Shadow Blood: Kallen's Tale (Witch Fairy #4.5) (7 page)

I walk in just behind Xandra and hear Kegan complaining about the weight of the food tray he is carrying.  “Whatever is in here weighs a ton, Tabitha,” he complains, feigning exhaustion.  “I do not think I could lift another thing.”  Tabitha ignores him and heads back to the kitchen.

I cannot let that go without comment; he left himself wide open.  “That is because you are weak, cousin.  Perhaps someone with more strength should help, like Xandra.”

Kegan is feisty tonight.  Instead of just shooting daggers at me with his eyes, he sets the tray down and then creates one and throws it at me.  I easily block it by creating a shield.  Now he is angry.  He creates several more daggers and proceeds to bombard my shield with them.  I believe it is time to make a hasty exit.  I tear out of the room and Kegan follows.  With more daggers.  I zig and zag through furniture to keep from getting hit.

I have a good enough head start on him that I am able to ambush him on the terrace.  As he comes out of the door, I tackle him and we both go flying off the terrace into the sand.  Since I land on top of him, all the air in his lungs is expelled in a loud oomph.  I’m pretty sure the fight has been knocked out of him as I roll off from him.  It sure feels good to blow off some steam like we used to do.  I did not realize how much I missed our constant bantering and fighting.

“You need to go on a diet, cousin,” Kegan says when he rolls over and gets some oxygen in his lungs.  He’s trying to get the sand out of his mouth through a combination of both spitting and wiping off his tongue with the back of his hand.  “Your sheer bulk is enough to kill a Fairy.”

I stand up and offer him my hand.  “You are simply too scrawny.  If you had muscles under that skin of yours, you would not be so weak and easily tumbled.”

He ignores my jab and laughs as I help him up.  “It is good to have you back, cousin.  It was not that long ago that I thought we would never be sparring like this again.”

“I did not realize you were such a fan of being constantly bested by me.  I will be happy to continue to oblige you while I am still here.”

After punching me in the arm, hard, he says, “Are you really going back to the Cowan realm?”

I shrug.  “I admit, I am not looking forward to leaving here again, but I will go wherever my life with Xandra takes me.”

Kegan shakes his head.  “You have it bad, cousin.  I never thought you would be so easily led around by a female.”

I push him and he stumbles to the ground again, laughing that he got to me.  “As if you would not do the same thing if given a chance,” I say with a glare.

He stands up again and brushes the sand from his clothes.  “Oh no, I learned my lesson on that front.”  His face becomes sober.  “I really am sorry about that whole Xandra thing.”

My lips form a flat line.  “I know.  But I would prefer to put in our past, not keep it in our present.”

Kegan nods.  “Me too.  And if you are done being so dramatic, I am hungry and would like to join the others for dinner.”  He laughs and rubs his arm where I punch him.

Chapter 11

Dinner consists of some of Tabitha’s favorite and best recipes.  The food is great and the banter is fun, making it one of the best dinners I have had in a long time.  The atmosphere is so jovial that it is hard to believe that three of the people sitting at the table have recently been in hell.  Literally.  I do not even mind Xandra’s father going around the table trying to take in every aroma.  I have never been without a body so I am trying not to judge.

My hand eventually finds Xandra’s thigh under the table, earning me a smile.  My god she is beautiful.  Thoughts from earlier flood my mind and if I am not careful, everyone at the table will know what they are.  I am about to whisper something sexy in her ear when Alita puts her hand to her forehead and grimaces in pain.

Xandra notices as well.  “Alita, are you okay?”

She tries to nod, but stops abruptly because it obviously hurts.  “Perhaps I should lie down again,” she says softly.  Kegan gives a quick glance to Grandmother who nods her head.  Standing up, Kegan offers Alita his hand and puts his other hand around her waist as she stands up unsteadily.  They make a slow exit and Alita looks like she’s going to fall down any minute.

“Poor girl,” Barb says.  “It would be awful to have such a delicate constitution.”

Xandra gives her aunt a funny look.  “She’s not usually like this.”  Barb gives her a doubting look in return, putting Xandra on the defensive.  “She’s not.”

“Xandra, dear, I do not believe your aunt was trying to insult Alita,” Grandmother says in a way that obviously grates against Xandra’s nerves.  I am surprised that a snarky response is not forthcoming.

The mood at the table becomes more somber as we all focus on our meal trying to avoid the big ball of animosity growing over the center of the table.  There is very little talking for a while.  The silence is broken when out of the blue Zac says to Xandra, “You smell funny.”

I cover a laugh with a clearing of my throat but Xandra is not buying it.  Everyone at the table stops eating to see where this sibling discussion goes.  The odd thing is Zac looks serious.  I try to surreptitiously take a whiff of Xandra’s hair which earns me a slap on the chest with the back of her hand and a dirty look even though she is trying to do the same thing.  She smells fine to me.  Perhaps his senses have not quite fully returned since being reunited with his body.  This whole situation is unprecedented so there could be all kinds of side effects that may pop up.

“Zac, that’s not very nice,” his mother admonishes.

He shrugs.  “I wasn’t trying to be mean.  She smells different.”

I cannot help it.  He looks so anxious that I need to help him out.  “What does she smell like?” I ask.

Zac purses his lips and thinks a minute.  “It’s like a mixture of skunk and rabbit farts.”

A round of laughter hits the table so hard that food and drink are escaping through noses and lips.  Even Grandmother is biting her lip so hard trying not to laugh a little bubble of blood forms around her teeth.  Xandra’s mother is trying her best to be strict when she says to her son, “Zac, that wasn’t very nice.”  A slight giggle on the tail end of her sentence takes the stern right out of her words.

Zac’s lower lip comes out a bit.  “Fine, maybe not the skunk part, but she does smell like rabbit farts.” 

Xandra is horrified now.  She is openly trying to smell various parts of her body to determine if he is telling the truth.  I still believe it is an olfactory issue on Zac’s part, but I cannot resist the opportunity to tease her more.  To Zac, I say, “You know, I have noticed that as well.  I simply did not have your finesse for identifying the odd odor coming from your sister.  Thank you for such an apt description.  Ow!”  Okay, I did not expect Xandra to kick me under the table.  I believe she is wearing steel toed boots at the moment.

“Perhaps we should focus our attention on dinner once more?” Grandmother says, with a pitying look towards Xandra.  We do our best, but there is still the odd giggle or snort here or there.  I think if Tabitha holds her laughter in much longer, she will go into an apoplectic fit.  When my hand strays to Xandra’s thigh again, it is firmly put back on mine.

When dinner is over, I try to weasel my way back into Xandra’s good graces.  Even though my leg is developing a nasty bruise where she kicked me.  Blocking her exit from the dining room when she tries to dash off, presumably to shower, I say, “With your parents’ permission, I thought we could bring your brother for a swim in the ocean.”  Her response is a rather perfected glare as her arms clamp tightly over her chest. 

“Yeah!” Zac shouts. 

“I am not in the mood for swimming,” Xandra grinds out. 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” her mother says but Xandra’s father comes to Zac’s rescue.  “I think a little swim will be good for him.  He seems fine and he’ll be in good hands.”  Her mother still wants to say no but after a moment she relents.

Now, the only obstacle is Xandra.  Zac does his best little brother pleading.  “Please, Xandra?  I promise I won’t say you’re stinky anymore.  Besides, the ocean water will probably wash the stink right off from you.”

I turn and cough but Xandra’s still not buying it.  A bit of magic steals my voice away so I am no longer capable of laughing out loud.  That is not playing fair.  But in the long run, it will probably keep me from getting into more trouble. 

Looking down at Zac between narrowed lids, Xandra finally says, “Fine.” 

Since I cannot say anything, I pick her up by her waist and plant a kiss on her lips in appreciation.  Then, I sling her over my shoulder and carry her outside.  A dazzling green bikini replaces her clothes as she pounds half-heartedly on my back to put her down between her own laughter.  Zac scampers ahead of us and is in the water before we are even off the terrace steps. 

I set Xandra down on the sand and point to my throat.  Pretending to debate it in her mind for a moment, she finally gives me my voice back.  “Thank you,” I say, giving her a swift kiss.  “Now, I am going to discuss some safety rules with your brother before he gets himself in trouble.”  I take off at a trot to the water to catch the little guy who can surprisingly swim like a fish.  A little fish who might look awfully tasty to some bigger fish if he swims too far out. 

After about an hour, Xandra’s mother insists that we get Zac out of the water and into some warm clothes.  She has been wearing a mask of worry every second her son has been in the water and I do not think her nerves can take any more.  With the pouting finesse of a young boy, Zac stomps up the stairs to take a shower and get ready for bed. 

Xandra wants to check on Alita so I leave her to that while I take a shower to get some of the salt off from my body.  Thoughts of Xandra’s body in her bikini, and out of it, keep me turning the faucet to colder and colder settings.  I am becoming more and more driven to talk her into a right hand-fasting.  Before my body self-combusts. 

I am on my way to Xandra’s room when I hear voices coming from Alita’s.  Xandra is still here and Kegan has joined them.  He is expertly shuffling a deck of cards. 

Stopping in the doorway, I say, “You should look at those cards closely before agreeing to play with him; my cousin cheats.”

Kegan grins.  “Only when I am playing with you.”

“Will we have to listen to the two of you insulting each other if we play?  If so, I believe I feel another headache coming on,” Alita says with a glint in her eye. It is good to see the color is back in her face and her charming teasing has returned.

Kegan puts his hand over his heart.  “I give you my word.  Though my cousin may try to aggravate me, I will ignore his childish attempts and be on my best behavior.”  As he deals the cards, he says to me, “What a shame this is a card game for only three people.”  I walk past him to sit next to Xandra and punch him hard in the shoulder on the way.  He just laughs.

We eventually settle on a four player game and play partners.  Xandra is my partner and it does not take her long to get up to speed on the game and start raking in points.  We win almost every round.  After a couple of hours though, Xandra can no longer keep her eyes open.  Through a yawn, she says, “I think I’m done for the night.  I’m ready for bed.”

Finally.  “I believe I will turn in as well.”

“What a surprise,” Kegan murmurs under his breath.  Ah, the sweet sound of jealousy.  I give him a smug smile and take Xandra’s hand as we leave him and Alita to do whatever.  Knowing Kegan, it will not be much.

When we have reached Xandra’s room, I close the door behind us and pull her close.  “Any chance I can convince you to stay awake a little while longer?”

Coyly, she says, “Maybe.  What did you have in mind, more cards?”

Oh, she thinks she is funny now.  I swing her up into my arms, eliciting a small yelp from her, and carry her into her bathing room.  “No, not cards.” 

“Monopoly?” she asks.

I look down at her pretty face.  “I do not know what that is, but I am sure it is not what I am thinking.”

She taps a finger against her chin and pretends to think of something else.  In the meantime, I fill the bath with foamy bubbles.  “Video games?” she asks.

I chuckle and walk down the steps into the bath.  “I am afraid that is another reference from your realm that I do not understand.  But perhaps we should do that instead of taking a nice warm bath together.”  I turn my body to go back up the stairs.

“Don’t you dare carry me out of this room,” she growls.  I chuckle.  I knew she would see it my way.

I sit down on the underwater bench that follows the perimeter of the bath with Xandra firmly on my lap underneath the soapy foam I create.  Scowling up at me, she says, “You know, taking a bath fully clothed is not very comfortable.”

I was hoping she would say that.  “Is that better?” I ask, removing all of her clothes.  Why did I make these bubbles again?  I cannot see a thing.  Feeling is not a problem though, which is why I am disappointed when she scurries off my lap.

“Very funny.” She says with pink cheeks.  “I don’t find this any more comfortable.”

I feign insult and say, “I was simply trying to be helpful.”

“Uh huh, I think I have to have at least a bikini on if we want to keep things from going in certain directions.”