Shadow Blood: Kallen's Tale (Witch Fairy #4.5) by Bonnie Lamer

wish they had jumped naked into a pool of lava with sand crabs clamped onto their naked bits.  I kneel down in front of her and place my hands gently on her cheeks.  “We will find who did this,” I say. 
     
    She attempts a smile but it is hardly recognizable.  “I know.”
     
    I lean in and kiss her then pull back.  “I will be back soon.”  She nods and I stand up and follow Grandmother out the door. 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 14
     
    Grandmother and I start in the kitchen.  Tabitha is already at work collecting all open containers of food.  She will burn these in a ritual that will keep the poison from seeping into the ground or water. 
     
    I am surprised to find that there are no traces of magic in the air.  Grandmother does have the house protected with an alarm system that would let her know if there was an intruder but I had assumed someone had magically negated it.  It would take powerful magic to do that though.  I am not quite ready to think about the connotations of that yet.  There has to be another explanation than the one staring me in the face.
     
    When we clear the kitchen, Grandmother and I start on the other rooms of the house, one by one.  We go our separate ways after the kitchen as it is unlikely we will find anyone but better safe than sorry.  Every room is just as it should be.  Pristine and magic free.  Each room checked off our list is one less denial step closer to the inevitable.  Someone already inside the house did this. 
     
    I can tick off the innocent.  Grandmother and Tabitha would never do something as passive aggressive as poisoning food.  If they were angry enough to kill someone, they would much prefer the other Fairy carried the knowledge of their wrath into the Shadow realm with them.  Xandra and I were otherwise occupied at the time.  Despite my concern, my body reacts to the memory of what we were doing then.
     
    Alita would not have poisoned herself and she does not have a malicious enough bone in her body to attempt to kill anyone.  Kegan has his moments when he is a total pain in the ass, but he is not homicidal.  More often than not, people want to kill him instead of the other way around.  Xandra’s parents are ghosts.  Her mother may be a talented Witch, but gathering the poison and putting it in the tea and god knows what else is definitely beyond her magical scope nwo.  Which leaves just one person.  Barb.
     
    It is becoming more and more obvious that she is the culprit but a thorough search of the house yields no proof.  I cannot possibly go to Xandra and tell her that her aunt is behind the attempt on her brother’s life.  And quite possibly hers.  If I do not have hard and fast evidence, she would never believe it.
     
    Grandmother’s eyes are grim when we meet back in the kitchen.  “I am assuming that you found no indication of magic or an intruder,” she says.
     
    Her eyes tell me she has come to the same conclusion as me.  I shake my head.  “No.”
     
    “You should go to Xandra and see to her and her family’s welfare.  Do not explain too much.  There is no need to set off a panic quite yet.”
     
    I believe the word panic is a bit tame here.  Telling Xandra and her parents that Barb is guilty will create a cataclysmic tirade of magic inside of Xandra.  We all will need to tread carefully in that situation.  With a nod to Grandmother, I return to the bedroom where I left Xandra and her family.
     
    I am surprised to see Xandra asleep on her brother’s bed.  As soon as I walk in, her father is in front of me demanding answers.  “Did you catch the son of a bitch who did this?  What is going to be done to prevent this from happening again?  How is my family supposed to stay here a moment longer and feel safe?”
     
    All valid questions.  I will answer them to the best of my ability at the moment.  Quietly, trying not to wake up Xandra or her