Blood Prophecy: Kallen's Tale by Bonnie Lamer Read Free Book Online Page A

has handled all of this.  She has no
reason to give Xandra a hard time about being skeptical.
    “Fine, it’s just my life
we’re playing with,” Xandra grumbles under her breath as she sits down on the
couch next to her grandmother.  I say under her breath, when I really mean, loud
enough for the entire room to hear it.
    “And I have every intention
of keeping you alive,” the Angel says.  Xandra gives her a sour look and sits
as far away from her as possible on the couch. 
    Her grandmother tries her
best Angel smile to win her over.  I do not believe it is going to work.  “Why
don’t we start with something simple?  We’ll make a mojo bag for you to wear. 
It will help protect your person from magic which causes a physical attack,
deflecting the attack back towards the Witch responsible.”
    I wonder when I should tell
her what a bad idea this is.  She apparently was not paying attention earlier when
I explained that Xandra pulls too much magic to perform simple spells.  She may
end up blowing up the house.
    “You mean like Witches’
bottles?” Xandra asks.
    Her grandmother nods.  “Yes,
if a Witch bottle explodes around you while you are wearing the mojo bag, it
will flare to life and cause a, for lack of a better word, a force field around
you, sending the spell back to the one who used it.  But, it may only be used
once, so you will need several of them.”
    She holds a small leather
pouch out and Xandra takes it.  “Okay, I’m supposed to put stuff in it?”  I
cannot help a snicker, which earns me a dirty look.  This is not going to end
well.
    Ignoring me, her grandmother
continues with her Witch magic lesson.  “Yes, you will put an assortment of
items in it that are known for their protective properties.  Then you will say
a spell that binds their collective power, and holds it until needed.  This is
considered low magic – magic that invokes an item’s natural power.  It’s also
called Earth magic.”  I suppose yawning loudly would be rude, but this is
already tedious.
    Xandra looks bored, as
well.  I find her impatience amusing when not directed towards me.  “What
first?” she asks to move things along faster.
    “You will need to use
several herbs and stones.  The first will be yarrow.  It’ll provide protection
as well as boost your self-confidence.”
    I snort.  “She is definitely
not lacking self-confidence.  You may want to start with something that will
lessen her self-confidence.” Ah, another dirty look.  She is cute when she does
that.
    They both ignore me now,
which will be to their detriment momentarily.  Her grandmother has her fill the
bag with the required items as she continues to explain what each thing does. 
Finally, she looks at the Witch spirit.  “Where might I find your grimoire?”
    In a cave, directly
northwest from here.  Buried under an avalanche.  Because of Xandra.  I am
impressed the Witch is not forthcoming with that information.  “I no longer
have it.”
    “Did you lose it in your
travels?”
    Xandra ends up confessing.  “No,
I did.  I caused an avalanche and it got buried in the cave Kallen and I were
staying in at the time.
    “Avalanche?  Cave?”  The
Angel is beginning to sound like a parrot.
    Xandra’s father has had
enough of this inane conversation.  “The details aren’t really important, are
they?  Can’t you just write the spell down for her?”
    The Angel snaps back to what
she was doing before the whole grimoire thing came up.  “Of course.”  She finds
a writing utensil and a pad of paper in her purse.  She writes down the spell
and hands it to Xandra.  “Now, just hold the bag close to you and while saying
the spell, imagine a defensive wall coming up around you.”
    “Okay.”
    Okay, there is no way I can
let Xandra say this spell with her grandmother so close to her.  I may not be
happy with the Angel, but this could go very badly and she will end up getting
hurt.  “You may want to