“Earthquake!”He cursed in that incomprehensible language of his. “We stayed too long.”
Another crack, this one vertical to the first. If it spread too much, Carly would be left standing on an island between two deep fissures.
“Come to me, Carly.” He held out his hand. “You’ll have to jump.”
Terror clogging her throat, Carly looked back at her mare.
“Merry will follow. Jump!”
As she opened her mouth to speak, the earth bucked beneath her, pitching her forward towards a certain death.
Chapter Eleven
ALRICK REACTED instinctively, throwing out a spell like a net in order to catch her. Though he didn’t know what effect using magic on top of magic would have, he didn’t have time to worry about that now. He had to save Carly.
At the same instant, Merry leapt up, with Carly’s hand still tangled in the lead.
The spell missed by a wide shot, falling in to the fissure, ricocheting off the sides all the way to the bottom.
Merry – and Carly – landed safely just as another, louder rumble came from deep in the earth. Sparks shot from the crack and thick pillars of black smoke bellowed forth. The island of land where Carly had stood crumbled and fell.
Dazed, Carly stared, open-mouthed, at the crack. Alrick grabbed her arm. “Run! It’s going to explode!”
They took off across the meadow, letting the terrified horses go.
Behind them, the ground erupted in a fury.
Even as the earth bucked beneath them, they reached the knoll and relative safety. The horses, rather than running circles around the pasture, moved in close, sides heaving.
“Whew.” Carly doubled over, hands on her legs, trying to catch her breath. “That was a close one.”
“I shouldn’t have used magic. But I needed to save you. I didn’t see what else I could do.”
“Look at the bright side.” Unbelievably, when Carly straightened, she was smiling. “The spiders can’t get to us now. They’ll all fall in that crack.”
At the gate that separated this field from her back pasture they had two choices. They could take the dirt road that circled around the front of her house or continue on to the back pasture and more fields.
“This will work out.” Though his heart still pounded from nearly losing her, he kept his voice quiet, calm.
“Do you mean our leaving?” Her wide emerald eyes seemed remarkably free of panic.
“Yes. This way, we’ll keep one step ahead of him. Once the Warlord has gathered enough strength to travel fully here and remain, I’d much rather fight him on my terms, out in the open, rather than be trapped like prey in your house.”
“I guess. But, to tell you the truth, I’d rather find a safe place.”
“A safe place?” Gloved hand on the gate, Alrick debated which way to go. “What do you mean?”
“You said modern machines nullify his magic. I’ve been trying to think of someplace we could go, somewhere we could hide where his power would be greatly diminished.”
He considered this. “On the surface this sounds good, but I really don’t know.” He studied the moon-lit fields, enjoying the connection he felt to nature, now that the magical aftershocks had passed. “If these machines hamper his magic, mine would be useless as well. That would be a problem if there is to be a battle.”
“True.” Carly frowned. Her expression lightened as she plucked at his arm. “If we had my gun that would solve that problem. Before we head out into the hills, let’s circle around to the front of the house.”
“You’re thinking you can retrieve this weapon of yours? How, when the house is covered in spiders?”
“Maybe we can surprise them. If they’re all chasing after us, parts of the house will be clear. It’d take me only a second to grab the rifle. And my purse.”
Alrick took a deep breath. “The spiders will seek you, wherever you are. Once they realize you’re there, they’ll attack. You wouldn’t have long inside.”
She lifted her chin in that stubborn gesture he had begun to know so well. “I’d have long enough to get what I need. I know exactly where the rifle is. It’ll take me a few seconds to get in, grab it and my purse, and get back out.”
Alrick stared. The moonlight made her skin look soft, her lips so red they might have been washed by berries. An urge to kiss her struck him, so strong he nearly acted without thinking. Instead, he forced himself to take a step back and think objectively. “You can try, but there are far too many of them. You couldn’t get within one hundred paces of your back door before they swarmed over you.”
“Blech.” She shuddered. “Thanks for the confidence. That’s a disgusting picture you paint.”
“Nothing but the truth.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” She looked down at her feet. “But I’d like to at least try.”
“Fine.” He gave her a hard look, glad she was too preoccupied with her plan to have noticed the brief detour his thoughts had taken. “But if there is a clear path into the house, I’m going in, not you. There’s no way we’re risking you.”
Though she didn’t reply, the tight set of her lips was enough of an answer to make him sigh.
Leading the horses through the gate, they followed the dirt path to the road, approaching her house from the front.
Even in the dim moonlight, before they’d gone twenty feet up her rutted dirt driveway they saw them. Like before, when the fire ants had taken over, wave after wave of spiders covered her house. And front and back yard. A moving, living, sea of eight-legged arachnids.
Letting out a strangled cry, Carly backed up so suddenly she tripped over her own feet. Alrick caught her, holding on to her a second longer than was necessary before he let go.
She didn’t even notice.
“Damn it, you were right.” Scratching at her arms compulsively, she grimaced. “No gun, no purse. Still, I want to go on record as saying this is getting ridiculous. What’s he trying to accomplish?”
“Your death.”
“With spiders? Give me a break.”
“You were allergic to the ants. One bite could have killed you.”
“Not hardly. I have my allergy kit.”
“And there were snakes,” he reminded her. “If you’d
climbed into your bed without looking, you’d be dead.”
She stopped scratching long enough to look at him. Her green eyes were stormy, her long, red hair streaked with moonbeam silver. Again, he fought the urge to touch her, to cover her mouth with his and taste her.
“True. But if he’s such an almighty, powerful, warlord slash wizard, you’d think he’d come up with something better.”
“Taunting him, Carly? Be careful what you wish for. You never know who or what might hear you.”
She stared at him. Around them, crickets chirped, just as though this were another ordinary, summer night. Over head, Alrick caught the sharp silhouette of a hawk or buzzard, against the half-globe of the moon.
“Sorry.” But she sounded anything but. “I’m tired, fed-up, and in addition to being penniless, I’m unarmed.”
“We have my magic.”
“No, you have your magic. And even that has limitations, unless you want to cause more weather disasters. I have nothing. Let’s go. We need to ride.”
Alrick helped Carly on Merry. Then speaking to TM softly in the old tongue, Alrick swung his leg up and over the stallion’s back. TM allowed this without protest, standing completely still while Alrick got situated.
“Damndest thing I’ve ever seen.” Carly shook her head.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes. Though I don’t know how we’ll see. There aren’t any lights in the hills.”
“The moon provides more than enough light.”
“Not with tree branches to block it.”
They started off down the road, away from the spider-entrenched house. Alrick kept the horses to a brisk walk, his spirit lighter. Back to nature. The only place in thi
s human world where he did not feel out of place. He lifted his arm, enjoying the silver wash of moonlight that colored his skin.
“What are you doing now?” Carly squinted at him suspiciously. “Not saying another spell, are you?”
“Of course not. I was merely enjoying the feel of the night air.”
“This feels like fleeing. I hate retreating.”
“Think of this as going on the defensive.”
“Whatever.” She glanced over her shoulder, as though she wanted to catch one last glimpse of her house.
“Don’t worry,” Alrick flashed a grim smile. “Despite your belief to the contrary, this will all work out.”
“Work out?” She repeated. “All we can do is hope.”
Alrick felt his smile soften. “Yes, Carly. We can hope. I’ve vowed to take care of you, and I will.” He touched his heels lightly to TM’s side. The stallion surged forward eagerly, as though born to carry a rider.
After a few minutes they came to a crossroad. With a light touch on TM’s neck, Alrick stopped him. Carly rode up alongside.
“Which way?”
She pointed. “We can go north or west. Either way leads deeper into the hills.
“West. That way the sun won’t be in our eyes as it rises.”
Once they crossed the deserted road, they rode for half an hour, the clip-clop of the horse’s hooves the only side. “There, look.” She pointed out a narrow path that, lit by moonlight, wound up the hill in a silver ribbon, before vanishing into the dark trees. “Liam and I used to walk up there. Those couple hundred acres belong to the neighboring ranch.”
He nodded, wondering why each time she invoked her dead husband’s name it bothered him more and more. Maybe because she made the man out to be some sort of God. No one, not even one of the Fae royal family, could possibly be as wonderful and perfect as Carly made her Liam sound.
Shrugging off the thought, he brought TM to a halt and
studied the path with interest. “Would that be a good place for us to hide?”
“Maybe.” She leaned over and stroked Merry’s neck. “All I’ve ever seen on that land are cattle and an occasional white tail deer. No one ever goes there, not even during deer season.”
“Good enough.” Alrick urged TM into the underbrush. “Let’s do it.”
“Fine.” Clinging to Merry’s mane with a death grip, Carly smiled gamely. Alrick admired her courage. There was much he was coming to admire about Carly Roberts. She was independent, headstrong, unfailingly loyal, and brave. He was beginning to understand why a son of hers might be able to lead an army of the future to save the world.
She was also sexy as hell. Immediately, he shut down that thought. Mentally chastising himself, he told himself he didn’t understand the attraction. As a prince of Rune, he’d had his pick of beautiful, alluring, women. His skill in the bedchamber was known far and wide and he’d never lacked willing, eager partners.
Maybe this was why he hungered so for Carly. The lure of the challenge, forbidden fruit and all that. Cheered by this uncharacteristic self-analysis, he distracted himself by wondering how long they would have to wait before the Warlord made his next move.
Finally, the sky began to lighten. Faint tendrils of pink colored the eastern horizon, bathing the hills in a warm glow.
Kayo scouted ahead, returning every so often to wag his plumed tail and watch them with bright, intelligent eyes, tongue lolling.
Carly had fallen silent, and Alrick left her alone to her thoughts.
As the sun climbed, so did the temperature, and before long, both TM and Merry’s sides were lathered.
As they climbed the rolling terrain, they saw no other houses, farms, or people. Alrick liked that. He didn’t like the way the trees seemed stunted, twisted and misshapen as though the relentless sun had beat them down. Even the grass appeared to have given up; brown rather than green blanketed the parched, cracked earth.
“Look.” Carly pointed to the sky. “That large buzzard keeps circling overhead. That doesn’t bode well for us.”
Alrick smiled. “We’re not dead yet. Anyway, I think that’s a hawk, not a buzzard. If he watches anything, he most likely watches a rabbit or other small animal.”
A quick look at her showed she wasn’t convinced. “Carly, look at the good side. We’re still alive and the Warlord has no way to track us.”
“Unless that buzzard belongs to him.”
“If it did, it would already have attacked us.”
A reluctant smile appeared on her shapely mouth. A smudge of dust decorated one creamy cheek, making Alrick itch to brush it off. He restrained himself. “Think positive.”
She laughed. “You sound like my mother. That’s been her mantra for years.”
He found himself grinning back. But the momentary lack of attention to his mount nearly cost him. Suddenly, TM reared, pawing the air, blowing hard out his nostrils. Carly’s mare skittered sideways, nearly throwing her off. Alrick was too busy controlling TM to help her. But by sheer dint of will she held on to the mane.
Finally, when he had TM calm once more, Alrick rode over to her side. She regarded him with a mixture of awe and shock.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. But you – that was something else,” she said, her voice shaky. “You and TM seemed melded, as though you not only rode TM, but became him.”
He shrugged. “I told you, I have a way with animals.” Keeping his movements controlled, he gestured into the empty hills. “We’ve got another problem. Something spooked TM.”
“Where’s Kayo?” Shading her eyes with her hand, she searched. “I don’t see him. I never heard him bark either. If there was something in the trees, he would have warned us.”
“Don’t call him. Not yet.”
Giving him a distracted nod, she continued to try to see in the shadows of the small copse of trees. Her mare, restless, shifted from foot to foot. “Look!” Carly pointed. “What’s that?”
Peering through the dappled underbrush, he could just make out a slash of bright color. Purple or dark blue, not a color normally found in nature.
“Not flowers. Maybe it’s a rag someone dropped?”
“No.” Alrick knew he sounded grim. “It moved. That’s what startled TM.”
“Moved? How? There’s no breeze.”
“Maybe it’s Kayo.”
“If it was, why hasn’t he come back to us? This doesn’t look good,” she muttered.
Privately, Alrick agreed. “Wait here.” He slipped from TM’s back and handed the rope to Carly. Slipping into the small glade, moving from tree to tree, he approached the object, which now appeared to have gone still.
Once he got close enough, he used a large bush for cover while he studied it. For all intents and purposes, it looked like someone had tossed a threadbare purple blanket over a lumpy pile of belongings.
Then the thing moved again.
And Kayo came crashing into the clearing, barking.
Behind him trailed a scrawny, bedraggled male child of seven or eight summers. He wore an odd type of clothing, unlike anything Alrick had seen in Rune or here. His hair was an odd burgundy color, a shade that would render him noticed anywhere he went.
Kayo spotted Alrick and, wagging his tail, stopped barking. The boy, who hadn’t noticed Alrick yet, crossed to the lumpy pile and gently peeled away the blanket.
Another child, an older girl with ashen skin, lay still and motionless on the ground, eyes closed.
When Alrick stepped further into the clearing, the boy looked up. He tensed and lifted his fists. “Stay back.”
“Ease down, lad.” Alrick kept his tone gentle. “I have no intention of hurting you. Who is this lying here?”
“My friend.” Green eyes burning in his gaunt face, the boy tried to sound belligerent and bold. “I’ll kill you before I let you touch her.”
“We mean no harm.”
“We?” Jumping to his feet, the lad turned in all directions, his express
ion anxious as though he expected an entire army to descend on him.
“There are only two of us. Myself and the lady.” Alrick indicated Carly, just visible through the trees. “This is her dog.”
Tail still wagging, Kayo barked once, as if indicating agreement.
The boy took a step back, glanced at the girl, and went still, his gaze shooting from Alrick to Carly and back.
Alrick took this for a sign of encouragement. “What’s wrong with her?” He reached to lift the blanket.
The boy charged him, knocking his arm away. “Don’t touch her!”
The blow knocked Alrick back on his haunches, surprising him. “You don’t look that strong.” Standing, he dusted himself off. “What’s your name?”
The boy scowled. “My name is my own business. As is my friend. Go away.”
His friend. Studying the motionless girl, Alrick sensed great pain. Though her long blond hair was dirty, he saw no blood to indicate a head wound. She must have a serious illness then, or internal wound. Whichever, her plight was serious. He could sense death hovering nearby, waiting.
“Your friend is in bad shape. If you will let me examine her, I might be able to help her.”
As the boy opened his mouth to reply, Carly, evidently able to see some of this and having decided to ignore Alrick’s instructions to wait, crashed carefully through the brush, leading both horses. Kayo barked and trotted over to welcome her, tail wagging.
At the sight of her, the boy’s scowl vanished, as did his bravado. Looking uncertainly from Alrick to Carly, he tucked the blanket back around the thin shoulders of the girl on the ground, despite the heat of the day.
“Who is this?” Carly asked, her tone soft and non-threatening. “Good thing she’s in the shade. It’s pretty hot out there in the open.” She wiped at her forehead with the back of her arm.
The boy looked away and did not answer. Alrick was startled to see tears make tracks in the dirt on the child’s freckled cheeks.
“What’s your name?” Carly asked.
The child shook his head, sending his burgundy hair flying.
“He doesn’t want to tell his name,” Alrick kept his expression grave. “And he doesn’t want to let me help the girl who’s so ill.”
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