Authors: Belinda Meyers
Chapter 10
“Go,” Matt said, seeing that both Jackie and Tannenbaum were
staring in the direction of the sounds instead of rushing up the stairs. With
emphasis, he added, “Now!”
The two seemed to shake themselves.
Tannenbaum jogged to the stairs, paused to gesture for Jackie and Matt to
follow, then ascended ahead of them. Matt gently pushed Jackie toward the
stairs next. She went, and he made sure she had reached the first landing
before he followed. If anyone was going to tangle with the golems, it had
better be him. Especially if the things were resistant to magic.
Breathing easily, he trotted up the
stairs behind Jackie, and the
clomps
of the golem receded. Soon all Matt could hear was the sound of his own
heartbeat and Jackie’s quick breaths. They reached one landing, then another,
making their way swiftly up through the tower. The stairs seemed to go on
forever. Weird. Matt hadn’t thought there were this many stories to the
structure, but that didn’t make sense. Or did it? This was a wizard’s home,
after all.
Finally, all of them breathing a
little heavily, even Matt, they reached the top of the spire and paused before
an oiled wooden door with an ornate brass doorknob and keyhole. It gleamed in
the light of the equally ornate brass chandelier that drooped from the ceiling
and blazed with a hundred candles.
“What are you doing?” Jackie asked,
and Matt saw Tannenbaum closing his eyes and waving his hands before the door.
The mage muttered something under his breath, retrieved a key from his fanny
pack and held it up to the light—all without answering Jackie’s question.
Finally he said, somewhat
mysteriously, “Finding the way.” He waggled the key. It was large and ancient-looking,
with a red ruby (or what looked like one, though it glimmered with odd lights)
set in the hilt.
“What ‘way’?” Matt said, wary.
Tannenbaum smiled, and again it was
mysterious. “This doorway can lead to many places, wherever ley lines meet. But
in only one of those places grows the Great Gava Mushroom. That’s the mushroom
whose spores can complete the spell. I have all the other ingredients here—”
(he patted his fanny pack) “—except for the Gava spores. But we’ll go now and
retrieve them together. Since you’re coming with me, I’ll give you a small
discount.”
“Forget it, T," Jackie said.
"You got tortured because of me.”
“Oh, did I neglect to add on the
torture surcharge? There
will
be a
torture surcharge, trust me. You would do well to accept my discount.”
Jackie rolled her eyes. “Fine.”
“Let’s move this along,” Matt said.
“Remember, those golems can climb stairs.”
Tannenbaum swallowed and nodded. He
returned his attention to the key, spoke the word “Agavato”, and inserted the
key into the keyhole. With the slowness of a showman, he turned the key, and
the gears inside that brass hole gave a clank and a groan. The air sort of
shimmered around the door, and Tannenbaum wiped sweat from his forehead with a
shaky hand. Clearing his throat, he grabbed the knob and shoved the door open.
Beyond stretched a sun-drenched, grassy hill surrounded by more grassy hills
and trees.
“Well, shall we?” Jackie said, and
Matt admired her courage.
“Let’s do it,” he said.
Tannenbaum let out a sound that
might have been a sigh and visibly straightened his back. Like a soldier going
into battle, the mage stepped across the threshold.
Jackie looked up at Matt. “Ready?”
“Ready.”
Together they stepped across and onto
the green grass of the hill. Instantly Matt went from feeling Tannenbaum’s
cool-ish house to basking in the warm breeze rolling over the hills. He and
Jackie stood on a beautiful grassy hillock ringed by ancient-looking stones
that reminded him of Stonehenge, with a gorgeous blue sky overhead.
“A place in Ireland,” Tannenbaum
explained. “Quite romantic, and surprisingly sunny for this time of year. Must
be the ley lines.”
They stepped deeper into the circle
of stones, and Matt turned to see the door they’d entered by framed between a
gateway made out of the stone blocks. Through the gateway he could still see
Tannenbaum’s mansion. Weird.
In the middle of the circle of
stones, a gentle spring bubbled up into a pool of clear-running water, and a
small stream ran off from it and plunged over the side of a short chalk cliff.
Tannenbaum stepped forward, around
the pool, and gestured to the bases of the stone columns. The grass there was
dotted with huge gray mushrooms, or what looked like mushrooms. They didn’t
glow, but the air seemed to blur, just a bit, around each of them, and Matt
knew they were somehow magical. Tannenbaum hadn’t been bullshitting them. That
was something, at least.
“All right,” said Tannenbaum. “Let
me just harvest a few ‘shrooms and add their spores to my bowl, and I will
complete the spell.”
“Bowl?” said Jackie.
The mage reached into his fanny
pack and produced a stone bowl; it looked to Matt like the sort of bowl Mexican
women ground corn in to make tortillas, but smaller. Tannenbaum had a little
stone tool for mashing, too. A pestle?
Tannenbaum reached into his fanny pack
again, sorted through some pouches in there, and sprinkled one element after
another into the bowl, muttering to himself as he worked: powder of this, leaf of
that, eye of something else—Matt hardly listened. He was looking all around
them, making sure nothing was about to pounce on them.
“You’ll need this,” Jackie said,
and handed Tannenbaum the ring containing her fire.
The mage accepted the ring, then looked
up from where he’d been grinding the elements together. “Jackie, my dear, would
you be so kind as to bring me three mushrooms? Make sure their edges have a
green frill.”
“On it,” Jackie said, and Matt
didn’t miss the excitement in her voice—the longing. Here she was, about to get
that missing piece of herself back after all these years. He thought she was
even shaking a little with emotion. Her excitement was infectious, and he felt
a thrill run through him. When she turned to flash him a smile, Matt grinned
widely back at her and shot her a thumbs-up.
Almost bouncing, she approached a
patch of the real-life magical mushrooms (not the hippie kind) and reached out
a hand—
“No
so fast, you harlot
,
”
boomed a
voice.
Matt whirled to see a newcomer
standing in the stone circle framed against the doorway they’d come here by. Before
the figure stood the two giant golems, their eyes blazing with fire.
The man who had spoken was
elegantly attired in a black tuxedo, as if on his way to an opera or something.
One of his arms rested in a silken sling. He looked younger than Matt would have
supposed, no more than thirty, and was actually a pretty handsome fella, in as
much as Matt could reckon such things, with brown hair and gray eyes. Of
course, his age was deceptive, Matt knew; Walsh, if it was he (and it just had
to be) was really hundreds of years old. As handsome as he was, coldness danced
in his gunmetal gray eyes, and there was something cruel around the corners of
his full lips.
“Walsh, I presume?” said
Tannenbaum.
The mage placed the stone bowl on
the ground and took a step forward, as if to confront the evil wizard. Jackie,
her hand half-raised to a mushroom, dropped it to her side and faced her enemy,
too. Her jaw hardened and her eyes narrowed.
“You bastard,” she said, and Matt
admired the courage he heard in her voice. His mate sure had some guts.
Matt gave Walsh his full attention.
The bastard’s eyes were locked on those of Tannenbaum. He obviously thought the
other mage the biggest threat. Matt was fully prepared to teach him the error
of his thinking. Matt slapped a fist into his palm and grinned, imaging the
wizard’s bones breaking under his blows.
“You won’t steal my woman’s fire
again,” Matt said. “In fact, pretty soon you won’t be doing much of anything.”
Walsh glanced at him, and there was
a sneer on his lips. “Quiet, beast. Yes, I can see plainly what you are. When I
want to speak with an animal, I’ll talk to my dog, thank you.”
Matt felt a growl begin deep in his
chest and work its way up, rattling from his mouth in a terrible wash of sound.
Jackie reached Matt’s side and
together they faced off against the evil sorcerer. Her cheeks were pale, but
her eyes were filled with defiance. Matt’s love for her burned hot in his
chest, as hot as he imagined her fire would burn in her own chest soon. She may
have lost her flame, but he had heat enough for both of them.
“Don’t do anything foolish,”
Tannenbaum whispered to them, joining them and then taking a step beyond them,
closer to Walsh, as if volunteering to be the target of the fire-stealer’s
wrath. Matt had to admire the man, if only a little, even if he was a mercenary
who only worked for money.
To Walsh, Matt said, “What’s with
the tuxedo? On your way to pull a rabbit out of some hat? Maybe at a children’s
birthday party?”
Walsh gave a small smile. A
very
small smile.
“I was at a ball, actually, when my assistant
sent word that this lead had panned out.”
“Your assistant?” Jackie said.
“That would be the torturing weasel Jeremy?”
“That’s right. I don’t see him
here, so I presume he’s dead.”
“Actually, no. So that would be two
things you’re wrong about.”
Walsh’s eyes lost their mirth. “You know, it’s
interesting. As I was passing through your little town on the other side of the
door, I felt something …”
“What?” said Matt.
A strange look passed across
Walsh’s face—almost of glee. “I’ve been searching for something for a long time.
A long, long time. And I think—yes, I know—that at last I’ve found it. There’s
something on this mountain, something that holds the key to a puzzle I’ve been
trying to solve forever …”
Matt’s voice was a growl: “You’ll
never get it, whatever it is, you bastard.”
“We shall see.” Walsh’s voice
became a whip. “Return the ring, girl, or you all die.”
“Easier said than done,” Jackie
said.
“Fine,” Walsh said. “Then I’ll
retrieve the ring from your corpses.”
He raised his good hand, as if to
work a spell, but Tannenbaum spoke a word under his breath and a strong wind
was hurled against Walsh, throwing him backward. He landed on his feet, but
tottered and had to lean against the wind. A curt motion of his hand and he
walked forward nonchalantly, untouched by the gale that still seemed to rage
all about him. Even the golems had to lean a bit against it.
“Shit,” said Jackie.
Seeing that the wind no longer had
an effect, Tannenbaum released the spell and the gale quit blowing. As he
prepared another spell, Walsh raised his hand and a bolt of lightning shot
out—red-white lightning, huge and hot. It made a sound like a bug zapper as it
lanced toward Tannenbaum at light speed. The bolt smashed into Tannenbaum’s chest,
throwing him off his feet and back ten yards to crash against the side of a stone
column. He slumped down it, seemingly unconscious.
“Double shit,” said Jackie.
“Don’t worry,” Matt said. “I’ve got
this.”
He let his bear burst loose,
erupting out of him and bounding, all muscle and fang and fury, toward Walsh,
who turned to meet him. So did the golems.
Chapter 11
Jackie gasped when Matt’s bear came forth, and she marveled
at the eight hundred pounds of densely packed grizzly muscle charging toward
the enemy. Admiration and love (she knew it, could feel it strongly) swept
through her. Matt was
badass
. And so
brave, to be taking on Walsh and his constructs all by himself.
Well, maybe not. Jackie knew a few
spells, didn’t she? She could help Matt. It wasn’t like she was some innocent
helpless maiden. Ha, she wasn’t
any
of those things.
Narrowing her eyes, she lifted a
palm toward the golem bringing its combined fists down on Matt’s furry back, a
blow that might have crushed his spine.
“Yavath!”
Jackie said, and green ice encased the golem’s arms—just for a moment.
Almost as soon as she had spoken, the ice cracked, damn it all.
It slowed the thing just enough,
though, for Matt to barrel into the creature with a terrific
smack!
Jackie could hear the noise from
here.
Matt drove the golem back—and back
some more. He was driving toward the cliff that the stream plunged off of. If
he could throw the golem over the edge, the thing would shatter into a million
pieces below, just like the first one had in the mansion’s lobby. The creature
smashed and flailed at him, and blood coursed down Matt’s mighty flanks.
Growling fiercely, Matt slammed the golem even further backward, and back again.
The second golem lurched forward to
pummel Matt from behind.
As Jackie searched for a way to
help, she heard Tannenbaum stirring behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she
saw him shaking his head and blinking his eyes.
“Thank God,” she said. “T, can you
hear me? We could use your help.”
Tannenbaum blinked again. Something
at the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he reached up—to grab a mushroom.
Then another.
Suddenly excited, Jackie spun to
see bear-Matt battling the two golems.
She began another spell to help
Matt, but Walsh stopped her. He stepped forward and raised his palm. Red energy
gathered on it.
“You brought this on yourself,” he
said.
Before she could raise a defense,
Walsh blasted her with a red bolt. Pain suffused her, and she was only dimly
aware of flying through the air. She landed hard, the breath exploding from her
lungs. When she could think clearly again, she was on the ground, her palms and
lower back ablaze with pain. Beside her Tannenbaum was grinding the mushroom
spores into his bowl.
“Almost there,” he whispered to
Jackie. Sweat dripped down from his eyebrows.
“Give me the ring,” Walsh demanded,
coming closer.
He strode forward, giving Matt,
still battling the two golems, a wide berth but coming near to Jackie.
Jackie groaned and sat up.
“Give it,” Walsh demanded, coming
closer.
“Never,” she said, and spat in his
general direction. Unfortunately, she was weak and the spit landed on one of
her boots. Great.
Real tough display
there, Jackie.
“Get bent,” she added.
Walsh loomed over her. “Tsk tsk.
You didn’t even put up a sporting defense. Oh well, I suppose I wouldn’t have
wanted you to damage my tux at any rate. I had to stand for half an hour while
my tailor measured me.” He lifted a hand. Crackling red energy gathered in his
palm, and Jackie could feel its heat. Hell. At this range, she had no chance of
surviving such a bolt.
“Fuck you,” Jackie said.
The amusement completely faded from
Walsh’s face. His voice turned sinister and lethal, and she could hear the grim
enjoyment in his voice as he said, “Goodbye.”
The red energy on his palm grew—
“Restora
mavala!”
cried Tannenbaum.
Jackie gasped. Something hot
erupted inside her chest. Something burning.
Walsh’s eyes widened. “What? Did
you—how—?”
His mouth tightened. The energy
gathering on his palm grew hotter, as if to compensate for her new power.
Jackie opened her mouth. Smoke
poured out of it.
Smoke.
Could it be
… ?
Only one way to find out.
Feeling new energy course through
her, she shot to her feet, causing Walsh to stumble backward.
“Yes, goodbye,” she told him, and …
breathed.
Fire shot out of her mouth and
enveloped him. He screamed and said a word of power. The fire dimmed, then
faded. She sucked in a breath then let it out again in a great
whoosh
. The fire rushed around him even
as he made arcane gestures. The fire wreathed him, encased him like a cocoon,
but she could see through it; it wasn’t burning him. Somehow he was using his
powers to protect himself.
She grinned. Maybe he could hold
off a small amount of her fire, but he couldn’t hold off a lot.
She drew in an even deeper breath
and shot another plume at him. It enveloped him, the fire shooting high over
his head now as though he were a living torch. Through the flames she could see
him grimacing and fighting to keep his concentration—to keep the flames at bay.
“Too bad,” she said. “You wanted my
fire. Well, you can have it!”
He screamed. Ha! The fires had
eaten through his shields. With a sudden girlish shriek, he ran toward the
springs and flung himself into the water. Smoke rose up, and when he stood
again he was naked, his clothes burned away, and covered in soot.
Dripping wet and utterly
ridiculous-looking, he started to leave the water.
Matt, who had knocked both golems
off the edge of the nearby cliff, casually ambled over and roared in Walsh’s
face, spraying spittle. Walsh paled and stayed where he was. Grinning, Jackie
helped Tannenbaum to his feet and they crossed to the springs and stood over
Walsh. Jackie ran her hands through Matt’s fur and leaned her weight against
him.
“You’re finished,” Tannenbaum told
Walsh. “Do you surrender?”
Walsh glared at them for a moment,
then sagged. “I surrender.”
Tannenbaum snapped his fingers and
a pair of magical handcuffs appeared around Walsh’s wrists. Another snap and a
glowing gag appeared over his mouth, preventing him from speaking any spells.
Tannenbaum paused. To Jackie, he
said, "I know this is illegal, but I would like to give you the right to achieve
satisfaction."
"Satisfaction?" she said.
"That's right. Walsh stole
your fire. In my book, you have the right to avenge yourself if you want it. To
kill Walsh."
Jackie switched her gaze from
Tannenbaum to Walsh. The evil wizard's eyes widened and he said something
pleading against his gag. For a moment Jackie was tempted to do it, to avenge
herself, or maybe ask Matt to do it. Walsh had killed her grandmother and her
father, and probably many others, too. He deserved it if anyone did.
Jackie glanced to Matt, and his
bear eyes bored into her. She could feel his support, his understanding. He
would go along with whatever she needed.
At last she sighed. "No. I
won't let Walsh make me a killer. He's done enough to me. He won't do that. And
if he's dead he can't face justice. T, send him to the big house."
Tannenbaum grinned. "It will
be my pleasure. I will transport you to the holding cell now,” he told Walsh,
who narrowed his eyes but didn’t fight it. He was probably relieved not to have
been roasted. Tannenbaum spoke a few words and Walsh vanished. Tannenbaum
turned to Jackie and Matt. “Now I’ll alert the Council and have him and Jeremy
tried. You may have to appear as witnesses at some point, but maybe not.”
“Thank you for everything,” Jackie
said. “And you,” she added to Matt. “I never could have done this without you.”
He nuzzled her with his wet black
nose, and she kissed his furry cheeks.
Running her fingers through his
fur, she said, “I … love you.”
His liquid black eyes stared into
her, and she could feel something inside her stirring. It was … it was her
dragon
. It was roaring out its longing
for Matt and his bear. It had found its mate and recognized it. A wave of
happiness washed through her, and she leaned against Matt and breathed out a
contended sigh.
With a blur, he released his
bear-self and stood before her, tall and naked and gorgeous. Jackie threw her
arms around the former SEAL, or at least as far around him as she could get. He
was huge. She was all too aware of his manhood pressing against her, thick and
heavy.
Swallowing, she stepped back and
stared up into his eyes. “You were so brave,” she said, hearing the choked
quality of her voice. “The way you charged Walsh like that, without a care for
anything else. The way you took on those golems single-handed.”
Matt grinned tiredly. One of his
arms slipped around her waist, pulling her back against him. Just like before,
action was turning him on, despite everything. She could feel his shaft
hardening against her.
“I had a little help,” he said.
Tannenbaum cleared his throat. “About
that payment …”
Ignoring him, Jackie ran her palms
along Matt’s taut abs, and she kissed the flesh around one of his abrasions.
The golems had really done a number on him.
“Does it hurt?” she said.
“I’ll be fine,” Matt said. “Just
need something to eat.” He grunted. “A beer wouldn’t hurt, either.”
“For a small additional fee, I have
some healing spells available,” said Tannenbaum, ever the businessman. He
seemed to study them pressing up against each other. “And, er, well …”
“Yes?” Jackie said.
Tannenbaum cleared his throat. “Normally
I would tell you to get a room, but for one time only I’m prepared to offer a
special bonus. A free bonus, for saving my life.”
“Yeah?” said Matt.
Tannenbaum snapped his fingers, and
a covered silver dish appeared in mid-air.
Matt inhaled deeply, then ripped
the silver dome off to reveal a succulent roast chicken surrounded by delicious-looking
Spanish rice, complete with utensils and after-dinner mints. Ignoring the
utensils, Matt tore off a leg and began munching enthusiastically. As he did,
Jackie could practically see his wounds beginning to heal.
“I put a touch of healing juice in
the dish,” Tannenbaum said. “Gluten-free and entirely organic.” To Jackie, he
said, “When you two have, ah, finished enjoying the sights here, just walk
through the gateway and you will arrive before the courthouse in Pine Ridge. I
suggest clothing Matt before you cross over, so as not to be arrested.” He
snapped his fingers again, and a blue sweat suit appeared from thin air. Matt
grabbed it with the hand not holding the remains of the chicken leg—there
wasn’t much left—and tossed the clothes over his shoulder. Tannenbaum slipped
Jackie a piece of paper with a number on it and said, “Just mail me a check for
that amount within a week and I will call our business concluded.”
Jackie winced at the number. It was
all she had left. But damn if it hadn’t been worth it. Oh hell yeah.
“Thank you,” she told Tannenbaum
again.
“Especially for the chicken,” Matt
said, reaching for the other leg. “I need the name of your cook.”
Tannenbaum laughed. “Next time, my
friends. Now, if you would, I have seen enough naked men today, and I am very
tired.”
Matt chuckled. His eyes sparkled,
and he looked quite restored now: awake, alive and
very
horny. The silver dish containing what was left of the chicken
and rice hovered in the air nearby, and Matt found a spoon and began devouring
the rice.
Tannenbaum moved to the gateway made
of stone slabs, stepped through and into his mansion. Turning, he gave them a
wave and said, “Have fun.”
She and Matt waved back, and then Tannenbaum
closed the door. As soon as he did, the door seemed to vanish, leaving only the
stone gateway, through which could be seen more trees and grassy hills. Jackie
and Matt were all alone.