Blood of Half Gods (8 page)

Dagda shoots up from his chair, sending it sailing backwards.  With one hand over his eye, which I think is bleeding a little bit – gross, he uses his other hand to point towards the door.  “Out,” he shouts at her. 

Apparently, she isn’t moving fast enough for him; she is after all, trying to breathe again.  So, he hits her with magic.  A lot of magic.  She goes flying backwards and hits the wall.  Struggling to get up, she sidles along it, trying to make it to the door.

I look back at Dagda, still holding his hand over his definitely bleeding eye, and it’s obvious he’s not done with her yet.  He uses his magic to start throwing things at her.  I don’t mean bread rolls.  I mean knives, forks, hot soup, anything his one eye can see.  I get that he’s mad, but does he have to go all psycho like this?  He’s going to kill her.  She screams as a knife hits her in the arm.

That’s it.  I hate her, but I can’t watch her being tortured.  Especially since it’s sort of my fault she made him mad.  Just as a glass goblet is about to hit her in the face, I use my magic to put a protective wall in front of her, making the glass shatter and fall to the floor without touching her.

“Xandra,” Dagda growls.  “This is not your business.”

“I’m the one who did the magical Heimlich that made the stupid carrot hit you, so you should be mad at me, not her.”

He glowers like a Cyclops at me.  Hmm, I wonder if those really exist.  So many questions, so little time that’s appropriate to ask them all.  “Considering the fact that you have thrown her out of the carriage twice, I was not under the impression that you care what happens to her.”

The worst argument here is probably ‘it’s only okay if I do it.’  I think I’ll try a different one, even if it’s not quite as honest.  “I wasn’t flinging sharp objects at her that could kill her.  You already stabbed her in the arm, does she really deserve to have her facial bones smashed in for the crime of choking on a carrot?  My god, what would you do if she choked on a piece of steak – turn her into a cow and eat her for dinner?”  The sudden mental image of that is horrifying, to say the least.

“It is not your place to tell me how I can and cannot punish my subjects,” he growls.

“Oh, omnipotent one, please, let me obey you.”  Sarcasm is dancing a jig on my chin right now.  Actually, it’s more like a Scottish reel.

He can pack a lot of fury into that one eye.  Impressive.  “She is not the only one who can be tried for treason.”

That really makes me snort.  “Seriously?  You’re going to go with threats of domination?  Because, what?  I haven’t already made it perfectly clear that I don’t give a damn what you think about me or how you think I should act?”  I’m standing up now.  Kallen stands up next to me and puts his hand on my shoulder.  Whether it’s to back me up or try to calm me down, I have no idea.  “I’ll tell you what, if you want to have a magical showdown, let’s go.  Right now.  If you win, you can bind my powers and hang me from the nearest tree.”

“Executions are not done that way anymore,” Kegan adds helpfully, as he continues to eat his soup.  “Though, firing squads are quite trendy this century.”  I have to admit, I almost laugh.

Okay, I do laugh.  A lot.  Kallen does, too.  Even Alita covers her mouth with her hand to try to hide her little giggle.  Dagda tries hard to hang on to his anger, but even his lips are trying to push up on the sides.  Walking over to him, I pull his hand down from his eye, which is all red and a little cut underneath his bottom lid is what’s bleeding. Who knew carrots could be so sharp?  It was probably more the velocity upon impact than the sharpness of the carrot, though.  The skin under the eye is fragile.

He looks at me warily as I draw magic.  Using the tiniest bit I can, I use it to heal his eye, even taking away the bruising that has started. He is a Cyclops no more.

“Can I take the wall down, or are you still planning to kill her with cutlery?”

Pulling magic, he pulls all the things he threw at her back towards the table.  I let the wall around Radella down and walk over to her.  She flinches when I reach out to the touch her arm.  I cock my head and raise my brows.  “I’m the one who just saved you, remember?  If I wanted you to be hurt, I could have just sat back and watched the show.”

Reluctantly, she holds her arm out to me.  I’ve gotten pretty good at this healing thing.  Probably the only gentle thing I can do with my magic.  I imagine her arm healing, sewing itself back together, until her skin is perfect once again.  She looks amazed the whole time.  “I have never seen anyone heal this quickly.”

I shrug.  “One of the benefits of being a Witch Fairy.”  She just nods and continues to stare at her healed arm.

“Radella, that will be all for the evening.”  There’s a finality in Dagda’s voice that tells me that it will probably be all for her career, as well.  That doesn’t seem fair.  Choking on a carrot shouldn’t get you fired.  On the other hand, I won’t miss her.  Radella quietly opens the door and disappears quickly. 

I sit back down at the table and Kallen takes my hand in his.  He leans in and gives me a soft kiss.  “Glad to see you can sometimes control that temper of yours,” he teases.  I’d give him a dirty look if he didn’t have a point.

Instead of sitting back down, Dagda walks to the door at the far side of the room, opposite the one we came in.  I believe it must be his bedroom.  He comes back out in a minute holding an old book.  He pushes his dishes away from where he had been sitting at the head of the table and puts the book down with a thump.  Dust flies out from it, ruining the chances of me being able to finish my soup.  I don’t even think he noticed.  He’s too busy turning pages.

Finding the one he was looking for, he rotates the book towards me and points his finger at the page.  He should be careful, the pages of this book look like they’re about to disintegrate.  “Can you do this spell?” he asks.

How should I know?  I read it over, but that doesn’t help since I don’t really know a lot about spells.  So, I shrug.  “I could try.  It looks easy enough.”

Kegan has been peeking at the spell from across the table.  He laughs.  “Yeah, piece of cake.  If you have six or seven Fairies ready to do it with you.”

I stick my tongue out at him.  Turning back to Dagda, I ask, “Do you have all the stuff for it?”  Kegan’s right, it’s more complicated than most spells I’ve read.  Then again, I did make a force field out of trees before.

“I believe she can do this without problem,” Kallen says, reading over my shoulder. 

“Everything we need should be available in the surrounding area.  We are deep within the forest, not the plains yet.  I will send Sindri and a small team out to locate what is needed.”

I’m getting a little nervous.  “It won’t make me stop dreaming forever, will it?”  That’s what the spell does, it stops dreams from coming.  “People can go crazy if they never dream.”

“Not a problem for you,” Kegan says.  “You are already as crazy as you can get.”  I kick him under the table.  He’s not laughing anymore as he leans down to rub his leg.  Alita looks amused, though.

“No, it will not,” Dagda says, pointing to the line in the spell that puts a time limit on it. 

“Yeah, I saw that, but spells don’t always work out the same for me as they do other people.  I might say it’s just for tonight, and then put enough magic into it a night is turned into a century or so.”  I can usually only do spells correctly when I’m really mad.  Don’t know why.  My theory is that I’m not overthinking them.

“We can worry about that if it happens.  For the time being, it is the only way to ensure that we will make our destination sometime this year.”  He’s getting snippy again.  I give him what I hope is a warning look.  He doesn’t look cowed at all.  I guess I need to work on my warning looks.

“It should be fine,” Kallen assures me.  I look at him skeptically, but I don’t argue.

“We shall meet in the sitting room in an hour.  That should be enough time to gather everything.”

That is definitely a dismissal.  Great, I don’t get to finish my soup.  That’s okay, the last fifteen minutes have made me lose my appetite anyway. 

Chapter 7

I make my way back towards mine and Kallen’s room.  Kallen stops to have a brief word with Dagda, but he catches up to me by the time I reach the stairs.  Kegan and Alita are walking ahead of us, but they both stop when we reach Kegan’s room.  Which is now Alita’s room.  “I’m going to get Alita settled in here,” Kegan says. 

Kallen gives him a knowing grin, which earns him a punch in the arm.  He just laughs and follows me to our room, rubbing the bruised spot.  For the first time, I notice there’s a door on the frame again.  “Thanks for fixing that,” I say, as he closes it behind us.

With a grin, he says, “I prefer to kiss you in private.”  He pulls me into his arms and kisses me slowly, sensually. 

I smile against his lips.  “Me, too.”

Pulling back from his arms, I take his hand and lead him towards the bed, yawning all the way.  “Tired?” he asks.  I can’t miss the disappointment in his eyes.

Laying down, I pull him down with me.  “No.”

“Up for a game of cards?” he asks, stretching himself out next to me.  His fingers are drawing circles on my arm now, causing goose bumps wherever he touches.  There’s a glint in his eyes that tells me he isn’t serious about cards.

“No,” I say with a grin as I turn on my side towards him.  I let my fingers run through his silky hair. 

“A long walk in the moonlight?” he asks.

I push him on his back and I follow so I am lying on top of him.  “No,” I say, as I kiss a line along his jaw from his ear to just below his mouth.

“I am afraid I am out of suggestions,” he says, right before I cover his mouth with mine.

Wrapping his arms around me, he deepens the kiss, pressing me tightly against his body.  There is no doubt in my mind that he’s enjoying this as much as I am.  Pulling my lips from his, despite his moan of frustration, I tug his t-shirt up.  I kiss a trail from his jaw, down his neck and to his chest.  I use my teeth to gently nip at his skin.  His moans are not in frustration now.  I continue my downward progress until I reach his belly button, teasing him the entire time with my tongue and lips.

“Xandra,” he says breathlessly.  “You are driving me crazy.”  I think he means that as a compliment.  I use my fingers to massage his smooth skin, letting them wander lower than my kisses.

With a feral growl, Kallen moves lightning fast, flipping me onto my back and pressing his aroused body against mine.  “You are playing a dangerous game this evening.”

I snake my arms around his neck.  “Who says it’s a game?”  I pull his lips to mine as I wrap my legs around him, pulling him closer.

“Are you trying to kill me?” he asks, his voice strained, when I let him up for air several minutes later. 

“Shut up and kiss me,” I whisper in his ear.

“Then your t-shirt has to go,” he growls, removing it as soon as I nod my head in agreement.  Now, his hands have more places to wander.  I love the feel of them on my body. 

Every part of me feels alive and on edge, wanting to push the limits of our restrictions.  “My shorts, too,” I whisper.  Suddenly, I am only in my bra and panties as he grins above me, then claims my lips again.  The bra goes soon after, as his mouth makes the same journey on my body, as mine did on his.  I buck underneath him when he reaches some very sensitive parts of me.

Using my magic to do something I never have before, I remove his t-shirt and shorts, leaving him in just his boxers.  He moans loudly and works his way back up my body to cover my lips with his again.  His body fits perfectly with mine, as I once again wrap my legs around him in a way that makes both of heart rates skyrocket.  The rest of our clothes will be following the others to the floor, because there is no way we’re stopping this time.

I am going to kill whoever it is at the door.  I am.  So far, I’ve been reluctant to mortally wound anyone, even my worst enemies, but I’m over that.  I’m going to kill this person.

Kallen apparently feels the same way.  “If this is not life or death, Kegan, you have exactly thirty seconds to run for your life.”  His body is still pressed tightly against mine, his lips raised above my own just enough to speak to Kegan and be heard.  His eyes are dark with passion, and the heat in his stare is scorching.  I shift underneath him, positioning my body more perfectly against his, and the desire that washes over his face makes me not care if we will have to be hand-fasted tomorrow.  I want him to get rid of Kegan so we can finish what we started.

Kegan’s voice is urgent, as he says, “Finally, you respond.  The carriage is moving.  We believe Xandra has something to do with that.”

Both Kallen and I go dead still.  Then I feel it.  The gentle sway of the carriage as it finds a path through the woods.  Killing trees to get them out of the way when necessary, if the loud thumps mean anything.  How did we not hear that before now?

Kallen looks down at me in surprise.  “I did not even feel you pull your magic.”

I giggle nervously.  “Neither did I.”

He shifts so that we can both sit up, his eyes mirroring the disappointment that must be in mine.  He also replaces our clothes.  I appreciate that, because knowing I’m making the carriage move is like a vat of ice water being rubbed all over me.  I have goose bumps again, but not from passion this time.