Blood of Retribution (21 page)

Chapter 25

I’ve watched enough cop shows to have a certain expectation as to what an interrogation room should look like.  This isn’t it.  This is Middle Ages meets Martha Stewart.

We are in a room that is split down the middle in design.  Where Dagda and I are, there are three comfortable chairs, a small table next to each to put our tea and coffee on.  The colors are soft shades of brown and tan and the rich carpet under our feet is a pretty shade of coffee.  There are yummy appetizers like tiny sandwiches and cookies set out on a larger table with a lacy tablecloth. 

The other half of the room is stark.  The floor is made of chipped brick with a lot of sharp edges and water is leaking down the walls and onto the floor.  There are two buckets along the back wall.  I don’t want to know what’s in either of them.  Other than that, there is no furniture.  The prisoner has been placed in this half of the room.  His shoes have been removed and he has been given a pair of gray shorts to wear and nothing else.  Since he is chattering his teeth, I assume his side of the room is cold and magic free.  Otherwise, he would be dressed a lot warmer.

The prisoner is the first to speak and he goes with bravado.  “When will I be set free?” he demands.

Dagda’s brows rise.  Each word he speaks to the Fairy has venom dripping from it.  “What high expectations you have.  Do you truly believe you can physically assault my daughter and be released without punishment?” 

“It is her fault,” the man says pointing to me.  “It was the darkness she let loose that made me do it.”

“Funny,” I say, pretending to consider his response, “I performed a spell that made me a sponge for the darkness.  Everyone I touched or who touched me lost the darkness as I took it inside.  But, I didn’t have that sensation from you.  You went right on to push me anyway, even though you were not being controlled by darkness.” 

I’ve seen enough deer in headlights in Colorado to recognize the expression.  The Fairy knows he’s screwed.  His eyes swing back and forth between Dagda and me, finally resting on my face.  “I have information.  I can tell you who’s plotting against the royal family.”

That’s interesting.  I hadn’t expected him to know anything other than he hates me.  I do my best to keep the shock off my face.  A slight tensing of his body is the only response that can be seen from Dagda. 

“What information do you believe will save your life?” Dagda asks as if he’s bored. 

“I know where Ta…the Queen…” he trips over what to call her in front of the King.  “I know where she has been staying and what she plans to do.”

I already know what she plans to do as well, but it sure would be nice to know where she is without going on a wild goose chase.  “Her plans are not difficult to figure out,” I say, trying to imitate Dagda’s bored expression.

“She is working with someone.  Someone with a lot of power,” the Fairy hurries to say.

“That is no longer the case,” Dagda says.

The Fairy’s eyes widen.  “You know who is helping her?”

“Who was helping her,” I clarify.  “She’s on her own now.”

There’s a healthy amount of both fear and awe on the Fairy’s face.  “How?”

“That is not your concern,” Dagda says.  “Your concern is to give us whatever information you have that may sway me towards mercy.  At the moment, I am completely free of the concept.”  His icy words provide the proof that he means it.

“May I have some water?” the Fairy asks.

“You have water,” Dagda says pointing to one of the pails.  I try to school my ‘oh gross’ face.  I hope the guy doesn’t mix up the buckets.  It’s fairly dark on his side of the room.  Obviously, there is no Geneva Convention to regulate how prisoners of war must be treated, but I guess this isn’t really war. Well, it sort of is.

When the Fairy remains silent, Dagda makes to stand up.  “You seem to be wasting our time.  I will relinquish you to the High Council.”

Weird.  I thought Dagda would be the torture until you speak kind of interrogator.  On the other hand, his blasé attitude over whether the guy actually has information or not seems to instill more fear.  It drives home the fact that the Fairy on the other side of the room holds no power whatsoever.  Dagda’s complete indifference is a nail in the guy’s coffin.

In desperation, the Fairy says, “She is staying with my sister and her children.”  Huh.  I wonder if those are the children Tana was with in the woods when she followed Kallen and me.  If so, I hope kids cannot be tried for treason.

Dagda gives him a terse nod and stands up.  The look he gives me tells me I should do the same, so I do.  Looking at the Fairy, he says, “You were arrested for treason and you have given no evidence that you are innocent of the charges.  You have admitted to having knowledge concerning the location of a wanted fugitive, knowledge you did not divulge until now making you an accessory, on top of assaulting the Princess.  You will be relinquished to the High Council for sentencing unless you are able to prove between now and then that you are not guilty of the charges against you.”  With that, Dagda opens the door on our side of the room and we walk out, leaving the Fairy to sputter and call after us.

I have to keep my heart from feeling for the guy.  I know Dagda’s right.  If I was the President’s daughter and someone pushed me, they would be in big trouble.  And the guy was not under a magic spell.  He’s just a bully who thought he could push me around.  Still, I know he’s going to be made into an example and I hate the whole idea of it.  But I also know that nothing I say is going to sway Dagda on this one.  The guy did keep Tana’s location a secret after all.  And it’s the game of politics.  A game I’m going to have to play some day – both here and with the Witches.  How in the hell am I going to do both?

Naja is waiting for us on the other side of the door.  Dagda relays the whereabouts of Tana as we walk back to his office.  “I want that house surrounded.  You do not have to do it quietly.”

Going in guns blazing doesn’t seem like the best idea.  “Aren’t you worried about cornering her?  Even if Hades isn’t backing her, she still seems pretty powerful in the ways of dark magic.  Innocent people could get hurt.”

“They are Fairies, Xandra, not people,” is Dagda’s only response.  He continues to make plans with Naja. 

Nice to know my opinion matters.  Fine, he can do it his way.  “I’m going to find Kallen and Isla.”  I get a curt nod in response to that.  I’m getting the distinct impression that my father does not want my help from this point forward.  I also get the impression that he’s fighting some inner demons and is masking it by a show of strength.  His pride is running the show and he doesn’t want to give the impression that this whole situation is killing him.  Which means he’s going to end up doing something really, really stupid.  I should know.  I inherited those genes from him.

Now that I’m free to find them, I have no idea where to look for Kallen and Isla.  I wish I had Kallen’s ability to send messages with my mind. It would make things so much easier.

As I walk through the great hall towards the door, I’m surprised to run into Tabitha. “What are you doing here?” I ask her.

“Looking for you,” she says her voice full of concern.  I don’t think it’s for me, though.  Something else is obviously wrong that I don’t know about yet.  Has it really just been a day?

“Okay, what do you need?”

“It is Alita,” she says and there’s something in her eyes that I don’t like.

“Is she okay?”  I’m not sure I want the answer to that question.

Tabitha sighs, this burden heavy in her chest.  “She still cannot be roused.”

What?  My brows scrunch in confusion.  “But I freed the realm of the dark spells when I died.”

Now it is Tabitha that looks confused.  “What are you going on about?”

I forgot that she has not been privy to any of this information.  “It’s a long story,” I tell her.  “The gist of it is that the realm is free of the dark spells. The only thing left is the darkness some people carry inside of themselves that may have been set free.”

“Then it appears that Alita is going to need more help than just having the spells disappear,” Tabitha says gruffly.  I have never seen her this is anxious before.  Is she afraid that Alita is going to die?

I decide finding Kallen and Isla will have to wait.  Alita needs to come first right now.  “Take me to her,” I say to Tabitha.  With a curt nod, Tabitha turns around and heads back for the staircase that leads to the front door from the great Hall.

When we’re outside in the cool night air, I put a hand on her arm to stop her.  “Is she at her house?” I ask.

Tabitha nods.  “We have been afraid to move her,” she says.  “Even to the hospital.”  Hospital?  I wonder where that is.  I didn’t see one when I was in the village.  Then again, after the incident with me getting pushed, I didn’t really do anymore sightseeing.

A wave of guilt washes over me yet again for exposing Alita’s mind to all of the darkness.  I don’t know what I’ll do if I’m not able to help her.  “Let’s do this a little faster,” I say to Tabitha.  She knows what I’m talking about.  After a quick nod she lets me grasp her arm tighter and I teleport us to Alita’s house.

Chapter 26

A small smile touches my lips when we appear before Alita’s cottage. It’s modest in size but makes up for that with the most beautiful garden I have ever seen surrounding it. Alita’s mother tends it carefully and loves her flowers almost as much as she loves her daughter. 

Her mother is the only human in the realm other than my ghostly dad.  Her story of how she came to be here is so romantic.  A lot of Fairies went to the Cowen realm to mate with humans before the passageways were closed.  Fertility and pregnancy can be difficult for pure-bred fairies, so many Fairies chose this path in order to procreate.  When the passageways were to be closed, the Fairies, both male and female, brought their children here.  But not the humans who helped create the children. 

Except for Alita’s dad.  Her parents were a love match and her father could not stand the thought of leaving her mother behind.  As romantic as that seems, life has not been easy for her here. She has never really been accepted in the Fairy society. I cannot imagine how lonely her life has been since coming here. 

Alita’s mother must’ve been waiting for Tabitha to return because the front door to the cottage opens instantly. A beautiful woman with dark brown hair and blue eyes steps out to greet us and clasps my hands in hers.  I’m stunned how young looking she is.  She doesn’t look a day over forty.  Amazing that a human has been here for centuries and has only aged this much!  That’s reassuring.  “Have you come to help her?” She asks.  The tremor in her voice and the red around her eyes tells me that this is one of the few moments today that she has not had tears streaming from her eyes. Though, some do seem to be welling again.

“I have come to do whatever I can,” I say.  I probably should be more reassuring, but after Alita’s reaction to me earlier, I’m not ever sure I can get near her without making things worse. 

As if reading my mind, Tabitha lays a hand on my shoulder.  “It is gone,” she says.  “The darkness on your soul is gone.” 

That is the only good news I’ve had today.  The soul painting thing must have been one of the things that Hades was helping with.  “Thank god,” I say.  I have a lot more faith in my ability to help Alita now.

Turning to Alita’s mother, Tabitha says, “Dorothy, will you please make another pot of tea?”

Alita’s mother nods and hurries us inside.  She knows that Tabitha is giving her something to do other than hover over me and Alita and she seems grateful for it.  I can see the fear in her eyes.  Fear that I won’t be able to help and I get the feeling that I’m the last hope here.  If Tabitha couldn’t figure out what’s wrong, it has to be something really bad. 

We enter a large room with a small kitchen towards the back and a living room area. There are three doors that lead off from the back of the room.  Dorothy opens the one on the far left and Tabitha and I enter Alita’s room.  Dorothy closes the door behind us and goes off to make tea.

Laid out on the bed is a poor imitation of Alita.  She has a pasty, on-death’s-door hue to her skin and her face is twisted as if she’s in pain even though she’s not conscious.  Her breathing is shallow and wheezing and she looks to have lost weight already, like her body is using so many calories she’s shedding weight right before our eyes.  Alita is trapped somewhere in this ragged body and with even more determination than I had before, I walk to her bed with the intent bringing my best friend back.

Kegan is kneeling next to her on the bed with his head down and his hand grasping hers.  He appears to be sleeping and I try not to wake him when I sit down on the bed across from him.  It doesn’t work.  Without opening his eyes, he says, “I will never forgive you if she dies.”

His words hurt worse than if he had hit me with a semi.  But what can I say?  Whether I was being pushed into it or not, I was the one who set the darkness free.  I try to fight back the tears as I take Alita’s other hand.  Fortunately, she doesn’t flinch.

Instantly, I know what the problem is and I can’t believe it.  There is a ball of dark energy inside of her.  Encapsulated within her mind and looking for a way out, it is slowly seeping into her system.  Just enough to keep her down.  But, why is it moving so slowly?  And why didn’t it dissolve with the rest of the darkness when I lost my magic? 

The answer hits me like a tennis racket through molasses.  I feel it coming, but it takes a moment to make it through the mess of other thoughts in my head.  Finally, it becomes clear.  “Alita is keeping it inside her.”  I didn’t really mean to say that out loud.

Kegan’s head shoots up from the bed.  “Are you trying to say it is her fault she is like this?”  Any affection he felt for me in the past has gone off into a corner and died.

Quickly, I shake my head.  “No, I didn’t mean that at all.  I meant that she is protecting herself and she’s stuck.”

With a sigh, Tabitha says, “Xandra, that does not make sense.”

Okay, how can I explain this better?  “It’s like a Catch-22.”  I get dull stares for                                  that analogy.  Guess they don’t have that book here.  “I mean, it’s a no win situation.  Alita was attacked by dark magic and her mind reacted by compiling it all and locking it away, and there’s a lot of it.  More than I’ve taken within myself as a dark magic sponge.”  More blank stares.  I keep forgetting they’ve been out of the loop.  “She’s protecting herself and that’s taking all her energy, but her energy is starting to wane.  If she lets the darkness go, it could consume her and kill her.  If she doesn’t let it go, it will stay inside of her and trickle out into her system slowly as she becomes weaker.  It’ll still kill her, it’ll just take longer.  But she can’t defend herself forever.”  She already looks like her body and mind have taken several beatings.

“Are you saying you cannot help her?” Kegan asks.  The look on his face tells me that if he had a stake, he’d be driving it through my heart right now, despite the fact I’m not a vampire.  I do a surreptitious look around the room for sharp, pointy objects he could impale me with.

“I can try,” I say quietly.  I believe my theory is sound.  I’m just not sure what to do about it.

Closing my eyes, I pray for an answer to come to me.  Could I use Taz?  No.  First of all, he isn’t here.  Secondly, his presence would just make things worse.  Can I take it inside of me?  The problem with that is I don’t know how to pull it out without destroying Alita’s mind in the process.  Once this darkness is let loose, it has every intention of consuming her.  Kallen thinks I’m weird for thinking of magic as a sentient thing, but I don’t know how else to describe it.

Fortunately, my subconscious is a lot smarter than my conscious mind.  My lips start to curl up as my brain remembers my grandmother’s words.  Darkness cannot live where true love thrives.  Well, something like that anyway.  I can’t remember her exact words.

“Kegan, I’m going to need you to kiss her in a minute.”  I ignore the fact that he now hates me and thinks I’m crazy.  Hopefully, that will change very soon.  When in the land of Fairies, sometimes you have to take your cues from fairy tales.  Kegan is about to give Alita a true love’s kiss.

“Tabitha, will you please help Dorothy with the tea?” I ask politely. 

Her eyes narrow.  “What are you planning to do?”

“I’m going to save Alita, but I can’t do that with anyone besides Kegan in the room.”

Her mouth opens to ask why, but she clamps it closed again.  Darting her eyes back and forth between Kegan and me a few times, she finally nods.  “I will be right outside the door.”  I’m not sure if she said that for my benefit or for Kegan’s.  Probably Kegan’s.

After Tabitha closes the door behind her, Kegan says, “You had better know what you are doing.”

My thoughts exactly, but my grandmother is the Angel of Love and Conception.  Hopefully, I have a little of her magic inside of me.  Hopefully.  “I want you to lie on the bed next to Alita.  Lie on your side facing her.”

Kegan does what I ask without argument.  He crawls up on the bed next to Alita and carefully lies at her side.  He gingerly wraps one of his arms around her.   Oh, please, please, please let this work.

Closing my eyes, I let the spell come to me.  “Out of the first darkness came the wonder of true love, carried forth on the wings of a gentle dove.  I call upon now the first vestiges, the roots from which the tendrils came, those arms that wrap us, holding hearts under which we are tamed.  Come judge these two worthy, let the darkness be shamed.  Bowed under the power of true love, it’s hold on this soul unchained.  A kiss from a lover true, laid upon lips to be claimed, lift the curse upon this soul, leave only love where there now is pain.”

Kegan’s eyes have widened with fear, the ramifications of the spell not lost on him.  “What…What if I’m not enough…”  He’s too choked up to continue. 

An easy smile spreads over my lips.  “Trust me, the way you feel about her is more than enough.”  I have no doubt in my mind.

Tentatively, Kegan brings his lips closer to Alita’s.  He hesitates within millimeters, closing his eyes and saying a silent prayer.  Then his lips are on hers.  And they stay there.  They stay there as my wings come to me.  They stay there as the room is bathed in the light of Angels.  They stay there as I fall to my knees under the power of the magic pouring forth.  They stay there until Alita has been cleansed by true love.

The white light dissipates and my haggard breaths are all that is heard in the room.  On the bed, a very conscious Alita has wrapped her arms around Kegan’s neck and is holding him close as she kisses him with the same amount of love pouring from her as Kegan used to save her.  Despite the fact that I’m physically exhausted and emotionally wired, I am so very happy for them.

Okay, they can stop kissing now.  Anytime.  This is getting a little awkward.  Pushing myself to my feet, I stumble my way to the door on shaky legs.  Not a peep from the two on the bed asking if I’m okay.  Twisting the doorknob, the door falls open and I am almost knocked to the ground by Dorothy and Tabitha who have been listening through the wood.  Tabitha reaches out to steady me, my wings making it difficult.

The radiant joy that flows from Dorothy as she stares at her conscious, and much healthier looking daughter, is worth every ounce of discomfort I feel at the moment.  “Thank you,” she whispers.

“It is a good thing there is already a hand-fasting planned,” Tabitha grumbles.

Dorothy smiles wider.  “I think we should give them some privacy.”  She herds Tabitha and me out of the room and closes the door behind us.  I don’t think she cares what the two of them do in there as long as Alita is okay.

Turning to us, Dorothy asks, “Would you still like some tea?”

I have to shake my head.  “Thank you, but I have to find Kallen and Isla,” I say.  Whether Dagda wants me to be a part of this or not, I am going to be there when he confronts Tana.  I’m not sure what I’m going to do, but I don’t want him facing her alone.