Blood of Half Gods (3 page)

“Xandra, you look well this morning,” Dagda says.  “I am looking forward to this opportunity to get to know my daughter better.”  He emphasizes the word daughter for my parents’ benefits.  This is going to be a long trip.

“Not your daughter,” I say, as I sit down and pour myself a glass of fresh squeezed mango juice.  Some of the tension leaves Dad’s eyes.  Since I found out he’s my stepdad, I think he’s worried that I’m going to love him less or something.  He has nothing to worry about.  He’ll always be the one I call Dad.

Dagda just smiles.  “Are you ready for our trip?  I would like to leave as soon as possible.”

“Sure we can’t wait until tomorrow?” I ask, as Tabitha puts a steaming plate of pancakes in front of me.  Back in my realm, either my Aunt Barb or I had to cook all the meals since my parents are ghosts.  Breakfast usually consisted of toaster waffles or cereal.  I love living here.  I scoop up some blueberry jam and spread it over the pancakes.  Dagda hasn’t answered my question yet, so I look up at him with raised brows.

He inclines his head and narrows his eyes in my direction.  “I believed that to be a rhetorical question.  My business in the south is pressing.”

“Fine,” I grumble around a mouthful of pancakes.

“I assume speaking with your mouth full is something you only do when around family?”  I’m going to assume that was a rhetorical question, too.

“Xandra, you don’t have to go,” Mom says for the thousandth time.

“I know,” I say with an extra big mouthful of food just for Dagda’s benefit.  Childish, yes.  But, oh so satisfying when the skin around his eyes wrinkles in annoyance.

“It is good that she is going.  Unfortunately, unrest among the giants is a great concern.  Their race is prone to violence, resulting in a threat to their very existence,” Isla says.  “The goal of this trip is to bring about a truce between the warring tribes.”

“So, once again, you’re sending Xandra into a dangerous situation?” Dad accuses more than asks.  I’m kind of with him on this one.  I thought this was just a peace summit or something.

“She will be perfectly safe with me,” Dagda assures him.  I’m pretty sure there was an underlying implication in his words that Dad can’t keep me safe.  Dad must really hate being the only non-magical person here.

“Right, he’s probably bringing me along for protection for
him
,” I mutter before putting another mouthful of pancakes between my lips.

Dagda’s eyes narrow in my direction again.  “Do you say everything out loud that passes through your mind?”

I shrug and nod.  “Pretty much.  You should probably get used to it if you plan to be around me.”

“Is she right?” Mom asks.  I’m surprised she’s talking to him.  Well, like Dad, accusing him more than talking to him, really.

Dagda pulls himself away from the counter.  “I have no intention of putting
my daughter
in danger.”

Okay, I need to break this up before magic starts flying, since everyone else just seems to be enjoying the show.  “Mom, it’s okay.  He had the trip planned before he even knew we were going to stay in this realm.”

Dagda leans back against the counter again.  “You must remember, Xandra is a princess and she needs to start acting like one.”  No way.  He wants me to assume
princess
duties?  I snort at the thought.  Which earns me another snarky look from him.

“Xandra’s not a princess,” Zach says, bouncing into the kitchen, heading straight for Tabitha.  She lets him steal a piece of bacon.  “She’s just plain old Xandra.” 

My little brother, always ready with the compliments.  “Thanks, buddy,” I say, mussing his sandy brown hair as he takes a seat.  “Way to make me feel special.”  His looks strongly resemble Dad’s.  And Mom’s, who is blonde and blue eyed.  With my black hair and green eyes, Zac and I look nothing alike.  Now, I know why.  I got Dagda’s Fairy genes.  All the Fae have black hair and green eyes.

“Xandra will not be assuming any duties in this realm,” Mom says.

Kallen comes to my rescue before I have to peel ghost off from Dagda’s throat. “Uncle, there are a couple of bags that will need to be loaded into the carriage.  Perhaps you can show me the best place for them.”  Yes, it’s obvious he’s just trying to get Dagda out of the kitchen, because there’s no way Kallen would need help with this, but Dagda’s smart enough to know when to quit.  Sometimes.  Well, this time.  He nods and he and Kallen go out the back door.  I hate it when Kallen calls him uncle, though.  It makes me feel like I’m dating my cousin.  Which I’m not.  There’s no blood relation between us.  His mother’s sister is married to Dagda, so they are only related by marriage.  Hmm, I wonder if the whole dating cousins thing is as taboo here as it is back home?

“You need not worry, Julienne,” Tabitha says to Mom, emphasizing her words with her spatula, sending little bits of pancake to the floor. “That daughter of yours does not take any of that man’s guff.  She has tossed him on his butt several times now.  I am certain she will not hesitate to do it again.”  She gives me a look that assures me there will be consequences if I make a liar out of her.  She doesn’t have to worry.

“That’s so cool,” Zac says as he puts syrup on his pancakes.  “Can I watch next time?”

I can’t help but laugh.  “You can have front row seats.”  Turning to Mom, I say, “Don’t worry, I have this, okay?  You trust me, right?”  I put extra emphasis on that last sentence.

Several different emotions wash over her translucent face.  In the end, reverse guilt wins the day.  If she argues about me going, she’s saying she doesn’t trust me, and we’ve recently had a turning point in our relationship about that.  I may only be seventeen, but I’ve had to grow up awfully fast since learning I’m a Witch Fairy.  Mom’s agreed to treat me like an adult considering all I’ve been through, and I’ve agreed to slow things down with Kallen.  She can’t go back on what she agreed to if she doesn’t want me to go back on what I did.  “Hurry back,” is all she says.

I smile.  This is one of the million times since she’s become a ghost that I wish I could hug her.  I know it cost her a lot to say that instead of what she really wanted to say.  “I will.” 

After one last bite, I stand up from the table.  “Thanks for breakfast,” I say as I give Tabitha a quick hug.  Mussing Zac’s hair again, I say, “Keep everyone safe while I’m gone, okay?”

A grin spreads over his face.  “Last night, Isla said she’d help teach me to use my magic.”

I raise my eyebrows in Mom’s direction and a small smile touches her lips.  “I have agreed to keep his magic unbound.  I now believe it is better to learn magic at an early age.”  Usually, a Witch’s magic is bound until the age of seventeen.  Zac’s magic was recently unbound by evil Shadows who had taken over his body.

I look over at Isla and she’s smiling at Zac.  I think she’s actually looking forward to teaching him.  I’m always surprised when I see the softer side of her.  “That’s great,” I say.  But, I’m kind of glad that I’m leaving town for a couple of weeks, now.  The first little while of him using magic is going to be pretty dangerous.  Good thing both Isla and Kallen can do reversal magic in case he accidentally does something really destructive.

Mom and Dad float over to me.  Dad puts his arms around me the best he can, making my body temperature drop.  I try not to shiver.  “Be careful,” he says.  “And don’t hesitate to use your magic on
anyone
you need to.”  He packed a lot into the word anyone and I get it.  Use my magic as much as possible on Dagda.  Make it painful if I can. 

“I second that,” Mom says, leaning in and giving me a cool kiss on the cheek.

“Bye, Xandra,” Zac says, waving his fork at me.  He’s not big on mushy goodbyes. 

“Xandra,” Isla says, drawing my attention to her.  “Do be careful, and please remember what we discussed.”  Mom gives her a funny look, but I just nod my head.

I do a princess wave with one hand to everyone.  It seems fitting.  “Bye.  See you in a couple of weeks.”  Now, with great reluctance, I go outside.

Alita is standing outside talking to Kegan.  They had followed Dagda and Kallen out earlier.  Probably to try to get the honey flavored tension out of their hair and off their skin.  Alita’s my best friend, as well as Dagda’s assistant.  It turns out, her special Fairy talent is being able to detect black magic; making her extremely useful to have around if you’re King.  She smiles when she sees me.  “I am half surprised you are going.  I know your parents hate the idea.”

I roll my eyes.  “That’s an understatement.”  Looking around, I ask, “Where’s the carriage?”

“It is coming now,” Kegan says, nodding towards the corner of the house where the garage is.

I admit, I often have preconceived notions about Fairy things, so I’m usually surprised when they get blown out of the water.  When Dagda said carriage, I expected one like Isla has.  Hers is large enough to fit six comfortably for short distances, but it would be cramped on a long trip like this.  So, when this mammoth carriage, that has two stories and is about thirty feet in length, pulls slowly around the corner, my mouth drops open.  Basically, it’s like a double decker motorhome that floats.  And I have never seen a motorhome as big as this in my realm.  Not even on television.  Actually, it’s more like a house floating through the air.  A skinny, long house that is painted a gaudy gold with dark blue trim.  It’s hideous, yet regal at the same time.  “What is that and how is it floating?”

Kegan laughs.  “Did you really expect Dagda to travel in anything less?”

I shake my head and laugh.  “No, I guess not.”  He is King, after all.  I guess this is his equivalent to Air Force One. 

“It takes six Fairies to keep it off the ground and moving forward,” Kegan explains.  “Plus, there are several Fairies inside making sure everything stays in place while it is moving.  It takes a lot of magic to power it.  It is also slow.  It goes half the speed a good Fairy can do in a carriage about Isla’s size.”  Not so much like Air Force One then, which goes faster than twenty-five miles per hour.  He sounds like he’s describing the horse power of a car back in my realm.  I wonder what the equivalent of nine Fairies would be in relation to speed and performance of a car.  I’m guessing a thousand horsepower or more.  But, since I know absolutely nothing about cars, I’m probably way off.

The monstrosity comes to a halt in front of us and Dagda steps out of the door near the front.  With a smug smile and a flourish of his arm, he says, “Your carriage awaits.”

I roll my eyes.  “You know they don’t use that expression in my realm anymore, right?  We have cars and airplanes now.”

He laughs and holds the door for me.  “Yes, the trappings of a non-magical world.” 

“Our vehicles go faster than twenty-five miles per hour.  No wonder the trip is going to be long,” I grumble.

“Do they resemble a palace on wheels?” he asks.  He seems bothered by the fact that I’m not impressed.

“Where’s Kallen?” I ask, changing the subject.  I am not getting in this thing without him.  I wouldn’t put it past Dagda to try to separate us so he could attempt to have more influence over me.

Some of my concern must show in my face because his sobers even more.  Then it sours.  “I have done nothing nefarious to my nephew.  He simply went back into the house to say his goodbyes." 

Relief floods through me.  Probably more so than the situation indicates.  “Okay, I’ll wait for him out here.”

Dagda cocks his head.  “As you wish.”  He closes the door, letting it slam, and walks around me in a huff to the front of the carriage, presumably to calm down or talk to the drivers.  Probably the former.

“I believe you have not started our trip off on the best note,” Alita says, amusement laced in her speech.

I shrug.  “It’s not like it was going to be a great bonding experience.  I can’t stand the man, and he only wants to get to know me better because I’m more powerful than him.”

Alita looks at me thoughtfully.  After a moment, she says, “I am not sure I believe all of that.”

I’m saved from saying anything by Kallen coming out the back door.  He walks behind me and pulls me back against him, wrapping his arms around me.  “What has you two looking so serious?” he asks.

“Nothing, Alita just has some crazy ideas about reality.”  She sticks her tongue out at me, but then laughs.

Kallen leans down and kisses my cheek.  “We are all set.  Your clothes are inside, waiting to be taken to our rooms.”

Alita blushes a little bit.  “Thank you again for loaning your clothing to me.”

Mom, Dad, Zac and me decided to stay in the Fairy realm, but Aunt Barb decided she would rather be in her own realm.  I think after the whole Shadow experience and being controlled by black magic, she’s had enough magic to last a lifetime.  So, I opened a gateway and took her home so she can figure out what she’s going to work on next in the field of science.  Obviously, she’s not going back to prove astral projection works.  I’m pretty sure she burned all of her notes on that. 

While back in my realm, I moved the things the rest of us decided we couldn’t live without.  One of those things was my clothes.  I don’t like having to rely on other people to dress me all the time.  Hard to feel like an adult that way.  Since Alita is incapable of making her own clothes as well, I insisted she go through my closet and pick whatever she wanted for the trip.  She’s taller than I am, so most of my pants don’t fit her, but everything else does.  That’s why we have suitcases (also brought from my realm) that needed to be loaded into the carriage.  Or carriage monstrosity as it turned out to be.