Blood of Centaurs: Book 12 of The Witch Fairy Series Read Free Page B

don’t you tell me what this new stupid power is.”
    Felix, who has been trying to be nicer than he was when he first got here, says to Taz, “You shouldn’t make her mad all the time.”
    I appreciate his support, but I am much more interested in hearing from Taz.  “Well?” I demand, tapping my foot now like my mother used to when she was upset with me.
    In his best imitation of a female voice, Taz says, “Oh, you look so pretty and young, Julienne!  I hate you, Garren!  I don’t want to marry you!  I want you to move away!”
    Losing my patience, I stalk toward my soon to be dead Familiar.  “Why are you making fun of people instead of answering me?  You don’t know any more than I do, do you?”
    Felix responds for his new brother.  Did he just take a step closer to Taz as if to protect him from me?  “What do those things have in common ?” the scarred Tasmanian devil asks me.
    I stop walking and scowl.  “What do you mean, what do they have in common?  Nothing except they were all lies.”  As soon as the words come out of my mouth, it hits me.  At dinner last night, every time someone oozed out a nicety they didn’t mean, I felt like bugs were crawling on me.  When Isla was lying to Garren about how she feels about him, I felt like bugs were crawling on me.  Today, when Isla started doing the same thing, I felt like bugs were crawling on me.  Whirling around, I ask Raziel incredulously, “I’m a human lie detector?”
    “You are not exactly human,” Kegan says helpfully around a bite of pancake.  I ignore him as I so often do.
    Astonished, Isla asks, “What did you say?”
    Still not quite believing it, I turn to her.  “Every time you lie about how you feel about Garren, it makes my skin crawl.”
    I expect another round of denials and I prepare for the creepy crawlies to hit me.  What I don’t expect is for Isla to become ashen, set her coffee mug down and leave the room without saying another word.  I guess I just made her day.
    I slump back onto my stool and pick up my fork even though I’ve lost my appetite.  “Why do these things happen to me?” I grumble to no one in particular.
    “You are such a baby,” Adriel tells me.  She really knows how to cheer a person up.  Really.  “You can now tell when someone is lying to you.  How can you not see this as a good thing?”
    I think about all the little white lies people tell each other every day and cringe.  I don’t even want to think about the big lies.  “I don’t see it as a good thing because I am now going to almost constantly feel like I’m being attacked by spiders,” I whine.
    “I feel badly for you.  This is tragic,” Kegan says in his best sincere voice.  The feeling of spiders crawling on me tells me just how bad he feels.
    My voice contains a strong warning as I say, “Not funny.”
    “Kegan, leave her alone,” Alita says.  The sympathy in her eyes is more genuine.  But, she always looks for the bright side of things.  “This will help you with the Sasquatch and Centaurs.  You will know if they are planning to abide by the treaty you help forge.”
    I cringe again.  The Sasquatch and Centaur peace talks.  What a giant lie-fest that’s going to be.  I groan and shake my head.  “I never should have gotten out of bed this morning.”
    After taking in my expression and my words, Alita says, “Maybe the King should go alone.”
    Like that’s going to fly.  Dagda’s going to be thrilled when he finds out I’m a walking lie detector.  I turn to Tabitha.  “Is there a Fairy equivalent to Benadryl©?”  Maybe treating it as an allergic reaction will take care of it.
    After I explain to her what this is, Tabitha says, “I will see what I can whip up.”  She doesn’t sound convincing.  I suspect nothing will be able to take away the side effects I now get when people lie.  Except them telling the truth.  It’s going to be a long, itchy life.

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