1.5 True of Blood: Kallen's Tale

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places, dialogue and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright ©2012 by Bonnie
Humbarger
Lamer

All rights reserved.

No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without the express written permission of copyright holder.

Other Titles by Bonnie Lamer

The Witch Fairy Series:

True of Blood

Blood Prophecy

Blood Lines

Shadow Blood

The
Eliana
Brennan Series:

Essence of Re

Exposed

I love to hear from fans!  Contact me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bonnie-Lamer-Author/129829463748061

*****
Reader
Message
*****

True of Blood: Kallen’s Tale is meant to be read
after
True of Blood.  This is a companion book that gives the reader a look into Kallen’s mind when he meets Xandra.  In an effort to avoid as much redundancy as possible, I have condensed some scenes, focusing less on Xandra and more on Kallen. 
This could cause confusion if this book is read first.

I hope you enjoy this look into Kallen’s world.

This book is dedicated to
all the special people in my life who did not think

I
was crazy
when I announced I wanted to be an author. 

It’s also
dedicated to
the special people in my
life
who did,

just
not as much.
 

(Notice this is not underlined.)

I love you
all,
whichever side of the fence you were on.

Chapter 1

“Kallen, I know this is a gre
at sacrifice…” Grandmother says from across the kitchen
island
counter.
 

I stand up so quickly, my stool tumbles across the tile floor. 
“Great sacrifice?  Grandmother, you are asking me to give up my life as I know it. 
Tomorrow.
 
Did you expect me to welcome your request?  Cowans killed my parents and you want me to go to their realm and live among them
?
  You
do not think you
are asking too much
?
”
 
I am grateful for the large slab of marble countertop that separates us.  Otherwise, I might be tempted to try to shake some sense into her.

Grandmother’s
face is grim now.
“If you do not go, the Cowan realm
will be forced to bow down before the Pooka Fairies.  The atrocities that will occur as they seek revenge should not be wished upon your worst enemy
.”
 

I
will not be
guilted
into this
.  “That is no concern of mine.”

S
tanding to her full six feet, s
he narrows her
piercing
green eyes in my direction. 
“You are not as indifferent as you now claim.  I have heard your arguments with Dagda regarding his attempts to find the girl.”
 

Dagda
, King of the Fairy realm
, who is h
ell bent on returning to the Cowan realm to take revenge for his damaged pride. 
He cannot accept the fact that a Witch was able to better him in a physical,
magicless
showdown.  His ego bruised, he has become a Fairy obsessed beyond reason, wanting to right an imagined wrong by finding the daughter he does not know
,
and use her to open the gateways between realms. 
By killing her.
 
Once
a
respected uncle,
my esteem for him has suffered
greatly
as he has become a raving lunatic
on this subject
. 
  He and I often argue the point of vengeance
and its merits, or lack of merits
. 
I
f he follows through with his intentions, his soul will be blackened beyond
redemption
.
 
Still, I never signed on to be the savior of his soul.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I say,
“My opinion has changed significantly in the last ten minutes.”

S
lamming down her spoon on the stove
, Tabitha
turns towards us
.
“Isla, how can you ask him to do this?”
she asks.  Seeing her face, and the dangerous storm brewing on it,
I
almost take a step back.  I
have rarely seen
her this
angry.  G
ray-haired, slightly plump
, and definitely someone you do not want to get on the bad side of,
Tabitha
takes care of our home while Isla attends to her High Chancellor duties
.  S
he
has
also
been a second Grandmother to me throughout my
life
, and I am grateful she is taking my side on this
. 

I am amazed
, though,
that she has held her tongue this long.  She usually lets her opinion be known as soon as it forms. 
Looking closely at her
,
I cannot tell if those are sparks coming out of her eyes, or if it is the sun
light
from
the window
sparkling off them
.  I am leaning towards the sparks. 
“How can you send him away
like this
?”
she demands to know.

“I have seen what happens if he does not
go
.
”  Grandmother has the power of divination.
 
She rarely discusses her visions of the future
because the future is not set in stone.  I
wish she had kept this
vision
to herself, as well. 
“
She is going to willingly open a gateway to this realm
because she will not know any better.  W
ithout the proper
protection
, she will die.”

I shrug. 
“I do not know this girl
;
why should I care if she lives or dies?” 
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I wish I could take them back.  I am not a heartless cad; I simply want to live out the rest of my days in my own realm, not the fetid, broken Cowan realm.  I do not truly wish this girl the brutal death that will come to her if she is brought
here.  I simply want nothing to do with the whole situation
.  “
I
f she is going to intentionally open the realms, why does she need protection?  It seems more like she needs someone to stop her.”

Isla nods solemnly.  “That
may be, and that
is what you
will
need to decide
when you meet her
.”

I take a deep breath and my hands are knotted into
such tight
fists
on the counter
,
I’m pretty sure I
a
m losing
all
circulation in them.  “Just how would you expect me to stop her?”

Her eyes darken, as she says,
“As a Sheehogue Fairy, it is your duty to protect those who cannot defend themselves. 
Which means that
sometimes, you have to consider the greater good over the life of one individual
.
”

My mouth drops open. 
She cannot mean what I think she means.  “You want me to
kill
her?”

She shakes her head
of long, gray streaked black hair
and
I
start to sigh in relief
.
U
ntil she says, “Only as a last resort.”

Now my
jaw just about hits the floor.  “Give up my realm
,
as well as become a murderer? 
What is the matter with you? 
You are not the grandmother I have known all these years.
 
Do you simply want me out of your house? 
If I
have been
such a burden
to you over the years
that you feel you have to send me on this fool’s quest, there are
less cruel
ways to be rid of me.
  I would rather be forced into a hand-fasting with a Cowan Fairy than this.
  I will live in the forest until you choose who you want me to marry.
”
  More words I regret. 
First of all, I sound like a child throwing a tantrum.  Secondly,
I will not wed without love.
  And I have yet to meet a full blooded, or otherwise, Fairy whom I
could love. 
Even if it is the only way to stay in this realm.

Grandmother
sighs in frustration,
a sure sign of a storm brewing inside of her,
but I do not care. 
This is beyond even contemplating. 
“I love you
more than you will ever know,” she says.
 
“
You h
ave never been a burden to me, b
ut this is what you
must do
.  This
is your destiny.
  I have seen it.
”

What a bunch of bull.  I know as well as she does that her visions are a possible future, not a given one.
  “I will make a different destiny for myself.  I do not need to follow this one.”

She shakes her head.  “Kallen, this is too important. 
Too big on a cosmic level.
 
This cannot be changed.”

“That is ridiculous.  Everything can be changed.”

Rising from her seat, Grandmother walks to where I am sitting.  She places her hands
gently
on my cheeks, something she hasn’t done in years.  “I am begging you to do this.  If you save that realm, you will be setting into motion things that have been foretold for eons.
 
Foretold by the Angels themselves.
”

I pull my head back and her hands drop to her sides.  “Are you
spea
king
of
the prophecy?
  You know I hold no stock in ancient prophecies.
”

Her lips form a sad smile.  “When the Angel of Fates prophesizes, it will come true.”

“Or he could be spouting nonsense in an attempt to keep other magical beings from being foolish.
  The Angels have often used threats of hell and brimstone to bring about things they desire.
”

“
Kallen, I am begging you.  Please do this.”

I look at the tall, slender woman standing before me.  Her
face is still unlined
and her eyes have not lost a bit of luster over the years.  She looks young enough to be my mother, but
she
is much older than she appears. 

She is
also
determined
, I will give her that
.  I can see it in her
green
eyes – the sadness, the desperation, the remorse, and finally, the
fortitude
. 
She will be unrelenting until she gets her way. 
“Do I truly have a choice?” I ask.  I already know the answer.

“Isla…” Tabitha begins, but grandmother interrupts her.

“Tabitha, please, this is difficult enough.  I understand the sacrifice this will take from us all.  I do not want to send my beloved grandson away.  My heart is breaking at the
very
thought.  But, you know as well as I do
,
there are some things that must come to pass; they cannot be undone.”

I can tell from
Tabitha’s
face that she would like to argue with Grandmother, but she does not.  She simply nods and turns back to her stew.  I do not miss the tears in her eyes, though.

“Kallen, Dagda has already sent
Maurelle
and
Olwyn
.  They will be upon her
by morning
.”

I scrunch my brow as a new question pops into my head. 
“If you knew that this
has been foretold for ages
, why did you wait so long to tell me?”

She
looks down at the counter, avoiding my eyes,
and a tiny bit of pink washes over her cheeks. 
That is d
efinitely a
rare sight. 
“I thought this would be easier for you.”

My eyebrows have reached the nape of my neck, I believe.  “You thought it would be easier for me to pick up and leave without saying proper goodbyes, without savoring one last time
,
the things that are most important to me in this realm?”

This is the first time I have ever seen her look unsure of
a
decision.  “I
am sorry I handled things this poorly.  Perhaps it was
myself
I was protecting.  I have been dreading this day for quite some time; I did not want you to have to do the same.”

Yes,
go with
the guilt card
again
.  Well played, Grandmother.  “If I have no choice, then I
will take
the evening
to say goodbye to my cousin
, at least
.  I
sh
all
be ready to go in
the morning
.”  I lift a brow in question. 
“Unless I am supposed to leave sooner?”

She shakes her head.  Is that a tear I see in my Grandmother’s eye? 
What a
n
exceptional
sight
that
is. 

However,
I decide that at th
is
moment, I do not care
if she cries a million tears
. 
I will never forgive her for this.  I
a
m not too crazy about the Angel of Fates right now, either. 
I have to get out of here
.  A
nother moment in her presence and I will explode. 
I stand up and leave the kitchen
through the backdoor
without a backwards glance.