Blood of Half Gods: Kallen's Tale (6 page)

“And Dagda still hired her as head of his security?”

“Her determination to marry my nephew has nothing to do with her ability to manage security,” Dagda says dryly from the frame that used to have a door.  “Do you mind telling me why my head of security has once again been thrown from the carriage?”  He leans out the hole in the hallway.  “And why she appears to be wearing a door?”

Embarrassed now, Xandra says, “Um, she said something that made me mad.”  Her eyes drop to her hands.  She expects Dagda to be angry with her. 

To her surprise, Dagda starts laughing.  “Xandra, look at me,” he says after a moment, humor lingering in his voice.  She does.  “My only concern with
you
, is that you did something to cause yet another delay, as my problems in the south truly are pressing.  Now, my concerns with
Radella
are another issue altogether.  I am finding her tact and diplomacy to be lacking in regards to you, and her personal feelings are interfering with her job.  I am assuming she was trying to make you jealous?”

Xandra obviously does not like the fact that he figured out the cause of her anger but she answers with the truth.  “Yes.”

He inclines his head.  “I am impressed with your honesty.”  He looks at the hole again.  “Not to mention the creativity of your revenge.”

“I’ll draw my magic back,” she says, not one iota less embarrassed by his speech.

Dagda purses his lips.  “No, not quite yet.  Perhaps an hour or two of being wrapped up like that will do her some good.”

Even I am surprised when these words tumble out of Xandra’s mouth.  “That’s kind of mean.”

Dagda’s brows rise in surprise.  “And wrapping her up to begin with was not?”  An excellent point.

Xandra does not respond verbally, but I feel her pull her magic back.  Dagda glowers at her for not obeying him, but then he turns to go.  I do not believe their relationship has been improved by this little interaction.

Chapter 5

Coming up behind her, I put my hands on her shoulders and turn her around.  I need to make her understand that there is no reason for her to be jealous of anyone.  Especially Radella.  “Xandra, I am sorry that I did not tell you about my experience with Radella.  I was not trying to hide it from you; I simply try not to think about such things.  We have spoken before about my being popular amongst other families looking to tie themselves to my family.  As much as I would like to think it is my charm and good looks, most of it was political.  I have never cared for anyone like I do you, but I have dated other girls.  Do you want me to tell you about them?” Please say no.

Her eyes widen and she shakes her head adamantly.  Thank god.  Instead, she says, “How about if you just warn me if someone I meet is someone you dated, okay?  That way, I’m not taken by surprise.”

Fair enough.  But now that she has relaxed, I do feel the need to tease her a bit.  I grin and say, “So you can throw them through a wall?”

She gives me a sour look.  “No.”  Liar.

“You are beautiful when you are jealous.  And I do believe you are almost as jealous as I am when anyone looks at you in a way I do not like.”

“How do you keep from throwing them through a wall?” she asks.  I do not believe this is a rhetorical question. 

Cupping her cheeks, I lean down and press my lips softly against hers.  “I know in my heart that I am who you want.”  I kiss her again.  “I can assure you, there is no room in my heart for anyone but you.”  I can tell by her smile that she believes me. 

Standing up straight again, I say, “Now, I have to get us back on the road.  Do you want to lay down for a bit?  It might help with your motion sickness.”

She sighs.  “Good idea.  Sorry you have to clean up after me again.” 

I give her another quick kiss and grin.  “It is worth it to see you get jealous.”  She just shakes her head and I walk out of the room laughing. 

I stop when I see the damage.  I shake my head as I study the wall that is now gaping.  Closing my eyes, I think of how the wall looked before Xandra’s jealousy and temper got the better of her.  I think of its light color and its smooth surface until my mind’s eye sees it clearly.  I open my eyes again and seek out the various pieces on the floor and on the ground near the carriage.  Pulling magic, I concentrate on the larger pieces first, willing them back into place.  Slowly, they heed my command as my magic works to make sure each is where it belongs.  The hole is bigger this time.  I have to pull more and more magic until it feels as if I will drown in it as I am still feeling the effects from before.  The larger pieces are easy.  It is the small ones that take more time and effort.  Each tiny little piece must be located and swirled into place; torn molecules mended.  My magic cannot be used as glue or else I would have to hold the magic in place the entire trip.  I will my magic to keep searching for every single piece until the tiniest speck has been salvaged.  By the time the last is in place, I feel as if I have been fighting a magical duel.  For three days.  And lost.  My mind is exhausted by the amount of magic I have had to use in such a short period of time.  I believe I will join Xandra and take a nap. 

I head back to our room and stumble when the carriage makes a sudden lurch to the left.  I am drowning in magic again, but this time it is not my own.

It is enough magic to drop me to my knees, gasping for breath.  It seems impossible to fight my way through it.  This much magic can only be coming from Xandra.  Forcing myself to my feet, I hug the wall as I fight the waves of magic wafting from our bedroom.  What could have happened in the last ten minutes that could make her lose control like this?  No one has passed me in the hall, so she cannot be angry with anyone.  Unless she is still angry with me for not telling her about Radella?  No, one thing Xandra is not is passive aggressive.  She would have told me if that was the case.  Another lurch to the left drops me to my knees again, but with great effort, I get up and push my way through the magical energy until I am at our bedroom door.  A journey that should have taken mere seconds has taken me at least five minutes. 

There she is, curled up on the bed.  I start to say something when I realize Xandra is asleep.  She is asleep and emitting enough magic to overcome that of the experienced drivers of the carriage.  All of them.  How is she doing this?  Why is she doing this?  Is she having a nightmare?

I inch my way to the bed and I shake her shoulder.  Nothing.  She does not move at all.  I can see her eyes dart frantically under her lids, so she has to be dreaming.  It must be a nightmare.  What else would cause her to pull magic in her sleep?  I try shaking her again, a little harder this time.  Nothing.  No mumbled complaint about being woken up, no movement away from my hand.  She just lays there.

“Xandra, you have to wake up,” I say loudly, shaking her again, a little rougher this time.  “Xandra, you have to let your magic go!”  I am shouting now, but still no response.  I am even rougher when I shake her this time.  “Let it go!  You have taken control of the carriage!”  I am yelling directly into her ear now and it is as if I have said nothing.

The sound of someone falling in the hallway as the carriage lurches again turns my head towards the doorway that is still missing a door.  A loud oath is uttered and then a hand grabs hold of the sill.  My uncle’s body follows a moment after.

“What the hell is going on?” he demands when he has forced his way through the magic into the room, but he is still pressed against the door frame.

I shrug.  “I have no idea.  She is sleeping.  She must be having some sort of nightmare.”  I shake my head wonderment.  “How can she be doing this in her sleep?”

Disbelief rings clear in his voice.  “It is impossible.  She must be awake.  Shake her; shout in her ear.”

“I have done that,” I say dryly. 

“I will wake her up,” Dagda says as he slowly crosses the room to the bed, stumbling once.  I have heard the expression ‘a sea of magic’ but I never thought I would experience one.

Dagda shakes Xandra and shouts her name over and over.  He pulls her into a sitting position and the sight of her head lolling onto her chest is truly frightening.  Is she in a coma?  Can she not awaken?  Dagda lays her back down and looks to me, my own fears are mirrored in his eyes.

“Has she had anything to eat or drink in the short time we have been travelling?” he asks, suggesting poison could be behind this.

I shake my head.  “She has not had anything today other than Tabitha’s breakfast.  There would certainly be no poisoning from that.  She was feeling queasy so Alita went to make her some mint tea, but she never had a chance to drink it.”

“Who has been close to her?” he asks.

“Myself, Kegan, Alita and Radella.”

Dagda’s eyes cloud with fury.  “Did Radella come near her?”

I shake my head.  “She was in the room but she did not touch Xandra, nor do I believe she has the magic to put her into a coma.”  I said the word out loud and now I am even more terrified that is what has happened.

“Go and get Alita.  She will be able to tell if black magic has been used, but she will not be able to push through Xandra’s magic on her own.”

I nod and struggle to my feet.  The carriage seems to have found a clear path again, so no lurching affects my progress, but we are clearly not heading towards Giant territory anymore.  I make my way to the door and out into the hall.  I can see Radella at the top of the spiral staircase clinging to the handrail, her ability to come any closer checked by Xandra’s magic. 

“What is happening?” she shouts. 

I ignore her as I make my way the short distance to Kegan’s door.  The magic wants to push me past it, but I hold onto the frame.  Kegan has managed to get the door open but is having trouble entering the hallway.  I can see past him into the room where Alita is sitting in a wingback chair looking frightened.  “We need to get Alita into Xandra’s room!” I shout to Kegan because the magic is making it difficult to hear.  It feels as if my ears need to pop from all the pressure of the it pushing against my eardrums.  Kegan nods and stumbles back into the room without question.

It takes the two of us grasping her arms and pulling to even get her out of the chair.  It seems to take forever to get her to the door and managing the hallway has us close to giving up.  Poor Alita must feel as if she is being torn from limb to limb.  Finally, after a good ten minutes, we arrive at Xandra’s and my bedroom door.  With a last big push, the three of us tumble into the room.

Without formality, Dagda shouts, “Is there black magic?”

Alita shakes her head.  “I cannot feel anything except Xandra’s magic.  If anything has been done to her, it has not been done with black magic.”  There is a trace of disappointment on all of our faces as strange as that may seem.  If this was a black magic spell, we would simply need to discover how to break it.  But we are left in the dark now, not knowing what to do or how to fix it.

A loud smacking sound and a swaying of the carriage startles us.  “We must have hit a tree,” Dagda says.  “We need to try to get control of the carriage back.”  I know what he is going to say.  He is going to need my help with that. 

“Have you tried dumping cold water on her?” Kegan asks.

I scowl at the idea but we have to try everything.  “Get some from the bathroom.”

It takes him forever to make his way there and then return with what is left of a pitcher of water.  Half of it is soaking into the carpet as he stumbles his way back.  I have to give him credit, though.  He is strong enough to be able to move about which is impressive.  Alita is now glued to the bed trying to act as if the pressure of the magic in such close proximately to Xandra is not hurting her.  Her reddened skin and the tight lines around her mouth and eyes say that it is.

Kegan hands me the pitcher of water.  I do not believe he wants Xandra to wake up and retaliate against him, so he is leaving it to me.  At this point, she can retaliate against me any way she would like as long as she wakes up.  Here goes.  I tip the pitcher so that the water splashes onto her face.  Some of it slips between her slightly parted lips, some splashes into her nose.  Even her ears are flooded with water.  But nothing happens.  Not a single peep or movement.  Her breathing does not even catch. 

Looking helplessly at Dagda, I ask, “What do we do now?”

The pain and fear in his eyes tell me just how much he is coming to care for Xandra.  It also tells me that he has no better idea than I about how to wake her up.  Great.  Finally, he says, “Kegan, Kallen, we are going to try to push her magic back through her.”

Is he insane?  “We cannot do that,” I say.

“Why not?  It is the only way,” Dagda demands.

I shake my head.  “If we push against her magic it will push back and sear through us.  That will leave the three of us writhing in pain until Xandra wakes up, or at least until she stops emitting magic.”

He gets it.  Cursing, he says, “You are right.  That will not do any of us any good.”  He is quiet for a moment as he searches his mind for alternatives.  Finally, he turns to Alita and says, “Stay here with Xandra.  Keep trying to wake her up.  Scream at her, shake her, do whatever you can think of to rouse her.”  Alita nods.  I do not like leaving her embroiled in this magic, I would much rather be the one to stay with Xandra.  But unfortunately, she is the best choice.  She has little to offer magically.