True of Blood (Witch Fairy Series) (20 page)

He stops brushing at the snow and looks at me.  “What do you mean?”

“You said earlier that it takes two powerful Fairies to bind another Fairy’s magic.  Well, I’m pretty sure that my mom didn’t know any Fairies when she bound my Witch magic after I was born so maybe my Fairy magic has been growing all these years.  I just haven’t used it until now because I didn’t know how.”

First Kallen looks shocked and then he shakes his head in what looks like amazement.  “Which would explain why you are having so much trouble controlling it.  Fairy children begin their training when they are very young and their control grows with their magic as they reach adulthood.  But you have a grown Fairy’s magical abilities and a young child’s ability to control it.  That makes a lot of sense.”

I frown.  “Somewhere in there did you imply that I’m infantile?”

Kallen chuckles.  “Only your control over your magic.”

“Okay, what do we do now that we’ve figured this out?”

Kallen puts his lips together in a flat line and shrugs.  “I honestly do not know.”

I shake my head and sigh.  “Of all the times to not have all the answers you choose this time?”

His brows come together and he purses his lips as he thinks.  “We could try to tire your magic out.”

“Huh?  What does that mean?”

“Maybe if we find something for your initial rushes of magic to glom onto, other than me, you will gain more control as you are able to pull less and less magic.  Basically, we’d be bringing your magical abilities down to the level of your ability to control it.”

I think I understand what he means.  “What could I have it glom onto?”  Who uses the word glom anymore?  He’s really showing his age with that word.

Kallen slowly spins in a circle as he looks for a target for my magic.  Finally, he stops and points.  “Do you see that tree right there?  The one with the large knot sticking out of it about halfway up?  It is already dying and will fall on its own soon.  Maybe you could hurry the process along.”

I look at him doubtfully.  “You want me to magically cut down a thirty foot tree?”

“Believe me, if you send the same amount of magic you keep searing my insides with, you will have no problem felling the tree.”  Felling, glom, maybe I’ll get him a thesaurus for Christmas.

I shrug.  “Okay, I’m willing to try it.”  Kallen gestures towards the tree in an any time you’re ready signal.

Turning towards the tree, I close my eyes and have a picture of it in my mind.  I begin pulling the magic into me and as I feel it overflowing, looking for an outlet, I imagine it flowing into the tree.  Almost immediately, I hear a loud bang and I’m being knocked to the ground.  I open my eyes to find Kallen on top of me with his hands over his head and using his body to shield mine.  As I move my head around, I understand why.  I didn’t make the tree fall down, I made it explode and we are lying in a field of wooden shrapnel.

Kallen opens his eyes and puts his elbows on the ground and he shakes his head as he lifts up to look at me.  “You cannot do anything on a small scale, can you?”

I don’t know what to say to that so I go with, “Apparently not,” which makes him laugh.  Pushing himself off from me, he stands up and offers me his hand which I accept.

“You need to do this several times before you will find that you are able to pull less and less magic as your mind and body begin to tire.  We should pick a tree that is farther away, though.”

“Do you really think that it’s good for the environment for me to be blowing up trees?  What if there are bird nests or other animals in them?”

Kallen crosses his arms over his chest.  “As opposed to rock slides and avalanches ruining their homes?  At least this way you are significantly lowering the number of displaced animals.”

He’s right.  Again.  I hate that about him.  “Fine.  Pick a tree.”

He picks a tree about a hundred feet from us and I repeat the process.  I do this six more times before I can finally start to feel a drag as I attempt to pull magic inside of me.  Kallen gives me a relieved ‘finally’ look when I tell him.

“Now I want you to make the snow shake off from one tree.”

“Which one?”

“Any one, you pick.”

I get a tree in mind and I pull from the earth.  It feels like the magic is coming into me in a trickle instead of rush.  I concentrate on the tree that I picked and imagine it swaying softly, just hard enough for the snow to fall from its limbs. 

The next thing I know, I’m being swung around in the air by Kallen.  “You did!  You finally did it,” he says with a grin and I can’t help but smile along with him.  After planting a quick kiss on my lips that I wasn’t expecting, he sets me back down on the ground.  I’m going to put that kiss down to his excitement and just ignore it this time.  He just better not be thinking that he can kiss me every time I do something right.

“Okay, do it again,” he says still smiling like a teacher who’s worst student finally added two plus two and came up with four instead of ten.

After a few more tries and getting it right, I’m exhausted.  “I don’t think I can do another one.”

Kallen nods.  “It is probably best to rest for a bit.”

Looking out over the trees, I’m impressed with my self.  I can control my magic sometimes.  I’m about to turn back around towards Kallen when something catches my eye.  It’s brown and first I assumed it was a tree but the more I look at it, the more it looks like a chimney.  I squint my eyes to try to get a better look and before I know it, I’m walking towards it.

“Xandra, where are you going?”

“I think there’s something down there.”  I keep walking and I can hear Kallen’s footsteps following behind.

When I can finally make out the entire structure, I turn to Kallen in amazement.  “It’s a ranger station!”

Of course, he has no idea what a ranger station is so he looks at me blankly until I explain.  “During the summer months when there’s the risk of forest fires, the forest rangers will come up and stay in these small cabins and keep watch.”

“To watch the forest burn?” Kallen asks looking confused.

I roll my eyes.  “No, of course not.  To be able to locate a fire quickly so it can be put out before it spreads too far.”

“Do Witches come and put the fire out?”

I can’t help but laugh.  I haven’t thought about how much has changed technologically since Kallen was last in our realm.  “No, they use airplanes to drop water and chemicals on the fire.  Do you know what an airplane is?”

That old haughty expression cmes back on his face.  “I familiarized myself with the different modes of transportation when I entered this realm.”

“Well, good for you,” I say dryly and I start walking towards the cabin again.  Maybe if I get there first, I can lock him out of it.

 
Chapter 15

The cabin is empty of course since it’s the dead of winter.  Peering in the windows, I can see a small cook stove, some radio equipment, a wooden table and chairs and a cot.  The bare basics but after sleeping outside for more nights this week than I thought I would have to in my entire lifetime, it looks like a palace to me.

Kallen tries the door handle but it’s locked.  That doesn’t seem to be a problem for him because within a couple of seconds he has the lock turning and the door open.  I really, really want to be able to do stuff like that.  I hate having to rely on him for all the magic that requires finesse and delicacy.

The inside of the cabin is dark but it only takes a moment to locate some kerosene lamps on a small shelf and get one lit with the matches lying next to them on the same shelf.  Swinging the lantern around slowly, the cabin is neat and clean with only the occasional cobweb here and there.  I don’t care how many spiders there are, they can even sleep with me as long as I can sleep under a roof and on something other than rock.  I’m grinning from ear to ear when I look at Kallen who’s leaning against the door jamb watching me.  “Isn’t this great?”

“Indeed.”

I roll my eyes at his lack of enthusiasm.  “You’re more than welcome to sleep outside still.  In fact, maybe that’s a good idea so you can keep watch for Maurelle and Olwyn,” I say sweetly.

He chuckles.  “I could sense them just as easily from in here.”

I give him a hard look.  “Okay, but I get the cot.”  And then I add just so there’s no confusion, “By myself.”

He raises his eyebrows at my lack of subtlety.  “Are you implying that I would want to sleep in a small cot with you?  You are a half-breed after all.”

I start to get mad at him but the glint in his eye let’s me know he’s trying to get a rise out of me.  Nope, not going to happen this time.  It’s pretty sad that a tiny little shack in the middle of nowhere feels like heaven to me but it does and I’m not going to let him spoil my mood.  So I ignore him and continue looking around the cabin.

Above the table there is a cupboard with two doors and when I open it I am so happy that I almost cry.  It’s full of canned food.  Soup, chili, stew, veggies.  At least for the time being, I won’t have to eat something I’ve seen with its head still attached.

Kallen has finally come in and closed the door and he’s using some of the wood next to the fireplace to get a fire going.  I take down a can of chili and find an opener in the same cupboard.  I start my own little fire on one of the burners of the stove and taking a pan from a nail on the wall I dump the chili in and start heating it.  I’ve never been a huge fan of chili but this chili smells like a gourmet meal to me.

Once Kallen has the fire roaring and starting to fill the cabin with heat, he has a seat at the table and watches me as I dish the chili out into two bowls.  I hand him one with a spoon and we sit in silence as we eat.  At least it’s a fairly comfortable silence.

When he has scraped the last bit of chili from his bowl, Kallen breaks the silence.  “How did it feel when you could control the magic?”

Hmm, how do I describe it without him laughing at me?  “Well,” I begin but I close my mouth and frown as I try to think of what to say.  Finally, I just go ahead and let it flow out of my mouth.  “It felt like the magic was as tired as I was.  Kind of like it gave up the fight for control and decided to let me win that round.”

Now it’s Kallen’s turn to frown.  “You speak as if the magic is a sentient entity.”

I shrug.  “It kind of feels like one to me.  Like when we caused the avalanche, the magic felt like a bad child that refused to listen to its mother.  It was almost as if it was sticking its tongue out at me and saying na-na, I’m going to do what I want.”

I expect Kallen to laugh at me but instead he looks thoughtful.  After a few minutes, he says, “My grandmother speaks of magic like that, as if she can talk to it and reason with it.”

“Is your grandmother crazy?”

He cocks his head and raises an eyebrow and I feel color rushing into my cheeks.  “I wasn’t trying to insult your grandmother; I was asking a serious question because if she’s crazy for thinking that then I must be, too.”

“No,” he says dryly, “my grandmother is not crazy.  She is the most powerful Fairy alive.”

Good lord, he’s touchy.  “Maybe she should have come to teach me,” I grumble under my breath which must have been loud enough for Kallen to hear because he’s giving me a dirty look now.

“I can guarantee you that she would have been a harsher instructor than I.”  His tone is hard and makes me want to concentrate all of my attention on my chili because I apparently hit a sore spot and now he’s looking for an argument.

“I apologize if my education has not met your expectations, perhaps I should have stayed in the realm that I can no longer return to.  Ever,” he pushes but I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of pushing me into bickering back or letting him make me feel guilty.

Meeting his eyes, I say, “I’m sorry you had to make that choice and I’m grateful that you did.”  Oh, that was good.  He can’t get mad about that.

As if thinking the same thing, he scrapes his chair back across the floor and picks up his bowl and spoon.  He opens the door and closes it loudly behind him as he goes outside to clean them.  Wow, touchy much?  It’s not like I haven’t had to give up my life plans, too.

I finish my chili slowly savoring every bite.  When I’m done, I leave my bowl and spoon on the table.  Kallen hasn’t come back in yet and I don’t want to be near him right now so I’ll clean them later.  Instead, I drag my chair in front of the fire and warm my hands.  As the heat begins to seep into me, I find that I am actually getting too warm so I slip off my boots and jacket laying them neatly by the cot and sit back down.  It feels good not to have the bulky jacket on but in some weird way it feels like I’ve molted because it kind of became like a second skin over the last few days.

After about half an hour or so, Kallen comes back in.  He still looks kind of surly so I just ignore him and bathe in the heat that I haven’t felt for what feels like forever.  He pulls the other chair close to the fire and we sit like that for a long time without speaking.  As he warms, his outer clothes begin to disappear until he is in a pair of jeans and a black sweater that fits him like a glove.  It’s hard not to stare because he looks really, really good in that sweater.  He’s only interested in me because I have fairy blood and features, I tell myself for the hundredth time.  Not to mention the fact that I’m the only female of any type of blood around at all.

“Do you feel rested yet?” he asks without looking away from the fire.

I groan.  “Do you really want me to go back outside in the cold to practice?”

“That is why we’re here.”  Oh, goody.  The condescension is back as well as the haughtiness.  This is going to be a long day.

“Fine,” I grumble and I retrieve my boots and coat and begin to put them on resenting him the entire time.  Kallen makes his heavy winter clothes reappear and walks out the door with a look that isn’t going to win him the Mr. Congeniality award.  Yup, definitely going to be a long day.

I join him outside in front of the cabin.  “Should I try to shake the snow off a tree again?” I ask and he nods.

My magic is definitely stronger after having rested even for such a short time but it’s still manageable.  I direct it towards the tree I want to shake and I’m disappointed that I make three trees lose their snow instead of just one but it’s better than making the trees blow up so I still consider it a win for me.

“Again, but this time try harder to control it,” he says with an edge to his voice that I don’t like.  Jerk.

I’m so annoyed that I decide that I’m not going to shake a tree.  Instead, I focus on the roof of the cabin.  More specifically, the snow on the roof of the cabin.  And I imagine all of that snow finding its way to Kallen.

“What the hell?” I hear him yell and I open my eyes.  All of the snow from the roof of the cabin is now on and around him and none of it has fallen on me.

“Is that enough control?” I ask sweetly and the look on his face makes me lose my simpering expression and back up.  It only takes him a moment to have most of the snow off from him and the glint in his eyes tells me he’s going to retaliate.  I can feel him drawing a large amount of magic and I turn around and run.  But I don’t run fast enough to avoid the wall of snow he sends towards me and suddenly I’m covered in more snow than I had dumped on him.  The force of the snow makes me fall and I go face first into even more snow. 

When I flip myself over, Kallen is standing over me.  “Not as good as that,” he says and the corners of his mouth are possibly thinking about rising into a smile but he’s not there yet.

Pulling on my own magic again, I begin to imagine the snow around me rising up but before I get enough magic, Kallen is kneeling over me.  “I don’t think so,” he says breaking my concentration as he throws a handful of snow at me without using magic.  When I try to collect some snow in my hands, he grabs my wrists and holds them still with a smug grin that he’s so much stronger than I am physically. 

“Okay, I give up,” I say sounding defeated.

Kallen let’s go of my wrists still smug that he’s won and as soon as he starts to get up, I sweep my leg under his causing him to fall backwards into the snow.  He’s stunned into inaction for a second and now it’s my turn to kneel over him.  I grab as much snow as I can and drop it on his face.

He sputters as he tries to wipe the snow from his eyes and mouth and as soon as his eyes are clear, I know I’m in trouble.  I scoot backwards and try to get up to run again but then he has my arms and I find myself again lying on my back in the snow with him holding my wrists.  “Just do not know when to quit, do you?” he asks and he really doesn’t look mad at all anymore.  He actually looks like he’s having fun.

“I give up.  For real this time,” I say but I don’t think he believes me.

“And what guarantee do I have that you won’t simply attack me again when my back is turned?”

“I’ll make all our meals if I go back on my word and I hate to cook.”

He considers me for a moment and then he nods and lets go of my hands.  “It’s a deal,” he says as he stands up.  Hey, was that a contraction he just used?

Kallen offers me his hand to help me up, but I wave him off.  He shrugs and starts walking back towards the cabin so as quickly as I can, I pull magic and hit him in the back with a burst of snow causing him to fall face first into the snow on the ground. 

“That was so worth it,” I say referring to the cooking.  Kallen pushes himself out of the snow and he looks like a Yeti when he stands up and starts stalking towards me.  Okay, he looks mad again now.

I turn around and start running fully expecting him to throw snow at me so I’m taken completely by surprise when he grabs the back of my jacket and pulls me backwards causing us both to fall with me ending up on top of him.  He rolls out from under me and pins me to the ground with his knees straddling mine and his hands around my wrists again.  “You are the most obnoxious and aggravating female I have ever met,” he says as he glowers down at me.

He looks even cuter when he’s mad because his eyes shine an intense green that isn’t even found in nature.  “Don’t hold back,” I say dryly, “tell me how you really feel.”