Blood of Centaurs: Book 12 of The Witch Fairy Series (12 page)

It must be the shock of being rasher than I am that brings about the contriteness in the back of Dagda’s eyes.  He and Kallen both know they may have made grievous errors in their handling of the situation, even if I was the one to start it. It shows me I can’t always rely on them to keep me from doing stupid things when the stakes are so high.  We’re all vulnerable to behaving stupidly under this amount of stress.

Taking a deep breath, Dagda says, “My daughter and nephew speak with great wisdom.”  Kegan isn’t really his nephew, but he considers him to be in his heart.  “My apologies that the grief of finding my wife missing has led me to behave in such a rash manner.”

Whoa.  I didn’t expect him to apologize.  After all, it is more than likely that one or the other of the Kings is responsible for Tana and Felix’s disappearance.  This is not a time to show weakness.

But Dagda’s words have done much to calm the situation down.  Yerwen inclines his head.  “I cannot imagine the pain in your heart. 
Your actions are understandable as there are no lasting effects.”  Meaning he didn’t need to cut a giant ball of gum out of his armpit hair.  Since I don’t have a creepy crawly sensation on my skin, he must mean it.  Kono obviously disagrees, but she keeps her mouth closed.

“My mate passed many years ago.  The pain in my chest can still be crippling at times,” Bayard acknowledges
, meaning his second mate.  From what I discerned in his secret place, his first mate is still alive.  “Come, let us adjourn to the Hall of Justice where we can devise a plan to find those who have been lost.”

“Wait!” Taz screeches.  This causes Kono to take a defensive stance.  We ignore her.  “I can smell him!”  My
Familiar dashes off toward a clump of trees on the other side of the smoldering barn.

I don’t know how Taz could possibly smell anything other than smoke and charred wood, but nonetheless, I follow him.  I take off at a run but he is at least twice as fast as I am so he reaches the clump of trees well before I do.  Kallen and Kegan catch up to me and we reach Taz at the same time. 

We find him behind a large tree.  There, on the ground, is Felix.  My breath catches at his stillness.  Is he alive?  Taz is pushing at him with his nose and shaking him with his paws but Felix doesn’t respond.  Throwing myself to the ground next to him, I reach out and press my palm against his little chest searching for a heartbeat.  To my great relief, I find one.  It’s faint, but it’s there.

“What are you waiting for?” Taz growls.  “This is a bad time to test your abilities to raise the dead, which he’ll be if you don’t start using magic on him.”

I try to keep in mind how worried Taz is so I don’t reach out and throttle him.  Focusing my attention on Felix, I do as Taz so pleasantly suggested and use my magic on him.  My healing magic.  It is only a moment before he begins to stir.

“
Iron,” is the first thing Felix wheezes.  “Iron chains.”  His meaning is clear and my heart sinks until it’s touching my toenails.

I don’t even want to look at my biological father at the moment
for fear my sudden knowledge will be easy for him to discern on my face.  I know what iron does to most Fairies.  It may not affect me much, but it is torture for Fairies to come into contact with it.  Now, I have to tell him that Tana is somewhere bound in iron chains.

Kallen kneels down next to me.  Reading me as well as he usually does, he asks softly, “What is he saying?”

I close my eyes and search for the courage I need to say the words.  Finally, I just jam them through my voice box.  “He’s saying ‘iron chains.’”

Everyone around us stills.  Before, it was conjecture that Tana was kidnapped.  I was still hoping for a spell or something she used to get her and Felix
to safety.  After all, she knew Zac was with Garren so she wouldn’t have really been leaving him in danger.  But all those ideas are now ground into dust and being served up on an iron platter as kidnapping.

“Impossible,” Pholos says, breaking the thick silence.  “All iron was removed from the village before your arrival.”

Well, that was considerate.  But removing it and destroying it are two different things.  “Apparently, you missed some,” I say dryly.

Kono’s androgynous face
melts into an ugly sneer.  “You have barely roused the creature from the brink of death.  How could you have garnered such information already?”  I really don’t like the Sasquatch.

I’m about to share this information with Kono when an unfamiliar sound whooshes through the air.  In unison, all heads turn toward the sound.  Also in unison, curses are
uttered all around.

Several things happen at once.  Centaurs who have been keeping their distance rush forward.  Shields in hand, they protect their King by pushing him behind them and raising their shields.  Several Sasquatch do the same for their King.

Brave as these actions are, they are almost pointless as hundreds of flaming arrows are flying toward us.  A few shields provide very little cover.  Thank goodness for magic.  The arrows are rendered useless as they fall to the ground around us, unable to penetrate the wall of magic that is being held by those of us with the power.

Rendered useless is not really a good description.  The arrows were unable to penetrate our bodies, yes.  Did the magic put out their flames?  No.  Since we are standing in a clump of trees that
are being turned into firewood, we are not quite out of danger yet.  This produces another chorus of cursing.

Cries come from Centaurs and Sasquatch alike as they rush to
save their Kings.  The rest of us are secondary concerns.  The buckets used earlier to bring water from the well to the barn are now being used to put out the flaming trees.  Within just a few minutes, we have an escape path before us.

We also have a much bigger problem.  It’s not just Fairies who are in danger. 
It seems someone wants to kill everyone in charge.

If Dagda continues to act like a caged tiger, he’s going to grow stripes all over his body soon.  He has been pacing the marble tiered room in the Hall of Justice for the past fifteen minutes.  I keep waiting for him to attack someone just to relieve a little of the tension flowing through him at about a million volts.

“Does anyone else see the lack of wisdom
in meeting in a place that can be burned to the ground?" Kegan asks quietly.  I give him a slight nod.  It doesn’t seem to be the smartest thing to do.  Yet, here we are.

“Between our forces and those of the Centaurs and Sasquatch, we will be fine,” Kallen assures me.  I do feel a little better now that I’ve brought the Fae troops over. 
At least they have magic to defend against flaming arrows.

A Faun comes hurrying into the room with an armful of objects.  “I believe I have everything you requested,” the out of breath Faun says.  In the middle of the marble tiered room, he places the items on the floor.  Four candles, matches, a ceramic bowl and a knife.

Nerves build within me.  I’ve done various locator spells in the past, but this one is more personal.  If I fail, it could be the last chance we have of finding Tana without war.  And at this point, none of us are certain who we’d be fighting.  There doesn’t seem to be a clear enemy for anyone at the moment.  Hushed conversations between the other Kings and their men are reaching the same conclusion. 

Accepting the inevitable, I sit down on the floor in front of the objects.  Kallen kneels next to me.  “Which spell will you use?” he asks. 

I shrug.  “I guess I’m just going to wing it.”  Tight lines form around my gorgeous husband’s mouth but he doesn’t say anything.

Kegan kneels on the other side of me.  “My cousin probably knows every locator spell there is.  Sure you don’t want him to help?”

I am going to put their doubt down to their love for Tana.  My own doubts I’m going to simply ignore.  Deep down, I know I do my best spells when I let them simply come to me in the heat of the moment.

Reaching into the bowl, I remove the candles.  I set one down in each point of direction, south, north, east and west.  I use the matches to light them.  Finally, I stare at the knife.  I asked for it but I wasn’t sure why at the time.  My subconscious brain had kicked in
and I asked for it without knowing the reason why I needed it.  Seeing it now, I know what it’s for.  Drawing blood.  I’m going to do blood magic.  I’m sure this will make me popular with our hosts.  Nobody ever gets freaked out by blood magic.  But blood magic is stronger than any other type of magic and I’m not taking any chances with this spell.  With a sigh, I pick the knife up and examine the edge.  Nice and sharp, just as I asked. 

“Xandra?” Kallen says.  “Do you need assistance?” 

I shake my head.  “No.  Just building up my courage.”  My words don’t appease him but Kallen holds his tongue.  I love him even more for that.

Setting the knife down, I say, “I need you, Dagda, Yerwen and Bayard.”

Surprise flashes over Kallen’s face.  “What do you mean?”

Picking up the knife again, I grimace.  “I’m going to need your blood.”

Placing a finger under my chin, Kallen gently lifts my face until I meet his eyes.  He studies me for a moment.  Finally, he nods and kisses me lightly.  Rising to his feet, he goes in search of the other three I need.

“You really know how to freak people out,” Kegan says with a low chuckle
as if he read my mind a moment ago.  I give him a sour look.  Holding his hands up in front of him, he says, “I am simply making an observation.  No judgment here.”  He winks at me.

I can’t help a small laugh.  “Yeah, I do kind of freak people out, don’t I?”

Putting a comforting arm around my shoulder, he says, “Freak or not, you are still my favorite cousin.”  We are cousins by marriage now.

“I assume you want to keep that arm,” Kallen says, kneeling next to me again.  Chuckling, Kegan removes
the offending arm from my shoulders.

Dagda, Bayard and Yerwen are standing in front of us now.  Looking up at the three Kings, I say, “I need each of you to kneel behind a candle.  Dagda, please take the north position.  Bayard the
east and Yerwen the west.  Kallen, you’ll be here next to me at the south point.”  Each King takes his place by a lit candle.  Bayard is a little slower than the rest as he has more legs to bend.  Yerwen is careful to keep his hair well away from the flame.

Closing my eyes, I let magic build inside me.  It fills me quickly, eager to be unleashed.  Opening my eyes again, I recite the words forming in my mind. 
“A quest for peace gone awry, good intentions torrefied.  Traitors heed a call to arms, victims fall beneath their charms.  Amongst the ashes of torched hope, a single figure bears the scope.  Lost, bound, wracked with pain, shackled now in iron chains.  Beyond our vision true and psychic, I will make this victory pyrrhic.  As her bloody bindings must now burn, only a bloody sacrifice will her location discern.”

“What is the meaning of this?” Kono demands. 

She has moved to take a defensive position in front of her King.  Which means she has entered the area within the candles. 

The Sasquatch must not know a lot about magic because this was a really stupid move on her part. 
There is a reason the candles are in place.  Certain spells require boundaries as the magic needed begins to grow.  The magic must be contained so it doesn’t become wild and dangerous as it learns of its task.  This can be said emphatically about my magic.  Which is why Kono becomes a Sasquatch torpedo.  My magic wraps around her, lifts her and uses her as a battering ram to create an exit in the windowless wall of the marble tiered room. 

“Woo hoo!” Taz shouts.  “Sasquatch stupidity segues stylishly to Sasquatch shish kabob!”  His use of alliteration is impressive.

I had intended to use blood for the spell.  The knife in the bowl was to be used to poke the finger of each being at the different compass points.  They would then drip their blood in the bowl and I would light it on fire with the candles beside them to give my magic even more oomph.  Now, my magic has discovered its own way to get the blood needed to fuel its ability to locate Tana.  Living battering rams tend to get a little bloody in the process of being banged against a wall.

The room has erupted into a giant ball of chaos.  Other Sasquatch are grabbing hold of their Supreme Commander, trying to still her.  The Centaurs have moved Bayard to a corner of the room to try to prevent him suffering the same fate as Kono.  Pholos is ordering some of the Centaurs to assist in rescuing Kono.  The three Fairies in the room have taken up defensive stances around me.  This is for the protection of not only me, but of the other beings in the room.  If anyone touches me at the moment, the magic I am unable to pull back will burn through them with death being the most likely outcome.

As soon as Kono’s head finally creates an opening in the wooden wall, my magic escapes through it so fast I am yanked forward and fall flat on my face.  Ow.  That hurt.

“Xandra, are you okay?” Kallen asks.  He reaches down to touch me but pulls his hand back when Felix snaps at him.  The Tasmanian devil isn’t being mean, he is trying to save Kallen from being a conduit for my magic.  From my uncomfortable position
nose down on the floor, I can tell Kallen figured that out.  He doesn’t try to help me up again.

I always forget how strong my Witch spells can be.  Probably because it’s been a while since I created one so strong that the magic is able to render me basically paralyzed under its power.  There is so much magic in the room, even the non-magical beings can feel it.  This is most likely due to the fact the magic is trying to take up all the space in the room and has
now pushed every Sasquatch, Centaur and Fairy against the walls.  And fight as they may, they can’t free themselves. 

It’s the blood.  I only needed a little bit of blood for the spell.  A pinprick from four fingers.  Instead, the magic opened several bloody gashes on Kono’s head and the spell imbibed it all.
  My magic is now drunk on blood.

I wish I could say it is good news that I can
suddenly move again.  I am on my feet and walking quickly in the direction the spell is dragging me.  Why couldn’t my magic have used the door?

Felix and Taz bound in front of me and they do their best with their teeth and their paws to make the hole in the
wall bigger as I fight to slow my magic down.  By the time I get to the hole, my Familiars have succeeded in making it big enough for me to be pulled through it without my head being ripped from my shoulders.  I’ll make sure Tabitha gives them extra bacon for this.

As soon as my body exits the building, so does my magic.  This explains the
sudden explosion behind me.  Kallen, Kegan and Dagda thought as one and each threw magic at the wall, knocking it to the ground with more force than was probably necessary.  I’m surprised the rest of the structure is still standing.  It is only an instant before the three of them catch up with me.  As well as the Centaurs, Sasquatch and most of the Fae army that crossed into this realm earlier.  Only a few of them stay behind to secure the area.

I wish my magic would simply teleport me to wherever I need to be instead of making me trot what must be at least three miles now.  My
gorgeous, always in shape, well-toned husband isn’t even winded as he jogs next to me.  Even my biological father is in better shape than me.  When we get back to the Fairy realm, I’m starting an exercise regimen.  I mean it this time.

About five hundred yards ahead of us, a small building comes into view.  Actually, small is too big of a word.  The building is tiny.  It’s more the size of my tree house back in Colorado.  Even I’m taller than the roof on the
thing.  Is Tana in there?  If so, she must take up half of the available space. 

The closer we get, the louder the crowd following me gets.  I want to tell them to shut it, but it’s not like we’d be any sneakier if they weren’t talking.  There’s at least fifty of us and the tiny building is standing alone in the middle of nowhere.  One look out the window anytime in the last
five minutes and whoever is in there would have seen us coming.

Fueled on Sasquatch blood as it is, my magic not only leads us to Tana, it clears the way.  The walls and roof of the structure are ripped from the base.  There, in the middle of what appears to be a hovel, is Tana.  She is blindfolded, bound in iron chains as Felix had said and slumped against a little table.  Around her is a straw pallet on the floor, a chair and the tiniest stove I have ever seen.  This is someone’s home.

Muddled by magic as it is at the moment, my brain can still put the scene together.  The Sasquatch are tall.  Almost as tall as the Centaurs.  There is no possible way either could fit inside this structure.  I don’t know how Tana got in.  The door that blew away a moment ago was too small for her to fit through. 

I see it now. 
The outline of a trap door on the floor next to Tana.  Dagda has run ahead and is ripping the iron from her, burning himself in the process.  He’s so consumed with freeing Tana from her bonds, he doesn’t pay attention to the trap door he is kneeling on.  The one most likely used to get her inside the tiny structure.

He may be in shape, but
Dagda’s still considerably heavier than a Faun.  Which is why the trap door isn’t able to withstand his weight.  Which is why he falls through it.

Tana screams as she watches her husband descend into darkness.  One hand is free and she reaches into the hole in the floor after him.  He’s too far down.

Kegan and Kallen finish removing the iron while I focus on Dagda.  I use magic to bring light to the darkness under the trap door.  There, about eight feet down on the dirt floor, is my biological father.  When he fell, he must have triggered some sort of contraption or booby trap because there is a rock lying near his gaping head wound.  He is barely conscious.

He is conscious enough, however, to mumble exactly what he plans to do to the Fauns responsible
for all of this.  I am so glad I’m not one of those Fauns.