Free Blood of Half Gods by Bonnie Lamer Page A

opposite the one we came in.  I believe it must be his bedroom.  He comes back out in a minute holding an old book.  He pushes his dishes away from where he had been sitting at the head of the table and puts the book down with a thump.  Dust flies out from it, ruining the chances of me being able to finish my soup.  I don’t even think he noticed.  He’s too busy turning pages.
     
    Finding the one he was looking for, he rotates the book towards me and points his finger at the page.  He should be careful, the pages of this book look like they’re about to disintegrate.  “Can you do this spell?” he asks.
     
    How should I know?  I read it over, but that doesn’t help since I don’t really know a lot about spells.  So, I shrug.  “I could try.  It looks easy enough.”
     
    Kegan has been peeking at the spell from across the table.  He laughs.  “Yeah, piece of cake.  If you have six or seven Fairies ready to do it with you.”
     
    I stick my tongue out at him.  Turning back to Dagda, I ask, “Do you have all the stuff for it?”  Kegan’s right, it’s more complicated than most spells I’ve read.  Then again, I did make a force field out of trees before.
     
    “I believe she can do this without problem,” Kallen says, reading over my shoulder. 
     
    “Everything we need should be available in the surrounding area.  We are deep within the forest, not the plains yet.  I will send Sindri and a small team out to locate what is needed.”
     
    I’m getting a little nervous.  “It won’t make me stop dreaming forever, will it?”  That’s what the spell does, it stops dreams from coming.  “People can go crazy if they never dream.”
     
    “Not a problem for you,” Kegan says.  “You are already as crazy as you can get.”  I kick him under the table.  He’s not laughing anymore as he leans down to rub his leg.  Alita looks amused, though.
     
    “No, it will not,” Dagda says, pointing to the line in the spell that puts a time limit on it. 
     
    “Yeah, I saw that, but spells don’t always work out the same for me as they do other people.  I might say it’s just for tonight, and then put enough magic into it a night is turned into a century or so.”  I can usually only do spells correctly when I’m really mad.  Don’t know why.  My theory is that I’m not overthinking them.
     
    “We can worry about that if it happens.  For the time being, it is the only way to ensure that we will make our destination sometime this year.”  He’s getting snippy again.  I give him what I hope is a warning look.  He doesn’t look cowed at all.  I guess I need to work on my warning looks.
     
    “It should be fine,” Kallen assures me.  I look at him skeptically, but I don’t argue.
     
    “We shall meet in the sitting room in an hour.  That should be enough time to gather everything.”
     
    That is definitely a dismissal.  Great, I don’t get to finish my soup.  That’s okay, the last fifteen minutes have made me lose my appetite anyway. 
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 7
     
    I make my way back towards mine and Kallen’s room.  Kallen stops to have a brief word with Dagda, but he catches up to me by the time I reach the stairs.  Kegan and Alita are walking ahead of us, but they both stop when we reach Kegan’s room.  Which is now Alita’s room.  “I’m going to get Alita settled in here,” Kegan says. 
     
    Kallen gives him a knowing grin, which earns him a punch in the arm.  He just laughs and follows me to our room, rubbing the bruised spot.  For the first time, I notice there’s a door on the frame again.  “Thanks for fixing that,” I say, as he closes it behind us.
     
    With a grin, he says, “I prefer to kiss you in private.”  He pulls me into his arms and kisses me slowly, sensually. 
     
    I smile against his lips.  “Me, too.”
     
    Pulling back from his arms, I take his hand and lead him towards the bed,