21. Chapter 21
21
“ S hit,” Kelly cursed under her breath. “I’ll be right there,” she yelled down to Asta, not that she needed to yell. It was more for her dad’s sake.
She turned to Kade, hoping for some sort of guidance.
Go say hi to yer da, I’ll tell Fabian and Ginna what is going on and meet ye downstairs in a minute.
Taking a deep breath, Kelly steadied herself and left the room. She hurried down the stairs and went to the entryway, where her dad was talking to Asta.
“Hey, Dad!”
“Hey, kiddo, Merry Christmas!”
They hugged, and she led him into the living room, where they could relax and talk.
“This is a nice place,” he said, looking around the house. There was an underlying question to his statement, but she ignored it. He would realize soon enough where the money came from and how she was tied into all of it.
Kade’s thoughts invaded her mind, and she couldn’t think straight to carry on a conversation. Trying to shove the mental noise aside, she made the excuse of going to grab some snacks for everyone and went to the kitchen.
Asta followed and gently put a hand on Kelly’s shoulder. “What is it?” she whispered.
Shaking her head, Kelly tried to brush it off. “It’s just a really bad headache. I’m okay. Will you help me grab some snacks?”
Asta’s face made it clear she didn’t believe the headache story for a second, but she nodded and helped Kelly grab some things to take back to the living room.
Bracing her hands on the edge of the counter, Kelly leaned forward and bowed her head as Kade’s thoughts rushed through her mind. He told Fabian what was going on, and an onslaught of confusion and worry hit her, almost bringing her to her knees.
It seemed she could feel his emotions as well. Just peachy. As if her own emotions weren’t enough to deal with, now she had his.
Footsteps sounded from the staircase as Fabian and Kade made their way down to join everyone. They each greeted her father, then Fabian sat down across from him and Kade came into the kitchen.
He came up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Are ye all right, lass?
It was a relief that he wasn’t speaking and thinking. At least he learned quickly.
She shook her head. “It’s a lot to take in. I think it’s emotions too, not just thoughts.” It seemed silly, but she tried not to give away everything that was going on. Everyone in the house would know soon enough.
Shock hit her, then a slight pang of jealousy. Did he want to feel her emotions? That was a conversation for another day.
“I think I need a minute to calm my mind. Can you keep Dad company while I go meditate for just a minute? I won’t be long.”
Aye, anything ye need. Gods, I hope this works.
Likely, the second part wasn’t meant for her, so she ignored it.
“Dad, I’ve got to take care of something real quick. I’m sorry, I’ll be right back. Please make yourself at home with everyone else.”
“You okay, kiddo?”
Kelly nodded at him and managed a smile. “Yeah. I won’t be long.”
In the training room, she sat down on a mat and centered herself with slow, deep breaths. Not knowing where to start, she tried the same thing she’d done when trying to control her power.
Picturing her body and the cells running through it, she focused on Kade’s thoughts and the point where they came to her. They weren’t a part of her like her power, but she could feel them flowing into her, almost like a soft breeze through the window of her mind.
That was it, a window! She slammed it shut, closing her mind off from the world.
The fact that all of this was beyond absurd did cross her mind more than once. Slamming a window shut and guarding her mind seemed like such a silly thing to do.
Then she realized her mind was quiet. All that accompanied her were her own thoughts and emotions.
It took some self-control, but Kelly refrained from jumping for joy. There was still another test to do. She focused again on that window in her mind and let it open just a smidge.
Fuck, this guy is a piece of work.
With that, she slammed it shut again and enjoyed the silence that followed.
Holy shit, she’d figured it out! Well, half of it, anyway. But at least she could stop it when it started, and that was perhaps the bigger problem to solve. Being able to hear Kade’s thoughts could be beneficial in quite a few scenarios.
With a final deep breath to center herself, Kelly came back to the world and went to join everyone in the living room.
She couldn’t help the smile that was plastered on her face as she entered the living room.
“I’m really sorry about that. Nothing else should come up. I hope my dad didn’t tell you all embarrassing stories about me in my absence.”
Her dad chuckled. “No, no, we were just talking business.”
He could talk to anyone about anything. She’d ask Kade what he’d been going on about later.
Her dad took that invitation and ran with it. “Speaking of business, what is it that you all do? Kelly hasn’t told me much.”
Fabian took the reins, thank goodness. “That might be a better conversation to have after dinner. I can tell you that Kelly is making stellar progress in learning her craft, and she is leaps and bounds ahead of the competition.”
Points to Fabian for the creative truth.
Her dad beamed with pride, and it made her heart soar. A parent’s approval never got old, no matter where you were in life.
Kade shot her a questioning look, obviously trying to communicate with her. She didn’t open the window in her mind, but she managed an encouraging smile and nodded slightly.
The doorbell rang, and Asmund appeared out of nowhere to answer it.
“Oh good, the food is here just in time!” Asta said.
Asmund directed the delivery man to the kitchen, where he left a large amount of food.
The smell of Texas barbecue made Kelly’s mouth water.
Ginna and Connor magically appeared as Asmund tipped the man and led him back out the front door. Food could really bring a group together. Although why Connor would show up at the smell of normal food, Kelly had no idea.
Ginna, Connor, and Asmund came in to introduce themselves to her dad, and then everyone was in the kitchen preparing food.
“I’m going to go help set the table. You guys keep visiting until everything is ready,” she said, excusing herself. Kade and Fabian could handle the conversation.
She was starting to get nervous about telling everything to her dad, so she decided to help with the preparations to keep her mind occupied.
Asta helped her set the table, and the others brought pans of food in, lining the center of the table with meat, beans, bread, slaw, sides, and barbecue sauce. A red wineglass was placed at each seat, just opaque enough to hide the true contents. They had this all figured out; she never should have doubted them.
When everything was ready, Asta called the other men in, and they all took their seats with Kade and Fabian at the head and foot of the table.
Just before sitting, Asta and Asmund brought two wine bottles in, and they strategically worked between the vampires and other races of the room, filling everyone’s glasses. Fabian occupied her father while they poured the drinks, and he was blind to the fact that over half the room was drinking blood instead of wine.
“I do hope ye’ll forgive the catering, Mr. Hart. None of us are cooks, but we still enjoy good food.”
“Oh, no, this looks great. Thank you for having me.”
Fabian raised his glass, and everyone followed suit. “May the best day of your past be the worst day of your future.”
“Slainte,” Kade replied, and everyone else echoed as they clinked glasses.
They all dug in to the food, piling their plates and passing pans of food around. She was surprised to see the vampires take food, too, since they wouldn’t have to put on a show much longer, but she didn’t say anything.
Dinner passed by without any awkward moments. It was a miracle in Kelly’s book. Her dad even asked about the lack of Christmas decorations, and Asta quickly explained that they didn’t celebrate any holidays in order to respect each individual’s practices and beliefs.
The vampires strategically picked at their food, making it look like they were eating, but they never took a bite. It really was an art.
When everyone who was actually eating finished, Fabian invited them all back into the living room for a drink while Asta and Kelly put the leftovers away and cleaned the dishes.
Kade stopped by to whisper in her ear and make sure she was okay. Kelly brushed it off, telling him she’d gotten things under control and she’d tell him more later. He didn’t press her but gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
Asmund poured Scotch for everyone, and they all sat and talked about nothing and everything for a while.
When the conversation died down for just a moment, Kelly’s dad took the reins. “So, you all were going to tell me what your business is all about.”
Oh, how Kelly could use Kade’s reassurance right now. Kade sat across the room from her. Asta and Ginna were on either side of her on the couch. While she loved these women, Kade or Fabian would do better to protect her from her father’s rage. Or maybe they would need protecting. They’d all find out soon enough.
Her dad was looking to Kade for an answer, but Kelly gave it to him instead.
“So, Dad, about that,” she began, steadying herself. “Uh…” she broke off, at a loss for words.
“We arenae really a business, Dave. We’ve taken Kelly in because she has specific abilities, and we want to help her improve on them. Some of them are genetic, and we were hoping ye could shine some light on where they could have come from.”
Her dad beamed with pride. “Well, she’s always been as special kid, but I don’t know where it came from specifically. I’d like to hope it’s from raising her right.”
Kade smiled at him, reflecting his pride somewhat. “With respect, Mr. Hart, I mean more than her being a good kid. As she grew up, there had to be things you noticed about her; abilities, inexplicable jolts of shock, strange reactions from water or metals. Does her mother share in any of those things? Have ye ever noticed anything different about her mother?”
Her father bowed his head for a moment, then righted himself and acted like things were just fine. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
Ginna spoke up. “You don’t have to lie to kick it, Mr. Hart. We know there is more to this, and we want to help your daughter.”
Her father looked at all of them with a glint of knowledge in his eye, refusing to give them any information.
“Did you know, Dad?” She couldn’t help but ask.
“Know what, kiddo?”
“Oh, for the love of all things, your daughter is a mage. I’m a mage, her boyfriend is a vampire, blondie over there is a fae, and the rest of the people in this room are vampires, too. Don’t play dumb, old man. You’ve known there was something special about her from day one.” Ginna summed things up nicely.
A huge smile spread across her dad’s face, and he burst into a laugh, spitting Scotch in the process.
When he’d finally calmed down, he was met with seven pairs of very serious eyes, Kelly’s included.
“You all are funny. Why you’d play a joke like this on Christmas, I have no idea, but nice try.”
Kade let out a growl, frustration evident. Kelly looked at him and saw his fangs descend and his eyes turn amber.
Her father looked at him and went utterly still for a millisecond. Then he stood, drawing his gun, pointed, and fired at Kade with the determination and precision of a practiced marksman.
Kade could have stopped him, Kelly knew that, but part of her father learning about all of this was coming to terms with the fact that his gun could not save him.
Kelly’s ears rang from the noise, and a hole appeared in the upper left chest of Kade’s cotton shirt. Damn it, she’d really liked that one.
When Kade didn’t budge, two more shots were fired, and two more holes appeared.
Still no movement from Kade as the bullets fell from his chest.
Another shot fired, this time a hole appeared in the center of Kade’s forehead. A small amount of blood welled, then his body pushed the bullet out, and it clanked to the floor.
She stood in front of her father’s gun and stared down the barrel. “Enough!”
The gun lowered immediately.
“Kelly, move!”
“No, I will not. You can stop shooting him. Your bullets will not do any harm, and he won’t hurt you. Not to mention, my ears can’t stand another shot.”
Her father’s mouth moved, but no words came out. Gently, she reached out and took the gun from him. “Sit down, Dad.”
A few stutters followed, but he sat with little grace.
Kelly turned to Kade and placed her hand on his forehead, where only a small amount of blood remained. She hadn’t seen the healing abilities of a vampire until now, and they amazed her.
Giving her a reassuring smile, he took her hand and gently lowered it, weaving his fingers within hers. “I’m all right, lass.”
She turned back to her father. His eyes were wide, and beads of sweat shone on his forehead.
“Will you please listen now, Dad? I need to know more about our family so I can get some answers about my abilities.”
Her father was utterly still.
A wicked grin spread across Ginna’s face. “Show him what you can do, Rookie. Call some water and splash his face with it.”
If anyone else had suggested it, Kelly would have asked if they were serious. Ginna was absolutely serious. Kelly had learned in just a few days that the woman was slightly off-kilter and loved shenanigans.
Ginna raised her eyebrows in a “come on, then” gesture.
Sighing in exasperation, Kelly let go of Kade’s hand and relaxed her arms. Closing her eyes, she focused on her power and called it to her fingertips. Before, she hadn’t noticed the movement of water, she’d only controlled it based on feeling. Now, she reached out farther, sensing her surroundings, too.
She felt the water as it left a nearby vase and made its way to her. It traveled across the floor, then up to her hands, collecting in a ball between them.
When she felt complete control of it, she opened her eyes and looked at her dad to make sure he was paying attention.
He stared at the water between her hands in amazement.
Kelly tossed the water in his face and watched it splash on him like a slow-motion water balloon video.
If it was possible, her dad’s face looked even more shocked as he wiped the excess water from it.
“I’m a mage, Dad, or I will be. Now, help me by getting over your shock and talk to all of us about our family.”
Still nothing from her dad.
Kade motioned for Kelly to sit in the chair that was across from her father, and he stood behind her for support. Everyone else took their seats around the room, lessening the tension in the room.
Somehow, she felt Kade level down and knew that his fangs had retracted and his eyes were back to normal.
Her dad finally spoke. “Can we back up a minute here? What the hell are mages and fae?”
Fabian kindly and briefly explained the two races.
Growing impatient with her dad’s inability to comprehend the life-changing news, Kelly kept moving on her mission. “Someone in the family had to have something special about them, Dad, I need to know who it was.”
He looked at her for a moment, then bowed his head and rested it in his hands.
“What is it?” she asked, impatiently.
He looked up at her, then sat back and clasped his hands over his stomach. “I never thought you would need to know all of this, but I guess I was wrong.”
Suppressing a scream of frustration, Kelly spoke slowly, “Need to know what, Dad? What the hell don’t I know?”
He sighed. “Your real mother died the day you were born.”