Blood of Egypt (Witch Fairy Book 8) Read online

  “You are right, little Witch Fairy. Let me give you a taste of the torture that will befall you at my hands.”

  “Wow, dramatic much?” I mutter. A helpful thought burns into my brain and I’m so surprised, I almost don’t know how to react. Right before he throws he magic at me, I hold a hand up to keep him from doing whatever painful thing he’s about to do to me. “Wait. I have a question.”

  I’m not certain that he’s going to wait. He cold eyes are assessing me, trying to determine if his curiosity will win out over his immediate need for revenge. His curiosity wins thank God. “What is this question? Are you going to beg for your life like the pathetic creature you are?”

  I snort. “Please, you’d have to have some sort of conscience for that to work. I assume you were sick the day that was handed out.” The look on his face tells me I had better get to the point quickly, because he’s losing interest fast. “Didn’t you violate Eliana’s free will?”

  He tries to hide his surprise. “Encouraging her to continue something she was already doing is not a violation of her free will.”

  “Yeah, you’re forgetting a tiny little detail. She was trying to let her magic go. She wanted the storm to stop and you wouldn’t let it.” I’m starting to feel like my argument has merit. The fury in his eyes only confirms that I’m right.

  “Who are you to judge the actions of an Archangel?” he growls.

  “Me? Nobody. But her?” I nod my head towards the space behind him. “She definitely gets to judge the actions of an Archangel if he violates the free will laws.”

  Belial spins around to find the Angel Tabbris behind him. Tabbris is a dark haired beauty. She looks like a Persian princess with her straight black hair pulled back with jewels, her eyes shaped like a cat’s and her regal presence in her gown of deep hues.

  “Tabbris,” Belial says in a voice that could harden lava instantly. “Leave this place. You have no concerns here.”

  Tabbris is not one to be easily intimidated. I’d put her will up against any of the Angels I’ve met. She takes her job very seriously.

  In a tone of voice that could probably stop lava faster, she says, “Belial, you have twice broken an absolute law. You know what will happen if it becomes thrice.” She moves closer to him. “I warned you when I took you the first time.” Ohh, now I get it. She must have been the white light that took him by the pyramids. Wow, she is powerful. Why isn’t she an Archangel? I’ll never figure out the hierarchy of the Angels and who is really most powerful.

  Belial’s eyes follow her as she floats closer to me. I assume it’s for my protection, not because she’s afraid of the homicidally pissed off Archangel. “This is your second and final warning. I have witnessed your grievous error in judgment once again. You will be stripped of your wings and sent into exile should I witness one more.”

  Angel exile is horrifying. They are sent to a place of nothingness. Absolute nothingness. It probably doesn’t take Angels long to become completely batty there.

  “You dare threaten me in the presence of a lesser being?” Belial spits out each word like it’s a hot poker aiming for her eye.

  “I find no lesser being here. I do see the prophesized one. The one tasked to bring harmony to the universe. That is too great a role to play if she was a ‘lesser being’.”

  “That does not make her more than a mutt. A cur to be treated as the lower being she is.”

  Really? He’s going to argue about my lineage when he’s in danger of losing his wings? “Can we move this along; I have friends to get back to.”

  I can’t believe it. Is that a teeny tiny movement of her lip that might be the start of a smile? Nah, must just be a little tickle she’s feeling on her skin. Tabbris isn’t known for her light and cheery personality.

  “Of course,” she says to me, completely ignoring Belial’s death glares. Turning to him again, she says, “You have been amply warned.”

  In a flash, I’m no longer floating in the air over a bottomless abyss. My feet are on solid, sandy ground. And there’s screaming.

  Chapter 19

  Tabbris must have sent me back to the human realm. I can’t imagine that it was Belial. I can’t decide though if she did me a favor, or put me in more danger because my wings don’t disappear instantly. Meaning I am now exposed to a couple of non-magical beings. I’m pretty sure that’s not allowed.

  On the other hand, it’s my wings that are able to pull back the magic that didn’t go away with my little jaunt into Angel time. I drop to my knees in between Eliana and Agent Amman and I lay my hand on them. My wings do the rest. They pull my magic back, releasing them from its grip and then Ireach out to Kallen and do the same.

  Three things happen at once. First, the assassin who was apparently waiting for the sand storm to disperse, sees my wings and stops mid-climb down a neighboring mausoleum and then loses his hold and falls onto a tombstone. That was definitely not good for his spine.

  Second, Josh grabs Eliana and pulls her to him once her body is no longer writhing in pain. She’s barely conscious. I really need to heal her but I think Josh has other ideas that don’t include me touching her again.

  Third, Agent Amman has drawn his gun and it’s pointed at me. The fear in his eyes has erased from his mind that I am here to help him. On the other hand, he doesn’t really know me so I can understand why he has doubts at the moment. Still, I’m not a fan of guns pointed at me.

  “You might as well put that away,” Kallen says in a scratchy voice as he sits up with my help. “I have shot at her from a lesser distance and she was still able to deflect my weapon.”

  “You shot at your wife?” Josh says aghast.

  Wow, we’re not making the best impression right now. “He was only proving a point. He wasn’t trying to hurt me.”

  The only one who believes me is Kallen. Peering around us, I say, “I’m not really supposed to wear my wings out in public, so we really need to get out of here before anyone else sees me.” The sand storm did a good job of sending the crowd back home, but I still want to be outta here. Now.

  I think Josh is seriously considering telling me to go to hell. That would be ironic, I guess, since I’m wearing Angel wings. What he is not seriously considering is letting Kallen and I back in his vehicle. I really hate to do this, but I really need to get out of here.

  I reach out with magic and disarm Agent Amman. A quick look at Kallen and the agent is being pulled towards us against his will. Kallen can do that, but I don’t dare try. I might ram him into the mausoleum or something. I give him a small smile and then turn to Eliana and Josh. I reach out a hand and touch them in a way that I have contact with both. Kallen has grabbed my shoulder and I touch Agent Amman with my foot. Before they can do anything about it, I transport our little party back to the house. I put us in the foyer, the only place I’m sure I won’t set someone down on a table or bash them into a chair.

  Now I have two very unhappy people glowering at me. Well, Agent Amman is more confused than mad, but he’s still putting some glower in his stare. Eliana is just starting to regain full consciousness, so she’s not really giving me any type of look at all. I put my hand on my head and wonder how I got myself into yet another mess. I was just trying to help.

  Chapter 20

  “What the hell just happened?” the agent asks in english after a rant in Arabic. From Kallen’s facial expression, I definitely do not want it translated.

  “I teleported us,” I say.

  “I am not an idiot; I see that you have done that. How did you do it and why do you have wings?”

  Eliana’s eyes flutter open and then widen. “You do have wings. Are you an Angel?” She is more amazed than angry.

  Time for more explanations. I hate this. “I’m part Angel. My Grandmother is the Angel of Love.”

  “So, let me get this straight,” Josh says. “You are part Angel, part Witch and part Fairy. Which one of those parts made you torture your husband and Eliana?”

  Oka
y, he’s a little bitter at the moment. Most people are impressed when they find out that I’m part Angel. I have the wrong audience for that I guess.

  “She was not trying to torture us. She is simply an extremely powerful being who has difficulty controlling her magic if it is unleashed in too great of a quantity.” Kallen says rubbing his chest. It must hurt still from my magic. I put my hand on his arm again and concentrate for a moment until he feels better.

  Eliana knows what I did. “Can you do that for me?” she asks. At least she’s not afraid of my magic now. I smile and touch her, healing her almost instantly.

  “Why were you even using your magic? Eliana had the situation under control,” Josh says, his anger not diminished even slightly.

  “No, I wasn’t,” Eliana says shaking her head. “Xandra only used her magic when neither I nor Kallen could stop the sand and wind that was going to crush us. She saved us.”

  “You could not stop the magic you created?” Agent Amman asks in surprise.

  “In her defense, it was taken out of her control.” All eyes are on me now.

  “What do you mean?” Josh asks. He looks a tiny bit less hostile now.

  “Belial, the Archangel that wants to kill me? He took control of it.”

  Agent Amman is having trouble believing any of this. “An Archangel wants you dead? Your tale is becoming more outrageous by the moment.”

  I sigh. “I know, it sounds crazy, but this is my life in a nutshell. I’m a mixture of three magical heritages which gives me more magic than even I can control sometimes. I get wings when I need them and I live in the Fairy realm where I’m a reluctant princess. I’m married to one of the most powerful full-blooded Fairies around which makes me a pariah to most of the female Fairies who wanted him. My parents are ghosts and my little brother is part human, part Witch and part Angel. We have no idea how strong his magic will be one day. I may or may not be immortal and it’s my job to create harmony in the magical universe. Sometimes I suck at my job.” I give Eliana an apologetic look.

  I know I’ve finally won Josh over. It’s hard for him to stay mad at me if Eliana’s not. There’s still doubt in Agent Amman’s eyes, but it’s fading. “If you are part Angel, then you should be able to locate my wife and daughter.”

  I shake my head sadly. “I’m afraid I don’t have all the abilities other Angels have.” At least, I don’t think so. It very well could be that I simply don’t know how to use the ones I do have. I should talk to Raziel about that when I get home.

  The disappointment in the agent’s eyes is heartbreaking. “Then the situation seems to me to be hopeless.”

  “I don’t accept that,” Eliana says, standing up.

  Josh stands up as well and holds his hand out to agent Amman. Not that he needs the help, but he deftly needs the support at the moment. The agent rises to his feet slowly and walks to the sunken living room with an air of hopelessness around him. He sits down on one of the couches and places his elbows on his knees, his hands dangling between.

  “Are you positive there is nowhere you can think of where he would be holding your family? Someplace related to your investigation of him, maybe,” Eliana pushes.

  “I have been racking my brain all day. There is nowhere.”

  Kallen helps me up from the foyer floor because I’m always a little awkward with my wings, and we join them in the living room. Looking up at Kallen, I ask, “Isn’t there some kind of spell or any kind of magic that could help us find these people?”

  He shakes his head. “If they were magical beings, we could scry for them. But, it is not that simple with Cowans. There is nothing of their being that the magic can latch onto. With a personal effect, a locator spell may be able to get close to the person, but in this large of a city, it is unlikely we will be able to pinpoint their exact position.”

  Eliana’s eyes light up. “But if the spell could get us close, I’m sure I could sense the kidnappers.”

  Josh looks hopeful as well. “It’s true; she can sense an evil person from quite a distance. Especially if their intent is to harm someone she cares about.”

  Kallen still looks doubtful. “The spell would probably only get us within I would say one half to a full mile away.”

  Josh looks at Eliana with pride in his eyes. “She can do it.”

  “What do we need for the spell?” I ask.

  Kallen considers for a moment. Turning to me, he says, “I will be upfront with you. This is a difficult spell to work and can easily go awry.”

  Great. Now I’m super nervous. I think he’s right, I like it better when he just lets me find out for myself after the fact. "Maybe you should do it.”

  He shakes his head. “It can only be performed by a Witch.”

  There’s more to that sentence than he’s saying out loud. “Okay, spit it out.”

  Kallen tries to look innocent. “I do not know what you mean.”

  I put my hands on my hips. “I know that tone of voice combined with that look. You’re not telling me something. Spit. It. Out.”

  With a sigh, Kallen says, “A spell of this sort is easily detected.”

  “By who?” I ask.

  “Locator spells are gray magic due to the fact that most people who are lost do not want to be found by their pursuer. It will serve as a beacon to practitioners of such magic.”

  I don’t get it. “So?”

  “I hate to butt in, but do you think we could move this conversation along? We’re losing valuable time,” Josh says. The worry in his eyes takes away any harshness in his words.

  With a terse nod, Kallen says, “Practitioners of gray and black magic tend to travel in groups because many spells require more than one Witch to perform them. When they feel Xandra’s power spread through the city, they will come looking for her.”

  I think I’m being obtuse asking this, but I’m going to anyway. “What for?”

  “To attempt to harness your power for themselves.”

  Oh, that’s all? “I’ve gone against Witches before. I’m pretty sure I can handle them.”

  One side of Kallen’s mouth curves up into a wry smile. “It is not your ability to fight them off, my love, that I am concerned with. It is their interference with the ultimate goal of the spell.” My love? We haven’t used pet names for each other before but I like it. Though I’m sure this is an inappropriate time to express that.

  “You believe they will get in the way?” Josh asks.

  Kallen nods. “I believe they will be an unnecessary hindrance, yes.”

  “I’m beginning to think all Witches except my mother are pains in the ass,” I mutter under my breath. Kallen smirks and I give him a look daring him to say anything. He’s smart enough to keep his thoughts safely on the inside of his lips.

  Agent Amman stands up and with his jaw set firm, he says, “If it will get my family back, I will do whatever needs to be done to deter these Witches. I can have fifty agents at our disposal in less than an hour.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t think your agents would stand a chance against gray or black Witches. Innocent people could get hurt. I appreciate that you want to help, but I think we need to handle them on our own if they show up.”

  Kallen turns to Eliana. “If you have paper and a writing implement, I will make a list of the necessary ingredients.” Eliana nods and leaves the room through the door opposite the foyer. She returns in just a moment and hands a pen and pad of paper to him. Kallen sits down and writes out a fairly long list.

  When he’s done, he tears the sheet from the pad and hands it to Agent Amman. “Do you have the resources to obtain these items?” he asks.

  Without replying, Agent Amman takes out his cell phone from the inside of his jacket and presses a button. His call is answered immediately. “Jacqueline, I have list of items I need you to obtain. Your ears only. I will text you an address and I want these items delivered within the hour.” He reads list to the person on the other end of the line. “I understand that some of
these items will be difficult to find. I want them here in an hour.” The agent ends the call and puts the phone back in his pocket. “You said a personal effect is required. What did you mean?”

  “It will need to be a part of them, such as hair,” says Kallen.

  “Do we have time to drive to your house to get what we need?” asks Eliana.

  A tiny smile touches agent Amman’s lips. Taking out his wallet, he says, “My wife is very superstitious. She insisted that I carry this with me. The locks from your child’s first haircut are supposed to bring good luck.” He takes a small plastic bag with a little curl of hair from his wallet.