Blood of Destiny (Witch Fairy #6) (19 page)

Chapter 20

I mean to land gracefully, I really do.  But meaning to and actually doing it are two different things.  Maybe it would have worked better if I wasn’t landing in sand.  Because of how my wings are structured, my hind legs hit first and they slide in the sand.  When my front legs come down with a dull thump, I end up sitting rather painfully on my tail as I come to an abrupt halt.  Not being used to having four legs, I try to stand up with my front while my back legs are still kind of under me.  It doesn’t work.  It does make me fall to the side, though.  Great.  How am I supposed to get up now?  I try to bite my bottom lip to ponder the situation, but I can’t quite get it to my teeth.  That’s probably a good thing because I can chomp down pretty hard with these horsey teeth, so it probably would have hurt.

As I consider the ways that I can get up from this position, a thought dawns on me.  Why am I still a horse?  It’d be a lot easier to stand up if I only had two legs. 

With a thought, my body begins to shrink and I have less and less white hair covering me.  My wings disappear with a pop and I am left lying naked in the sand.  I’m so glad it’s dark out here.  Concentrating as hard as I can, I dress myself in dark jeans and a black t-shirt.  Appropriate attire for fighting dark Angels, right?

Picking myself up with ease now, I brush the sand off from me with my hands.  I give the Gargoyles a glance where they’re still stranded on the beach.  They’re not going anywhere.  Turning my back to them, I walk to the terrace steps and into the house.

I expect to see everyone bound and gagged and sitting on the floor or tied to chairs.  That’s not what I find.  I find everyone in a seldom used living room with three people I don’t know leaning against the far wall.  The people I do know are sitting perfectly still on the couches that are strewn around the room.  Kallen, Kegan and Alita are on one.  Isla and Tabitha are on another.  Ray, Zoe and Raziel are on the one closest to the three standing.  Mom and Dad are hovering in a corner.  As I look closer at all of them, I can tell something’s wrong.  They may not be bound and gagged, but they’re in a comparable state.  I’m pissed now.

“Nice moves as the horse,” a tall woman with fiery red hair says in a teasing voice.

I wish I gave good glares.  I don’t.  Instead, I’ll go with sarcasm.  “Thanks.  That was the end of this evening’s entertainment, so you can go now.”

She smiles and it doesn’t even look sinister.  Amazing how Angels can look so…well, Angelic even when they’re up to something terrible.  She’s wearing a long flowing dress that matches her hair perfectly and it looks just right on her.  “Before we have had a chance to talk?  That would be rude.”

“I’m okay with it.  You go right ahead and be rude.  I’ll let it slide this time.”

“You are a witty child.  I believe we will get along fabulously.”

Yeah, I don’t think so.  “Why would I want to be around you long enough to determine if we would get along fabulously or not?”  I think it’s a valid question.

She laughs the pretty little Angel laugh and her two friends join in.  One is average height with a rugged looking face, brown hair and yellow and green eyes.  He’s wearing dark pants and a tan button down shirt.  I could easily picture him as a cowboy.  The other is a woman with long, flowing blonde hair and brown eyes that capture your attention and hold it.  She’s wearing what looks like a cocktail dress.  It’s all shiny and red, and cut too low and too high at the same time.  Way too much cleavage and leg showing to consider her actually dressed.  Okay, looking at them and talking to them, despite the almost nonexistent dress on the one, it would be really hard to tell that they’re Angels let alone if they are light or dark Angels.

“Xandra, we have come to offer you the deal of a life time.  Well, eternity, so many lifetimes.  We have been observing you for some time and I believe we can make everything right again.”

I scowl.  “What do you mean ‘everything right again?’”  And what is it with Angels watching me?  Soon, I’m going to be too paranoid to go the bathroom for fear an Angel is looking at me through a peep hole in the realm.

“Please, have a seat so we can talk,” she says pointing to one of the empty couches.  I have yet to figure out why Isla has filled this room with so much furniture since no one ever uses it.  It does look cool, though.  I guess she was going for the aesthetic value rather than usability.

“If I sit down am I going to end up frozen like them?” I swing my arm around towards the people I love.

The red-haired Angel waves her hand as if I’m being silly.  “Of course not.  That would make it a little difficult to converse.”

True.  That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, though.  “I think I’d rather stand.”

She tilts her head and nods.  “As you wish.”

“So, how do I get you guys to leave?”

She smiles.  “We will leave after we have had our discussion.”  She may be smiling but there’s razor sharp steel in her words.  “Hopefully, you will choose to leave with us.”

“Or I’ll be forced to leave with you?”

She shakes her head.  “No, Xandra.  We will not force you to do anything you do not wish to do.” 

What a refreshing thought.  I’d be daft to believe it, but still refreshing.  “Okay then, talk.”

She eyes me for a moment before saying, “I understand that we are making you uncomfortable.  Hopefully, what I have to say will make you more at ease with us.  We have come to help you.”

I snort.  “Yeah, that’s why everyone I care about is sitting motionless around me.”

She ignores that statement.  Sitting down and motioning for the others to do so as well, she says, “Your fate, like all the others, was predetermined.  You were destined to walk a path of greatness; a prophetess of sorts for humanoids.  But on a dark day in our history, your destiny was changed by magical intervention.”

I barely restrain the eye roll that’s pulling against my eye muscles.  “Sure it was.”  That was pure sarcasm.  How much crap does she expect me to believe?  “How can magic be used to change destinies?  Did Ambriel’s little rock suddenly change the course of my life?”

“Magic knows no boundaries, Xandra.  It is the limitation of our minds that creates impenetrable walls of restriction.”  I think I understood that.  What impresses me the most is that she managed to say that without coming off as condescending or arrogant.  “And it is not Ambriel who has affected your destiny.”

Then what is she talking about?  “So, you think someone changed my destiny magically.  Am I not supposed to be the first born Witch Fairy or something?”

She smiles softly.  “No, that part did not change.  You were always meant to be the being of three magical heritages.”

My frown deepens.  “Then how can you say that my destiny was altered?  And who altered it?”  For the first time, her smile looks sad as she prepares her answer in her mind.  Yeah, I’m not buying the sad act yet.

“You were torn from your true destiny by one whom you care for and respect, and by an Archangel.  They did this for their own personal reasons.”

I’m running through my mind to figure out who would have the power and the inclination to change my destiny to help them out.  I can’t think of anything those around me have gained from me being the way I am, except stress and trouble.  “Will you please stop stalling and just tell me?”  I have to add, “Do your friends talk?  Because they’re really starting to creep me out just sitting there and staring at us.”

The male one inclines his head with a nod.  “Rest assured, we do speak.  It was simply easier to designate one of us to tell the story.”

“To change your destiny, the magic needed to come from someone powerful in each blood line.  Raziel,” she points to where he is sitting, “is the Archangel who summoned the other two and convinced them to help.  Isla was chosen as the Fairy representative and your great grandmother, the mother of your maternal grandfather, was the other.  That latter made sure to instill a fear of Fairies deep within your grandfather’s psyche to ensure your new destiny stayed on course.”

Isla?  No way.  I don’t believe it.  “I think you’re lying.  Isla wouldn’t do something like that.  She didn’t have any reason to.”  Would she?  My grandpa’s family is something different altogether.  I’d believe anything bad about them. 

She gives me a ‘you poor naïve creature’ look.  “On the contrary, there was much for Isla to gain.  She even gave up a son to see this through.”

I still don’t believe it.  But my heart does stutter a bit.  “What?”  I look at Isla wishing she could move her face muscles so she could give me a ‘don’t believe a word she’s saying’ look.

“As with all great magic, a sacrifice was required from each of the three.”

“So Isla sacrificed Kallen’s dad?”  How could this Angel accuse her of something so evil?  And why does she think I would believe it?  I don’t know anything about this Angel, so why should I believe anything she says?  “Um, can we back up a bit.  Who are you?”

“I am Armaita, the Angel of Truth.”

The Angel of Truth is an exiled Fallen Angel?  Something’s just not adding up here.  “How did you end up in Angel hell?”

She gets up and walks behind the couch that Raziel is sitting on and rests her hands on his shoulders.  “That brings us to dear Raziel.  He did not want the truth to be told, so I was forced into the mist to hide what he had done.”  If that’s true, that’s cruelty at its finest.  Not to mention grossly unfair.

That seems grossly unfair.  If it’s true.  Raziel is a little freaky.  The man talks to pterodactyls for god’s sake, so why is it so hard to believe he’s crazy enough to change a destiny.  He said he had the curse of knowledge or something like that.  Still, I’m having a hard time believing it.  The price to pay for that would be high amongst the Angels.  I imagine it would be him in the mist if anyone found out.  So, instead of letting that happen, he locks up the only one who can bring out the truth.  Oh crap, I think she
is
telling me the truth.  Which means the part about Isla is true, as well.  My eyes dart to hers and they are so sad.  For the first time, I realize that the others in the room may all be paralyzed but they’re still conscious.  They’re hearing everything that’s being said.  Good.  Then there’ll be no more secrets. 

My eyes turn cold as I stare into Isla’s pleading gaze.  I turn away from her and back to Armaita.  “Tell me more about the sacrifice Isla chose to make.”

I expected Armaita to be happy that she has finally gotten me to believe her.  Uh uh.  She looks sadder than ever now.  “Xandra, you must remember, the acts of Isla and your great grandmother were thought to be necessary for the greater good.  They were assured of this by Raziel.  I am not telling you these things to hurt you or cause you to no longer care for these beings you have surrounded yourself with.”

“Great, thanks, now will you please tell me the rest?”  I don’t mean to be all snarky to her, but I don’t think a nice word could scratch its way up to the top of my dry throat at the moment.

With a long sigh, she moves out from behind Raziel and back to where she was sitting.  She curls her legs up under her and says, “I thought this would be easier when I was face to face with you.  I have rehearsed the words over and over, but they never do get easier to say.  I do not know how to say all of this without you being hurt.  I will do my best.