A Little Magic(87)

A little shaky, she sat down on the ground. And she began to do what she’d always done best. Be logical.



FLYNN sat as he had on the night it had begun. In the chair in front of the fire in the tower. He’d watched in the flames until Kayleen had gotten into her car. After that, he hadn’t been able to bear it, so he had hazed the vision with smoke.

He’d lost track of the time that he’d sat there now, chained by his own grief. He knew the day was passing. The slant of sunlight through the window had shortened and was dimming.

She would be beyond now, and would have forgotten him. That was for the best. There would be some confusion, of course. A loss of time never fully explained. But she would put that behind her as well.

In a year or two, or twenty, he might look into the fire again, and see how she was. But he would never open his mind to her in dreams, for that would be more torment than he could ever possibly bear.

She would be changed a little by what had passed between them. More open to possibilities, to the magic of life. He lifted the strings of pearls, watched them glow in the light of the dying fire. At least that was a gift she hadn’t been able to hurl at his feet.

With the pearls wrapped around his fingers, he lowered his face into his hands. He willed the time to come when pain could strike only his mind, when every sense wasn’t tuned so sharply that he could smell her even now. That soft scent that whispered in the air.

“Bring on the bloody night,” he muttered and threw his head back.

Then he was stumbling to his feet, staring. She stood not three feet away. Her hair was tangled, her clothes torn. Scratches scored her hands and face.

“What trick is this?”

“I want my boon. I want what you promised me.”

“What have you done?” His knees unlocked and he lunged toward her, grabbing her hard by the arms. “How are you hurt? Look at you. Your hands are all torn and bleeding.”

“You put briars in my way.” She gave him a shove, and such was his shock that she knocked him back two full steps. “You bastard. It took hours to get through them.”

“Get through.” His head snapped back, as if she’d slapped him. “You have to go. Go! Now! What’s the time?” He was pushing her out of the room, and when that wasn’t quick enough he began to drag her.

“I’m not going. Not until you grant my boon.”

“You damn well are.” Terrified, he tossed her over his shoulder and began to run. As she struggled and cursed him, he began to fly.

The night was closing in. Time that had dripped began to flood. He went as deep into the forest as he dared. The edges of his prison seemed to hiss around him.

“There.” Fear for her slicked his skin. “Your car’s just up ahead. Get in it and go.”

“Why? So I can drive a little farther and forget all this? Forget you? You’d have stolen that from me.”

“I’ve no time to argue with you.” He grabbed her shoulders and shook. “There is no time. If you stay past the last stroke of twelve, you’re trapped here. A hundred years will pass before you can walk away again.”

“Why do you care? It’s a big house. A big forest. I won’t get in your way.”

“You don’t understand. Go. This place is mine, and I don’t want you here.”

“You’re trembling. Flynn. What frightens you?”

“I’m not frightened, I’m angry. You’ve abused my hospitality. You’re trespassing.”

“Call the cops,” she suggested. “Call your Keepers. Or…why don’t you just flick me out, the way you flick things in? But you can’t, can you?”

“If I could, you’d be gone already.” He yanked her a few steps toward the car, then swore when the ground in front of his boots began to spark and smoke. That was the edge of his prison.

“Big, powerful magician, but you can’t get rid of me that way. You couldn’t bring me here, and you can’t send me away. Not with magic, because I have heart and soul. I have will. So you tried to drive me away with careless words. Cruel, careless words. You didn’t think I’d see through them, did you? Didn’t think I’d figure it all out. You forgot who you were dealing with.”

“Kayleen.” He took her hands now, squeezing desperately. “Do this thing I ask now, won’t you?”

“A diversion,” she said. “That’s a crock. You love me.”

“Of course I love you.” He shook her harder, shouted so his voice boomed through the forest. “That’s the bloody point. And if you care for me, you’ll do what I tell you, and do it now.”