Protector of the Flight (55 page)

Marian
laughed, too.

Alexa
was about to huff out some comment, when the horses parted in front of her,
forming an aisle for a small gray mare to glide toward them. The mare lowered,
then raised her head.
Well done, Exotiques. Standing your ground.

“I
guess she’s the alpha. They have alphas, don’t they?” Alexa squeezed Marian’s
hand.

I
am Lead flier,
the mare said, coming up a little too close. Alexa figured volaran personal
space and American-woman personal space was different.

“Right,”
she said. “Good.”

You
are concerned that we are not Summoning the Volaran Exotique and the Lead
Mind-speaker back.

“Lead
Mind-speaker is Marrec,” Marian clarified.

The
mare nodded.
Indeed.

Alexa
wanted to put her hand on her baton, but instead she lifted her chin. “Ayes. We
are concerned that you do not Summon Calli and Marrec.”

And
you spread that concern to Gray-Clouds-That-May-Rain-Or-Thunder-Or-Clear and
One-Who-Will-Be-The-Dark-Lance-At-Evil and other younglings.
She bent her
neck back and forth around the circle, scolding in her gaze. Some of the
volarans rustled their wings and sidled back.

The
names made Alexa realize just how out of her element she was. “Oh, boy.”

I
will answer your questions.

Marian
cleared her throat, and when she spoke it was with words and mind. “We know
that Calli had a…portal to and from Exotique Terre.”

The
mare swished her tail.
The crystal mountain. The Singer’s crystal. It has
been destroyed—from Exotique Terre.

Alexa
stepped forward into the mare’s space, narrowed her predator eyes on the front
of her face and looked at the prey eyes on the side of the head. “Destroyed! Is
Calli—”

We
would know if the Volaran Exotique and the Lead Mind-speaker were harmed, even
on such a backward place as Exotique Terre. They are well.

“Backward?”
murmured Marian.

Exotique
Terre has no volarans.

Now
Alexa cleared her throat. “Good point.”

“You
know of the crystal portal?” asked Marian.

Of
course. The crystal portal shaped the one who would become the Volaran
Exotique.

Alexa
knew that the crystal had been on Calli’s ranch. How many others could it have
worked upon? How did it work? She decided to let Marian consider those
questions. For her, this was getting way too mystical.

“And
you said it’s destroyed.” Marian turned in place and Alexa followed her,
looking at the herd. “It’s my understanding that when the Snap comes, a person
is returned if they are not willing to live in Lladrana.”

The
mare lifted her lips to show her gums. It looked like a smile—sort of—to Alexa.
Maybe a snide one.

Exotique
Circlet, you proved that wrong yourself. Or did you? You found a way back…if
the yearning and the need is great enough…

“Back
to ruby slipper time,” Alexa muttered. “Just give us the bottom line. Are you
folks…uh…volarans going to Summon them back or not?”

Perhaps
at the proper time we will form a circle and Sing.

“When—”
Marian started.

With
a quick turn, the mare reversed. She kicked up clods of dirt that landed on
their boots, then cantered away. The volaran circle surrounding them broke up
into clumps. Alexa waited until she thought they were all out of earshot before
saying, “Well, this was a futile trip.”

“Not
necessarily,” Marian said. Alexa thought she meant to sound calm, but a
tightness around her eyes gave away her irritation. “Negative data can always
be informative.”

“Huh.
Sounded more like a ‘Patience, grasshopper’ situation to me.”

Marian
laughed, flung her arm around Alexa’s shoulders and hugged. “Good one.”

“Thanks.”
Alexa let out a relieved sigh, stroked her baton and looked around. “But it
wasn’t a total waste of time. This place is absolutely beautiful. Think we can
squeeze out a little more time to walk and observe, maybe talk to the
anim—volarans? There are a lot more here, appearing a little different than
those at the Castle.” She took off at a good clip to the sunny side of the
valley toward a bunch of volarans who raised their wings, then moved off.
Marian kept up.

“I
think it depends upon the volarans,” Marian said.

Pounding
hooves attracted Alexa’s attention. Their mounts were running toward them.
“Doesn’t look like we’re real welcome.” A wistful sigh escaped her. “Calli said
in her notes that she was invited to stay as long as she wanted, right? And to
return whenever she wished?”

“Correct.
But neither of us are Calli.”

“Got
that right.” Still, just because, and just for fun, Alexa unsnapped her baton
sheath, took out the jade baton and threw it up into the sky. She watched it
sparkle as it tumbled end over end, the symbol of her life, herself, here in
Lladrana. Caught it with a light smack in her palm. “You got that right. But we
have our own places.”

“Indeed
we do.”

“And
if they don’t get Calli back,
we
will. Somehow.”

“That’s
right.”

B
astien and
Jaquar were waiting for them when they descended toward the Landing Field.
Actually, the men were two figures separate from a large group. Alexa noticed
the colors of no less than twenty Marshall Pairs, and high-ranking Chevaliers
such as Lady Hallard and Faucon Creusse. Oddly enough, Luthan wasn’t there.
Alexa reckoned that was significant, but decided to let Marian deduce the
significance. The Singer already knew the results? Had known before they’d
left? Closemouthed old biddy.

Bastien
had a certain tilt to his head. “Oh, man, he’s gonna make me
pay,
” she
said to Marian.

Marian
sighed. “Jaquar’s not too happy with me, either.”

“I’ll
offer him a sex game. One sex game.”

Marian
sent her a startled glance. “A sex game?”

“Beats
long, long minutes of tickling.”

“Is
that so?” She looked thoughtful. “Sex-game payment works for you.”

Melty
heat warmed Alexa. “Oh, yeah.”

Marian
nodded decisively, a smile hovering on her mouth. “I think I’ll give it a try.”

They
touched down. Bastien lifted her from the saddle, kept his hands on her waist.
“What did you learn?”

“Not
much.” Alexa rubbed her butt. “It’s been a long ride. Marian will lay it all
out better than I can.”

“Thanks,
former lawyer,
” Marian said. Definitely a long ride if Marian was being
sarcastic.

“Alexa…”
Bastien
started.

She
tapped her forefinger three times over his heart.
One sex game of your
choice.

He
was suitably distracted and began lowering his mouth to hers, when Jaquar’s
superior tone cut through Alexa’s haze of desire.

“While
you were gone, Bastien and I worked a few spellsongs of our own.”

“So?”
Marian had crossed her arms under her breasts. Jaquar looked at them with a
twinkle in his eyes, but said, “We found out that Calli and Marrec were
‘helped’ a little back to Exotique Terre during her Snap, by Power. ‘Magic’ as
you would say, of the highest order.”

Marian’s
eyes widened, her lips parted, Jaquar basked in her fascinated attention. “What
magic?”

Bastien
chuckled and squeezed Alexa as she waited for the punch line.

“Singer’s
magic.”

That
was a punch, all right.

A
fter they
cleared up the supper dishes and before her dad and Dora and Roy left the
kitchen, Marrec said, “We wish to speak with you about the future of the
ranch.” His English was careful, lightly accented.

40

D
read swirled
around the room, tightening faces. No one wanted the confrontation, but it,
like the storm last night, could not be avoided and the land would be better
for it after it passed.

Roy
tensed. His shoulders tight, he shrugged, tried a half smile that was just a
mask. “Not my business. I’ll be upstairs, studying.”

“All
right…” Her dad’s voice was rusty and he reached for Dora’s hand. They stood
together.

“In
the living room, then,” Dora said.

Calli
looked at them, understood that if she had faced this unit of her father and
another woman months ago, she might have been emotionally damaged beyond
repair. She was stronger now.

Dora
and her dad left first, then Marrec pulled her into his arms and kissed her
soundly. She leaned against him, felt the tensile strength of him, glad of the
physical support that so mirrored his emotional backing. Then they went into
the living room.

Her
dad and Dora sat on the new love seat, Calli and Marrec went to the sagging
couch set at a right angle.

Calli
looked at her father steadily. Though he sat holding his new wife’s hand, his
aura and hers mingled with love, there was nothing of love for Calli in his
eyes. She wondered why. Because she was too much like her mother? Too much like
him? Had given him all her love freely? She didn’t know, and she was coming not
to care and that was good.

Dora’s
mouth tightened. “Give her a check for a quarter of the place, Will, then let
them be on their way.”

“Half,”
Marrec said in his careful English. “Calli and I went over the figures last
night. She gave a lot of money to her father. Worth half the ranch.”

Not
quite, and Dad had done all the upkeep, all the work.

Gasping,
Dora put her hand to her plump bosom. “You can’t believe that!”

Marrec
nodded. “Yes.”

“You’re
nothin’ but a greedy—” She stopped her bitter words when Will looked down on
her. She clutched his arm, simpered up at him. “Oh, Will, all your hard work.
You love the land so!”

Did
he? A shadow dimmed the bright blueness of his eyes. He did. He might have not
known when he’d taken out the reverse mortgage, might have only discovered it
when Dora and her son had come into his life, but he knew now.

Calli
stood. “I have tallies of the rodeos I competed in, and my winnings. I’ve
spoken a little to Jim at the bank. He knows the value of the place better than
I do, but wants to talk to all of us if we disagree on what my fair share is.”

Dora
frowned. Calli bet she knew the worth of the ranch down to the last penny, had
known it before she’d married Will. She wouldn’t want fair. She’d want more.

“I’d
like to keep this between us. Quick and clean.” And get somewhere they might be
able to go back to Lladrana. “I don’t really want everyone else in town to know
that I mean to fight you for this place.”

Dora
wouldn’t like that. Right now the town had a favorable opinion of her and her
son. It was pretty evident that Calli and Marrec would leave, and Dora, Roy and
her dad would live with whatever gossip came of this whole thing.

“Give
Calli what she put in and we will go,” Marrec said. “This place will be yours.”
He laid his hand on her thigh in support. He knew she loved the land, would
want it more than money, would have fought for it. This was her concession. She
linked fingers with his.

Will
grunted and named a figure. It was a lot less than half, not as much as Calli
had put into the place, but higher than the final price she and Marrec had
decided to accept, still they would need as much as they could get to start
their own ranch.

Marrec
leaned forward. “Let’s talk about this.”

Calli
wanted to shift in her seat, to squirm, but knew that would be showing a
weakness and like it or not, she couldn’t be weak in front of her dad and Dora.
There was only one person in this world she thought she could be vulnerable
before.

The
bargaining lasted a whole lot longer than she was comfortable with, but the men
were involved and Dora sharply followed the discussion. Calli kept her teeth
gritted and her mouth shut. Marrec fumbled, pretended less comprehension of the
language than he had.

Finally,
finally a price was agreed to. Something she wouldn’t have been able to reach
with her dad. She leaned back against the couch and Marrec’s arm draped around
her shoulders as she watched her dad, still expressionless, walk stiffly across
to the desk, pull out the ranch checkbook and write out a draft.

Still
silent, he returned to them and handed Marrec the check. Calli was glad to see
her dad’s hand didn’t tremble.

Marrec
glanced at it and passed it to Calli. She read the figure and her eyes stung.
She’d never wanted money for this place.

But
her home here was gone and any claim she had to the land was past. She nodded
and stood, slipping the check into her jeans pocket. “Good.” Clearing her
throat, she angled her head toward the computers on the desk, and said, “Marrec
and I would like to take a look at real estate on the Web.”