice.  Oh god.  He’s here.  A blinding white light confirms that and the screaming of the Witches who have just experienced flash blindness means he’s in this realm.  He didn’t pull me into Angel time.

To the Witches he says, “You have served your purpose.”   Then the three of them are nothing but a tangled heap as they fall unconscious to the floor.  “These two on the other hand will still be quite useful.”

I don’t even have to turn around to know what he means.  “I will find a way to kill you, Belial, if you harm the tiniest speck on their bodies.”

“Your words and threats are nothing to me,” he drawls as if he’s bored.

Trying to maintain a strong front, I turn slowly, dreading what I’m going to see when I’ve made a one-eighty.  Well, at least my dreading didn’t go to waste.  Kallen and Josh, who have clearly been blinded as well, are hanging in the air by magical nooses.  “Oh, how cliché is that?”  I shake my head.  “You’ve been around for eternity and you come up with something that hasn’t been used in this realm for about a hundred years.  You need to get out more, Belial.”

I’m hoping he’ll be mad enough to drop them and focus on me.  Unfortunately, he’s an Archangel who can multitask.  “You are correct, perhaps something a little less humane is in order.”  With an unnecessary snap of his fingers, a contraption of torture appears.  Even Wes Craven isn’t capable of imagining this device.  To his credit, it is modern and sleek looking with its shiny steel parts and rubber tubes, but the horrific things that it’s capable of make it impossible to look at.  With this, he could easily keep them alive as he slices and removes sections of their body.  And now Josh and Kallen are lying on it, all strapped in and ready to begin.

You know, I think he’s seriously underestimating the power of a pissed off Witch Fairy.  With a burst of magic so fast and so hard that he can’t stop it, I destroy his machine.  The guys drop hard to the ground, which hurt them a lot less than the device of torture would have.  “The greatest power in the universe is love, Belial.  You’ve used it for intimidation, but you’ve forgotten that it can also be used as a very powerful motivator.”

With a sweep of his hands, Josh and Kallen slide limply across the floor and hit the wall hard as Belial clears a path to me.  A gross crunching sound tells me at least one of them now has broken bones.  I’m pretty sure it’s Josh.  I’m hoping he’s already unconscious.  “Then, we shall take love out of the equation,” he growls.  “Having you watch as I tortured your husband would have been fun, but I am willing to forego the pleasure and skip to the part where I kill you.”  The look on his face and the determination in his steps confirm his words. 

He flings magic towards me, but I’m expecting it.  I put up a shield that stops it from reaching me.  Like the water, I’m not sure how long I can keep it at bay, but I’m going to give it my all.  As he increases his attack, I put more power into my shield.  Unfortunately, manmade walls can only withstand so much pressure.  The wood and plasterboard are not equal to the thick slab of stones in the temple that kept a magical conflict confined.  The house begins to creak and tremble, the ceiling above us cracks and the light fixtures fall to the floor. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Kallen slowly rising to a sitting position.  He’s trying to keep off from Belial’s radar, so I don’t look over at him.  When he’s sure no one is paying attention to him, he puts his hands under Josh’s arm pits and drags him quietly across the floor.  It’s definitely Josh who has broken bones.  Kallen wants to get him out of harm’s way.  I love him.

The strong pinches on my back tell me my wings have finally arrived.  They know I can’t fight Belial without them.  With renewed effort, I fight him off even harder, but nothing really changes.  This is beginning to feel like trench warfare with neither of us making any progress except increasing our hatred of each other.  I try sending some of my magic around him, but he counters the move.  He does the same and I’m ready for him.  Is this how I’m going to spend eternity?  Volleying magic back and forth against Belial?  No, because I’m sure Belial has more stamina than I do.  Eventually, I’ll tire out and I’ll be the one on his torture machine.  I’m pretty sure he’ll drag out my death at least as long as I tortured him with the bag of bones spell I used on him.

Kallen has gotten Josh out of the room, and I assume out of the house since it may fall down any minute from the sound of it, and now he’s back for Eliana.  Since he can’t see, he has to quietly feel his way through the room.  I had better be able to heal his vision. 

Before he can get to Eliana, though, she sits up.  She’s still pale and I’d bet my life that she’s still burning up with a fever, but she’s up.  I’m not sure if I should be relieved or worried.  When she stands on shaky legs, I go with worried.

Unlike Kallen’s, her movement doesn’t go unnoticed.  Belial sends an evil sneer in her direction.  “Your puny little gods do not frighten me, mortal.  You are not my enemy and I will leave you unharmed.  Go.”  Well, how magnanimous of him.  I think he’s a little more worried about her ‘puny gods’ than he wants to admit.

“You’re attacking my friend in my realm.  That makes you my enemy,” Eliana says, her voice becoming stronger as she speaks.  “You know, I thought you’d be at least a little scary looking instead of this metrosexual pretty boy image you have going on.  You don’t even have enough style to be called goth, which would at least match your reputation.  Maybe you should go home and work on that.”  Oh my god, I love her!  I even catch a little smirk from Kallen where he has stopped by the fireplace.

A fireball explodes in the air around Belial, startling me as well as him.  He is able to keep it from burning him, but I think it came pretty close.  Now, I think I need to come at him from the other side.  While he’s focused on Eliana, I take the opportunity to break through his shield long enough to cram some of my magic in him.  He didn’t burn on the outside, but he’s burning on the inside now.  He growls loudly and expels my magic, but now it’s Eliana’s turn again.

The floor rumbles and gives way under Belial’s feet.  A chasm opens, threatening to engulf him.  His wings keep that from happening, but he’s distracted again.  I tear at his wings, causing him to roar as some feathers are ripped out and fall to the depths below.  Wow, I wasn’t sure if I could actually do that or not.

My surprise is my undoing.  I find myself on the floor of the foyer with his magic making my blood boil so hot, I’m pretty sure my clothes are melting.  I’m so relieved when it retreats because Eliana has attacked his other wing with fire.  The smell of burning feathers fills the air.  With a primal cry, Belial pushes everything he has at her and Eliana goes flying.  She lands on the stairs after breaking through the banister.  The far wall cracks open from the impact of her hitting it.

I don’t have time to see if she’s okay before it’s my turn again to be attacked.  How civilized that we’re taking turns.  Right. 

I find myself on the receiving end of a fireball.  I duck and shield as it soars over me, crashing through the wall like a fiery torpedo.  This house will not still be standing when this is done.  Again, another thing I can’t stop to consider while being attacked by an evil Archangel.  I need to focus on fighting back.

Fire seems to be the trendy way to go, so I try my hand at making a fiery ball.  My effort turns out to be impressive and I surprise Belial with my newfound ability.  Maybe Eliana is wearing off on me or this may be one of the Angel skills I have and just didn’t know it until now.  Either way, some of the fire is able to sneak past him because he hesitates due to his shock.  More burning feathers.  So glad they’re not mine.

Eliana is back with a wind that batters Belial incessantly.  He brings his black wings around to shield him, but her power to do this has obviously increased significantly with Isis on board.  It’s making a tornado wind seem like a breezy summer day.  Again, the house won’t be standing at the end of this, but at least we’ll keep Belial from taking control of people in this realm in his search for vengeance.

I add another fiery ball to the mix and his magic pulls back in an effort to shield himself as much as possible.  But, it’s no match for the two of us working together.  Pieces of glass are in the air and they’re nipping at his bare skin.  The fire has caught hold of his wings and hair.  Eliana combines more fire with the windstorm, and we watch as it he goes from being torn apart by the wind and glass to being engulfed in fire.  It is one of the most gruesome things I’ve ever seen.  His skin turns black as he drops to his knees in defeat.