The Storm Tamer

by M. Garnet

  His voice was harsh and low. "Find somewhere else to be busy."

  For some reason, she believed that he always talked that way. "Nope, I find you and your work interesting. I'll just stay right here. I'm sure Cookie will bring up breakfast soon. They seem to know everything and I bet my boots they will have enough for two. You have them trained well, or is it because they are afraid of you?"

  Right on cue, there was a noise behind her. She turned to see the chubby cook setting a large tray down on the pull out table. She had a youth with her, and he set down a second tray that had cups and pitchers, one with steam that she hoped meant hot coffee.

  Both servants left without looking up or taking the cloth off the big tray. Getting up, Margo walked over and poured a cup of coffee, putting in a lot of rich milk. She looked back at Rahm, and he was ignoring her and the food, as he turned some more pages.

  Pouring coffee in another big mug, she carried both over to his desk. "You just keep working, and I will serve you. I just know you are the type that takes this strong coffee straight. Me, I have to add a lot of milk."

  Reaching across the table, she set his mug on an open spot between a couple of scrolls. Leaning back, she held hers in both hands. As she sipped slowly she watched him pick up the mug and start to move it away, then he hesitated and brought it to his mouth. He did look over the rim for only a second and put the cup down at the edge of the long desk. He reached out to turn over another group of pages.

  Getting up, Margo put her coffee on her chair and went back to the trays. She got a couple of small saucers, butter a couple of fruit rolls and put one on each and rolled up a napkin until it would hang onto the edge beside the sweet treat.

  Going back to the table she stood for a moment trying to decide how to get him to take the saucer, betting he was going to refuse it if she held it out to him. She smiled and moved around and set the saucer on top of his mug of coffee.

  Turning she picked up her cup and sat down to balance her saucer in her lap and began eating.

  Rahm ran a finger down a page as if reading something really important. At last, he stepped back and looked at the saucer on his cup.

  "Did you expect me to knock it all over and get upset?" He picked up the roll and while eating it walked away with his back to her.

  "No, I am just being a good serving wench." She stuffed a big bite into her mouth to cover her smile.

  He ate as he walked up to the dark wall full of scrolls. This wall was full of diamond shaped openings that held great bundles of scrolls of all sizes. Unfortunately, there was nothing but shadows, as the desk lamp did not reach anything above his hips.

  She thought he was through eating and hadn't taken anything off any of the shelves. He just stood there in the shadows. This left her uncomfortable, thinking that he probably was looking at her.

  She set her saucer down on the desk on the edge of the scrolls and hid behind her cup, holding it in both hands.

  "Rahm Maaker, what are you looking for in all these old manuscripts?"

  "An anomaly." Finally, he moved and pulled a scroll to bring it back to the desk.

  He picked up her saucer and leaning over the broad desk he held it out to her. Just to prove some silly point she took a long moment before taking it from his hand.

  Taking the saucer and her cup back to the tray, she refilled her cup. "Want your mug refilled?"

  "I want you to leave."

  With her full cup, she went back and sat down. "You have to work on your courting technique." When she sat back down she realized he was leaning down with both hands planted firmly on the items before him on the desk. Okay, she had finally reached him.

  "More coffee?" She asked without looking up.

  "Leave." That was said in an angry whisper. At last, Margo got to him, but she needed to back off.

  "If I look up the word anomaly in the English dictionary, what will it tell me?"

  He drew back, and she heard him draw in a breath. He stooped down, and the lamp illuminated his face as he looked for something. Gads he was too beautiful. He moved some books and then opened one, flipped pages, and handed it over to her.

  She accepted it to find she was holding a dictionary open to a page that had AN at the top and the word anomaly partway down. Something that deviates from what is standard…there was a lot more, but the beginning hit her in the gut. She needed to go back to her room and read Dr. Kahn's book.

  Chapter Twelve

  Margo had taken the dictionary with her as she ran from his office. She supposed she had made him happy. She left as he wanted to be alone.

  There was plenty of light with her drape held back, so she moved a chair over by the window and even took the time to push a small table up against the wall that was now exposed.

  She placed her books on the table and settled down to read. First, she looked up dimension in the dictionary. It was a complete bust. Oh, there was a lot of explanation about the word as a noun and a verb. There was nothing in regards to Kahn's scientific use.

  Next, she went to Kahn's book and went to the back. Sure enough, there was an Epilogue and a list of terms. The list of terms was technical and was as unclear as most of the book.

  There were the terms about Alternate and Parallel Universes. There were Microwave Signatures and something called Recombination. There was the Phenomenon of Multiverse Theory.

  All of the different names on the list referred to chapters in the book. Cutting through the tech jargon, she could not find that Kahn had found any proof. It was all theory. Great. Kahn had never experienced any different dimensions than the one he lived in and never interviewed anyone who had come from a different one or had traveled to others.

  Margo began to wonder if she was wasting her time. She might be chasing theories that had nothing to do with her present problem. Rahm Maaker had found some way to move from one place to another instantly, or he hypnotized her into thinking she had moved from one place to another.

  Was he jumping from one dimension to another or making her think that he did by moving from one unusual scene to another by manipulating her.

  Totally confused all because that evil man had said one word, anomaly. She got her notebook and brought it to her little table and under the #4 fight scene she added some additional thoughts. Adding Anomaly, she just put a bunch of question marks behind that word, and on another line, she put Dimension and added the same number of question marks.

  She put an elbow on the table and her chin in her hand and just looked out the window at the distant trees and mountaintops. She heard a noise and turned to see the youth that had helped the cook with a tray.

  Glancing out the window, Margo realized it must be past noon, and her lunch was now being delivered. The young man came on over and hesitated to put the tray on the table. Margo moved her books and made room to let him set his load down.

  Obviously in a hurry and without looking at her, he left without a word. Mushroom soup and trimmed cheese sandwiches with a large ripe apple. Margo thought it looked like a good meal except she just wasn't hungry.

  She shook her head and cursed herself as she thought about skipping so many meals and so much anger, she would probably develop ulcers.

  Looking at her notes she had never heard of hypnosis being instantaneous, but there were drugs that could react very fast. Drugs. Rahm had touched her each time there had been a change of scenery even though it had always been raining.

  He always grabbed her hand or more often he encircled her wrist with his long fingers. She added Hallucinations to her list. All of what he had done with her could be the effects of drugs and a complete hallucination.

  Turning to a new page in the small notebook, she made a list to protect herself from his touch. She would need long sleeves, gloves, her jacket with the hood pulled up over her face as far as possible. She needed to see if she could find a scarf, but the large white napkins could possibly work over her lower face.

  Deciding she didn't want to walk around lik
e a mummy all the time, she felt she only needed to be prepared and get into the protective gear when it started to rain the very heavy dark storms.

  Gloves were going to be the big problem. She couldn't remember seeing any when she was searching through the drawers each day for clothes to wear. She decided to tackle a couple of problems direct, so she picked up the food tray.

  Rahm was still working in his office, as she saw the dim light outlining the double doors. Down in the kitchen, the chubby cook was cleaning some small pots.

  Feeling an apology was in order, Margo set the tray on the work counter. "Sorry, my stomach is acting up, and I couldn't eat anything."

  "Hmm. I will fix you some mint tea. Mint is good for the stomach."

  Margo sat on the end stool. "Thanks. I also need a couple of things you might be able to help me with. I need some gloves, and I am sure your people around woodworking, and the cattle might have some gloves."

  The cook was pouring some hot water into a small pretty tea pot. "Yes, of course. We also all use gloves when the winter winds move in over the edge. It gets pretty nippy. You might need a heavier jacket. There are probably some in the closets on this floor."

  The woman strained out from the teapot into a cup, and Margo could smell the rich flavor of mint. "I am going to add some honey in this to help your stomach."

  As the cup was slid over, Margo put her hands around the warm drink and let the mist drift up to her nose. "I hate to ask, but I am also looking for a pack that I can put things in and maybe hook over a shoulder. Any suggestions?"

  The woman nodded as she turned back to her washtub of pots. "Oh, you mean a backpack. I will have Bot bring a backpack and some small gloves when he brings the tray in the morning. Now you take the tea and leave me to my work. The Master will be angry if everything isn't neat."

  Taking the cup and after a couple of sips, she left it on the long dining room table. She went out to the long dark hall and went into the first dark covered room. Lighting one of the standard candles she went to the armoire first.

  It was full of men's suits that looked like they had been made in the nineteen hundreds. Even on the floor where the boots were, there weren't any jackets. Going over to a sidewall, she uncovered a dresser and opened a drawer and stopped. Jackets wouldn't be in these drawers. There wasn't a closet for this room.

  Carrying her candle to the next room, she looked first in the armoire at the old clothes and then checked for a closet. No luck, so on to the next room. It took her looking in every room on the one side until she went to the first one on the opposite side before everything changed.

  The armoire was full of clothes that were out of style, but not that old. They were all men's clothes and something her dad probably had worn as a young man. The style was from the nineteen thirties or forties.

  There were a couple of jackets. They were too big, but they would keep her warm as they had heavy linings. There were no zippers, but the buttonholes were large and the pockets deep. Even if they did fall down over her hips, they would keep her warm in a cold wind.

  Hesitating, Margo wondered if she should go through the drawers of the covered dresser for gloves. She decided to wait and see what the cook might find for her. She took her new jacket and went up to her room.

  It was getting late afternoon, and she thought she had missed dinner? She took the lunch back to the kitchen earlier, but the cook had been good for her word. There was a tray with fruit and meats and cheese along with a selection of crackers. It also contained a large glass of milk.

  On the chair beside the table was a bright orange standard backpack with the black straps running across it and hanging down to be put over someone's shoulders. There was a pair of black gloves that she held up to one hand. They were soft wool knitted and seemed to be just the right size.

  Going over to her bed she kicked off her boots and wiggled her toes in the black socks she wore, provided from the dresser. She glanced out the window and caught her breath. Dark storm clouds were gathering.

  Margo thought that Rahm was still in his office and that this might just be a normal rainstorm. She got up and went over to the chair and picked up her gloves, looking at the large jacket she had hooked to the back of the chair. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to be prepared.

  Sticking a piece of cheese in her mouth she went over to the dresser to get a new pair of socks and sat on the bed to put them on over her present pair, thinking double socks would keep her feet nice and warm.

  She was halfway back to the table by the door when a crack of lightning outside the window shook the floor, and Rahm was in her room. She stepped back but wasn't fast enough. He had his long fingers around one of her wrists.

  This time they didn't flash to another point, he was pulling her from the room.

  "No, let go." She began to struggle, but in her socks her feet just slid across the marble floor as Rahm hauled her out into the balcony area, heading to the stairs.

  As they reached the top of the stairs, she was able to grab onto the railing and slow their progress. Rahm turned, slapped her hand away from the railing and suddenly she was looking at the stairs upside down and fighting to breathe. Rahm had her over his shoulder as he skipped down the wide steps and each jump knocked more air from her body while she hung over his wide shoulder.

  The bouncing stopped as they reached the level area of the hallway. Using her hands, she pushed against his hips and got her head up away from his back. Still, over his shoulder, she did get some air into her lungs. She could see in the dim light of the hallway that let her know he was walking with determined steps toward the front doors.

  Thunder shook the house and lightning reflected down the hallway, and they were out of the door, but not quite out into the rain. Rahm pulled her off his shoulders but kept ahold of her waist as he sat her down in front of him.

  Looking to see which way she could run she felt him tighten his hold on her waist. She jerked her arms and clasped her hands tight together behind her back.

  She tilted her head upward and decided to try to bite him. It all went wrong as she got her face up to his, their lips came together, and the contact was not what she expected.

  He kissed her, deeper and deeper until he passed her lips and was inside her mouth with a warm mint-tasting tongue. Several seconds went by before she even thought of pulling away. By then it was too late.

  The kiss went from warm to hot even with the storm around them, and somewhere her arms moved up around his neck to help keep her up with her shaky knees. Her eyes widened and then closed. They stayed closed even when he withdrew. Before she could move or say anything, he had her wrist.

  When she opened her eyes, she was in a nightmare beyond her imagination. No battle, no dragons, or men on horses. They were on what was a portion of the earth that was splitting with fumes that brought tears to her eyes and bubbling lava pushing the sides further apart.

  Further away, in clouds and fumes, there were huge orange clouds shooting red rocks into the sky. Lightning flashed everywhere. Some were within the clouds around the lava, and some were where Rahm held his hands up toward the monstrous storm that was raining down on everything for as far as you could see in this hell.

  The smell of sulfurous fumes continued to choke her, and she welcomed the water on her face to clean off the particles hitting her from the clouds. She could see Rahm, his tall figure a black outline with the red reflection blazing up from below and the lightning from above. With his arms raised upward, he looked like Satan directing a full orchestra.

  His storm and the wind from behind pushed the clouds and fumes away from her, and she was able to get clean air into her body. She wiped the rain away from her eyes and looked down to see the dark sooty water soaking her socks.

  She turned sideways and looked behind, and there were long red rivulets topped by black crusts that cracked and moved like logs on rivers. The heat waves made everything quiver as her eyes tried to find something solid to register. The ground they stood on
trembled and sounded so loud that her inner ears hurt.

  Over her shoulder at his figure, and beyond she saw an eruption far up a mountain as red torrents erupted into the sky. Ejections of red rocks trailing red sparkles like fireworks shot into a black sky as lightning spoke within the clouds around the red.

  The rain and the storm became stronger. Although she didn't want to kneel in the soot and heat she was afraid to stand in the turmoil. She reached up to push back and hold her hair as it stung her face while it was whipped by the storm.

  Waves from somewhere began to move up causing steam as seawater met lava. Margo began to wonder if she was going to drown or die from heat.

  Up on the distant volcano, the lightning was coming more from the storm and less from the eruptions. Water was joining the movement down the sides near Margo, causing so much steam it was hard to see as everything began to disappear in a haze.

  The large crack in the earth beside her had darkened and ceased its movement. Her fear now was only about the storm and the seawater. Suddenly Rahm had her wrist, and they were at the door of his home.

  Margo coughed to clear the fumes from her throat and almost fell as he released her.

  "Go up and use the bathroom first." His voice was a rough whisper as if the fumes had bothered his throat. He turned and went down the dark hallway like she had seen four times before.

  Chapter Thirteen

  She sat on her bed, holding a pair of useless knit gloves. Margo had been in the shower watching the black soot swirl around her sore feet and down the drain when she heard someone else in the bathroom.

  "Miss, it is just me." It was one of the cooks, but in the steam, Margo didn't know which one had come into the room. "The Master said you would need some burn cream. I also brought one of his bathrobes. I will leave now."

  Margo still had on the soft bathrobe and hated to take it off. She had to roll up the full sleeves and pull it up off the floor with the tie at the waist. It was like the ones from expensive hotels, very thick and double-sided fluffy.