Lone Star Magic (15 page)

“No.” Alrick pushed himself up and tossed the
empty goblet on the hearth. The resilient crystal bounced twice but
didn’t shatter. “I couldn’t.” Then, his movements unsteady as hell,
he made his way for his own chambers, where he prayed he could
stretch out on his own bed and find temporary oblivion.

Morning would come whether he willed it or
not.

“Time to go.”

Carly opened her eyes. Once again, Mort sat
beside her bed, though this time he’d exchanged his amber colored
robe for one of vibrant maroon that shimmered as he moved.

“Good morning to you too.”

Mort grimaced. “`The sun rose over an hour
ago.

She ran a hand through her hair. “I slept
late?”

“Yes. I and your animals have been waiting in
the courtyard since dawn.”

She’d overslept! “Alrick?”

“No sign of him either.” The elderly man
peered at her with narrowed eyes. “I half thought to find him
here.”

Carly felt her face color. “No way.” Sitting
up, she waved away her embarrassment. “Can we still go, or is it
too late?”

Grinning at her, Mort waggled his finger.
“The spell is not time sensitive. I can speak the words any
time.”

“And send us back.”

“Right. Send you home. Back to your own
world, where you belong.”

“Where I’m not safe.” She felt an instant of
panic, which she promptly pushed away. “Are you sure I have to go
back? I’d rather stay here.”

“You are no coward. You must face your fear.”
”

Though the mage sounded certain, Carly wasn’t
so sure. Maybe she could buy a little time. She tried again. “Why
not let Alrick remain and prepare your army?”

“That isn’t his destiny.”

“So you’ve said. He’s not happy about this
though.”

“Unfortunately, truth is sometimes hard to
swallow. But he knows I speak true. Fae do not—.”

“Lie.” She finished for him. “I know, I
know.” Swinging her feet over the side of her bed, Carly saw her
discarded dress. “If I have to go home, I’m going to need some
clothes.”

“You still have the gown you wore
yesterday.”

“Ah, that.” Did she need to tell him Alrick
had ripped it? “I uh, it got torn.” Odd how she suddenly seemed to
share the Fae compulsion to tell the truth.

Mort frowned. “Torn?”

Wrapping the sheet around her, she padded
over to the corner where she’d tossed the dress. Lifting it, she
showed him the ripped bodice, wincing inwardly at the awful pun if
she were to say the words out loud. Mort wouldn’t understand the
reference to romance novels anyways.

“I want my old clothes.” Firmly, but
politely. If she was to be the mother of the head of some future
movement, she’d better practice her diplomacy. “Normal clothes. You
can’t expect me to run around in frilly dresses in the middle of a
Texas summer. Where are those pants I wore yesterday to ride?”

“They’re being cleaned.”

“Then get me some others like them.” Letting
the frothy green material fall back to the floor, Carly advanced on
the older man. “Why do you guys dress like this anyway? I can’t go
trotting around the hill country time dressed like an extra from
Camelot
.”

This time he ignored what he didn’t
understand and shook his head. “I’ll try to find you another tunic
and pants.” He stood. “If I do, I’ll have them brought to you.
Right now I’ve got to find Alrick. I’ll see you in the great hall
in an hour. Your dog and horses will be there as well.”

“Horses? I only have TM.”

“You now have two.” He looked smugly pleased
about something. “All of the mares are in foal. Alrick has chosen
one of them to take with you. Now each of you can ride.”

“A pregnant mare?” The symbolism didn’t
escape her. “You expect me to ride a—?”

“She will not be showing yet.” On his way out
the door, Mort’s words trailed after him. “The great hall. One
hour. There are more dresses in that trunk. You might want to put
on one of them until the other clothes get here.” Halfway out the
crystal door, he paused. “In case I can’t find anything else.” With
that parting shot, he left.

In case he couldn’t find anything else? Put
on one of the… Grumbling under her breath, Carly wrapped the sheet
around herself and padded over to the trunk. The lid creaked when
she opened it. The damn thing had been packed full of Faerie
dresses. They all were frilly, frothy, and ornate. Each one seemed
more fabulous than the last – if she were going to the Academy
Awards or a super-fancy ball on a cruise or something. For a trip
home to her Texas ranch, and back into the line of fire, Carly
wanted something a little less flashy, a little more comfortable,
and a hell of a lot easier to move around in. Like Levi’s.

No such luck. She continued to rummage,
beginning to despair as she drew out dress after dress. Surely she
could find something less frou-frou to wear for now. The tunic and
slacks had better get here fast if Mort expected her downstairs in
an hour.

Down in the very bottom of the chest the last
dress was a slinky silver number, blessedly free of flounces and
gauze. Sleeveless, the glittery material clung to her every curve,
but at least it was stretchy and she could move freely. Even
better, unlike the evening dresses, this one had a short hem,
hitting above her knee. Perfect for running, though not so good for
camouflage. A perfect Halloween super hero costume though. The
thought made her smile.

With the silver dress on, she crammed the
others back in the trunk. Wanting to eat something before she left,
she debated waiting on the pants and shirt, then decided she could
go eat and return to her room to change. As she slipped into the
hallway, she made a mental note to ask Alrick for a weapon, maybe
one of those sharp crystal knives she’d seen some of the other Fae
women carrying. If she was going to be a sitting duck for this
crazy Warlord guy, she’d better be armed. Maybe Alrick could even
teach her how to use it.

Many twists and turns later – how did these
people stand all this colorless glitter – she found the dining
room, grabbed an apple and a muffin, and ran back to her room.

No tunic. No pants. Damn it.

Without a watch, she had no way of knowing
how much time had passed. An hour? Or forty-five minutes? Why
didn’t the Fae use clocks either? One of these days, if she lived
long enough, she’d make a list of inane questions about Rune and
make the Mage answer them. For now, she gobbled down her breakfast
and made her way downstairs.

As promised, the Mage waited with Kayo and TM
in the great hall. The other horse, a beautiful gray mare with a
flowing white mane, stood docilely on TM’s other side. The thought
of bring horses inside the pristine building gave Carly pause, but
this wasn’t her palace, so she didn’t suppose her opinion
mattered.

Her dog spotted her and broke into a dead
run, barking.

Jumping on her and spinning in circles,
Kayo’s tail wagged joyfully. By way of horse greeting, TM even
snorted.

The only one missing was Alrick. She thought
about their kiss and for a moment she wondered if he’d decided not
to come with her. But he’d promised to protect her. Alrick didn’t
appear to be a man who’d make such promises lightly.

A moment later, he entered the hall. The
ever-present light sparkles played in his dark hair, but his
complexion looked ashen. Was he ill?

“Are you all right?”

Looking up at her voice, he winced when he
saw her dress.

“What are you wearing?”

With a shrug, she gave a self-conscious tug
on the material. “Mort brought me a case of dresses. This was the
best of the lot.” Glaring at Mort, she grimaced. “No one ever
showed up with my pants and shirt either.”

“Sorry.” But Mort didn’t appear regretful. “I
didn’t have time to find any.”

“You can’t go riding around in that.” Alrick
said.

Immediately she decided she liked the dress.
“Oh yeah? Why not?”

“Because you’re half-naked.” The way his
bloodshot eyes smoldered told her part of him liked it and this
infuriated him.

“Too damn bad. I’m ready to go.” She turned
to Mort. “Are you sending us?”

“No.” He sighed. “My power is used remaining
here, in this time. Alrick will do it. Link hands and touch the
animals, please.”

Alrick grabbed her hand and took TM and
Merry’s leads. Carly touched Kayo’s ruff. They were all
connected.

“Ready?” Alrick asked.

Carly nodded. “Let’s go.”

ALRICK BEGAN to speak the words of the spell.
Carly shivered. Not from cold, but because this time she
felt
the magic arrive. Like a gust of warm air, a buzzing
started in her head, snaked through her body, and exploded at the
soles of her feet, making her toes tingle. Concentrating, going
with sensation, she experienced her body’s rapid disassembly, then
the equally miraculous reassembling, molecule by molecule, blood
and bone and muscle and skin – all of her. Amazing. Like something
out of a science fiction movie. Magic.

Her feet found solid ground even as the rest
of her body materialized. Still tingling, she clung to Alrick,
liking the solid feel of him. As soon as she realized this, she
pushed herself away.

The air felt different
. But a quick
glance around showed her they were home, back on her ranch.

TM whinnied, a sound of alarm. Merry, always
docile, attempted to rear, showing her teeth. Alrick released them,
and they took off together for the far end of the pasture, then
began running back and forth. As though looking for a place to
hide.

Kayo too, appeared uneasy. Ears flat against
his head, plumed tail down, he slunk away.

“Something’s wrong.” Making a slow turn,
Alrick met her gaze. “I feel… pressure.”

“Look at the sky.” She pointed. Against the
overcast slate of the western sky, a bank of ominous wall clouds
gathered. “That looks exactly like late spring. Tornado season
around here.”

As soon as she spoke the words, she knew. A
second later, she heard a loud rumbling – exactly like a freight
train, how about that – and a swirling vortex dropped out of one of
the huge clouds.

“Tornado!”

Her house had been built in the early 1900’s
and had a storm cellar. Kayo, apparently remembering the last time
they’d taken refuge in it, stood by the double doors set a foot
above the ground, and barked once.

“Come on.” Grabbing Alrick’s hand, she ran.
He couldn’t help her with the steel cellar doors, but she managed
to unbolt and yank them open. Still tugging Alrick, they clattered
down the dark steps, Kayo slipping past ahead of them. Stopping
halfway, she pulled the doors down. They slammed shut and she
bolted them from the inside before continuing on. At the bottom she
collided with Alrick.

Gasping, she reveled in the solid feel of him
before pulling away and groping on the floor to the right, looking
for the lantern she always kept there. Connecting with the dusty
plastic, she found the switch and flicked it on.

Alrick seemed to fill the tiny shelter. He
looked around, taking in the unpainted shelves and concrete walls.
“It’s like a tomb.”

Above them, the roar grew louder. The ground
trembled.

“Damn that Warlord. If he takes out my
house…”

“I don’t think this is the Warlord.” Alrick
crossed his muscular arms. “Remember I told you disturbances happen
when we use magic in your world?”

“But they’ve always been far away. This one
is—.”

“Right here. I realize that. Small uses of
magic send out shock waves, like sound or light. They build up
force, stopping only when they encounter something solid. Thus the
previous earthquakes and the hurricanes.”

“Why is this different? It’s concentrated
here.”

“The amount of magic from the large spell we
used to return must have caused an immediate reaction in your
atmosphere.”

The very earth shuddered. The wind began to
howl.

“Great.” She kept some old lawn chairs down
here,

along with the requisite disaster rations of
bottled water and canned goods. Setting the lantern on a dusty
shelf, she located the chairs and unfolded them. “I hope the horses
are okay.”

“They’ll be fine. Animals seem to know
instinctively how to avoid bad weather.”

“Yeah. They run. The last time I had a bad
storm, TM ended up two miles from here.”

Rain began to pound the metal doors. The howl
of the wind became a shriek.

Whining, Kayo sidled up to Alrick. He reached
down and stroked the dog’s black and white fur. Satisfied, Kayo
turned a circle, curled at Alrick’s feet, and put his head on his
paws.

The deafening freight train sound drowned out
any further attempts to talk. Above them, the steel doors clattered
and shook as the storm’s fury battered them.

“This should take care of the fire ants,”
Alrick said.

Blinking, Carly gaped at him. “Somehow, in
the midst of all this, I’d forgotten them. Do you suppose they were
still here, so long after we left?”

“Time passes differently in Rune. What might
have been days or weeks to us there can be mere hours of human
time.”

“Wonderful.” Setting down the lantern, Carly
rubbed her arms. “Just thinking about them makes me itch.”

“If we can get in the house later, I want you
to get your antidote.”

“My self-injection kit? I will, if there’s
anything left of my house.”

As quickly as it had begun, the roaring
abated. The merciless pounding of the wind and the rain died, cut
off as abruptly as if a giant hand had swooped from the heavens and
wiped the earth clean.

Into the absolute silence, Kayo barked.

Carly looked at Alrick. He laid his hand on
her shoulder. “Wait another minute.”