Wizard's Sword (The Battle Wizard Saga, No.2) (8 page)

Sig walked to the door and turned, giving a half salute, "Ladies", he said with a smile before he ducked and twisted through, shutting it behind him.

Outside, Sig spun, scanning the area. The feeling of someone watching tingled across is skin, but no one was visible. Taking advantage of his isolation, he grabbed the sword hilt over his shoulder and muttered the magic phrase to return to normal form, "Koma Aftur." The world around him grew larger.

The training facility door slammed open and three women burst out glancing around. One asked Sig, "Did you see where the big guy went?"

"Do you mean Dmitri or the other guy?"

"The other guy."

"He ran that way." He pointed toward the parking lot behind the building.

"Do you know him?"

"A mutual acquaintance introduced us."

Giselle sauntered through the open doorway and looked down at Sig, a smile quirked one side of her generous lips.

Bella walked out next. "Are you alright?"

"No, I have bruises all over my body from your sword," Sig said.

"No, I meant from Dmitri."

"Naw, you hurt me worse."

She grinned. "You flatterer."

 "Did you see the size of the sword that guy had? How′d you like to go up against that?" Sig asked.

Bella winked. "It′s not the size of the sword; it′s how you use it."

Sig nodded. "I′ve heard something like that before, but not about swords."

The girl who asked him the first question interrupted. "You say you know him. Who is he?"

"My friend introduced us because we′re the only two people he knows named Sig."

"I′d like to meet him."  

After casting a wry expression at the girl at bottom of the steps, Giselle shook her head at Sig.

Sig shrugged. "I′ll run it by him next time I see him."

"OK. Thanks." She returned inside with the other girls except Giselle and Bella.

Bella stayed outside for a moment longer. "You′re sure you′re alright? This isn′t some macho bullshit?"

Sig laughed. "I promise, if I′m injured you′ll be the first to know. Someone has to kiss it and make it better."

She looked him over for a moment, nodded, and then returned inside, leaving him and Giselle alone.

"Wow, you really made a big impression."

"I thought I could handle that overgrown bully in this form. I figured wrong. He′s pushed me around a number of times for no reason, other than he gets off on pushing people. I had to do something. When he threw me through the door, it set up the perfect opportunity$mdash;without blowing my cover."

"There are a lot of ladies in there who are very pleased with your performance. He′s rude and obnoxious and thinks he′s God′s gift to women."

"If no one likes him, why does he hang around?"

"Now you′re asking a question I′m uncomfortable with."

Sig cocked his head and looked at her quizzically.

She looked at him for a moment before she said, "It′s a nasty Amazon secret. Many of our women are attracted to big guys. It′s almost a compulsion with some. It′s probably genetic. I′m sure you′ve noticed most of us are on the large size."

"Is that why those girls wanted an introduction to my other body? Why did you shake your head when they asked?"

"I don′t think you need to get signed up in the Amazon breeding program right now."

"Amazon breeding program?" He looked at her incredulously.

"Calm down big fella. Take it easy and learn the lay of the land, and no, I′m not referring to one of the girls inside."

Sig chuckled and blushed. "I′d better get inside and change. I have to walk back to the lab for my afternoon appointment with the Professor." Again, he had the feeling as if someone spied on him. He looked back over each shoulder. No one was there.

"Poor college student with no wheels, huh."

"No, my truck had a small accident. I won′t have wheels until I get the insurance money to buy a new one."

"Hit another car?"

"No, a tree."

"You hit a tree?"

"No, the tree hit my car, it fell on it."

She skewered him with a skeptical look. "A tree fell on your car? Really?"

"Ask the Professor, he saw it. Lightning hit the tree and it fell on my car."

She raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "Okay. Go ahead and change. I′ll give you a ride to the lab. I′m going there to work this evening; it′s on my way."

"Thank you. I′ll be right back." He looked up at the roofs around before he went inside, hoping to spot a spy. Nothing.

Sig came out in less than five minutes. Giselle waited in a Jeep with very large knobby tires. He threw his bag in back, got in, and said, "Do you go off-roading much?"

She placed it gear and sped away. "Just to go hunting."

"You hunt?"

She looked amused when she glanced at him. "You don′t know many Amazons do you?"

Sig rolled his eyes to the canvas cover on top of the Jeep as if contemplating. "No. Before a few days ago$mdash;none. In fact, I didn′t know Amazons were more than a myth. Now, suddenly they′re everywhere."

"You make it sound like a bad thing."

"Oh, I didn′t mean it like that. Actually, being around tall, athletic, attractive women is nice, if they weren′t always trying to beat the hell out of me."

"I thought that′s what you were looking for when we were introduced."

"Rick thought it would be a good icebreaker. I didn′t realize you guys would be so competitive."

"You didn′t think we′d be competitive because we go to Northwestern, or because we′re women?"

Sig sat with his mouth open for a moment. "Let me savor the flavor of shoe leather, while I think about your question."

She remained silent for a few beats, and then said archly, "Well… are you still savoring or are you thinking?"

"You′re not going to let it slide are you? OK, point made. I judged based on my experiences, which are limited."

He pondered while they pulled into the parking lot. "My first thought is that I haven′t gone up against women who are competitive before, but I have; women in Dressage are very competitive. I just haven′t directly, physically competed against them."

She pulled into a parking spot. "So you thought you′d come here and take it easy on us little old girls." She turned off the Jeep.

He nodded. "Yup, you′re right. I came across as a misogynist, didn′t I?"

"A misogynist hates women. I think the words you′re looking for are male chauvinist." She laughed, punched him in the shoulder, and said, "Isn′t personal revelation healthy and inspiring?"

He got out of the car rubbing his shoulder. As they walked toward the lab, he asked, "What are you, a psych major?"

"I started that way, and then switched to physics. Now I think I′ll double major. I want to understand magic better, but I also want to know how it makes people think and react to it."

He opened the lab door for her. "How magic makes people think? Magic doesn′t make people think, they already think. Magic is something they do."

"Thought processes develop as people change. Magic causes change. What if you suddenly give an ordinary person a great deal of power; will that make their value systems different? If you begin persecuting someone; what changes will that cause?" She said as she entered ahead of him.

"Hmmm. I never thought of it."

"I do. Like why would a guy open a door for a girl, when he thinks girls are beating the hell out of him?"

Sig stopped and looked back at the door as it clicked shut, rolled his eyes at the ceiling, and then took quick steps to catch up to her. "So you′re going to be a physicist who screws with peoples′ heads."

"Yeah, now that you put it that way, it sounds like fun." She chuckled. "Well you′re here." She motioned at the door as she walked past. "I′ve got a different assignment today."

Sig stopped and watched her walk away. It was a nice walk, maybe even a great walk. "Thanks for the ride."

She flipped her golden flame-colored hair out of the way, as she turned her head with a smile over her shoulder and said, "No prob."

She′s smart and attractive, a nice combination if he could endure the mind games.

Fiona sat across the kitchen island and shook her finger at Meredith. "You are a witch."

Frowning she said, "Don′t call me that."

"Or what, you′ll sic your Battle Wizard son on me? You are what you are."

She shook her head and shrugged. "Think what you want."

"I didn′t say bitch. I said witch."

Meredith waved her hand dismissively. "I can live with bitch. There are times I′ve called myself that."

"Well I say you′re a witch."

Through clenched teeth, Meredith asked, "Who are you to call me that?′

Fiona smiled at her. "I′m a practicing, card carrying, full blooded witch from a long line of witches on both sides of the English channel. I′ve trained more witches like you than I care to count." She paused a moment before continuing, "And I must admit, I can also be a royal bitch at times, when I don′t get my way, or my chocolate."

Meredith had to laugh at that, despite the fact that what she had learned from Fiona about the changed world and her own place in it made her extremely uncomfortable.

Fiona stood, arched her eyebrows, and stretched to her full five-feet-nine-and-a-half inches, tugged the sash of her robe snug, and looked down her nose at Meredith. "Don′t laugh at the power of chocolate! Everyone knows 'Eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog, adder's fork and blindworm′s sting, lizard's leg and howlet's wing.′— whatever the hell a howlet is—but the real secret to a potion is chocolate."

"You put chocolate in the potion?"

"Oh hell no! In the witch! Put chocolate in the potion? What a waste of good chocolate."

Meredith laughed so hard, she feared she would fall off the tall counter stool.

Fiona continued lecturing. "Without the calming power of the fruit of the cocoa tree, spells can be spoiled. A tense witch becomes a careless witch. I put a little frog toe in the potion and then a little chocolate in myself, then a little adder′s fork in the potion, then more chocolate for me."

Meredith looked at her questioningly. "You are joking, aren′t you?"

Fiona waggled her finger. "Never joke about chocolate. Of course, I′m joking. I wouldn′t know where to find an adder′s fork. Do adders use forks? They don′t have hands. How can they hold a fork?"

Meredith carefully took a sip of coffee, fearing that Fiona might hurl another witticism while she had her mouth full of coffee. She didn′t want to laugh and blow hot coffee out her nose.

Meredith enjoyed having Fiona around, despite her discomfort at what she had learned about herself. It had been like a girl′s slumber party. In her world, men had surrounded her, her late husband Martin, Sig her son, her father Edward, and occasionally grandfather Thorval. She welcomed the change to feminine company.

Fiona was as comfortable as an old shoe. Meredith found herself sharing things she rarely told anyone. Secrets such as her fear of magic, which intensified recently as she learned more about it.

Grampa Thor and then Professor Herman discovered that Meredith had latent powers. They recruited Fiona to train her.

Leading her gently but firmly, Fiona helped discover her magic. She assessed that Meredith had strong future viewing capabilities. She taught focus techniques including tarot cards, mantras, and talismans.

They were performing relaxation exercises a few days earlier when Meredith looked around with surprise. "Sig, where are you? What are you doing back?" She rolled to her feet from the floor where she′d been lying, walked into the kitchen, and returned. "I feel Sig. It′s like he′s here, but I can′t find him."

Fiona got up from the recliner and walked out to the porch. She stood with her face raised, as if scenting the air. "Sigurd? Arthur?" Fiona turned to Meredith when she stepped outside to join her, "They were here, but they′re gone now."

"What do you mean?"

"We were the subjects of a distance viewing. Both Sig and Arthur viewed us. It′s strange, but it felt like Sig cast the vision and Arthur joined. I didn′t feel it until I walked out here on the porch. I′m amazed that you felt it in there."