Winter Magic

by T. M. Cromer

  “Don’t enrage the enemy, child.”

  Alastair’s sharp warning along with the silence of those around her finally sank in and helped Winnie to contain herself. She wiped the moisture from her eyes and cleared her throat. “Sorry,” she repeated, trying to affect a contrite façade.

  Winnie made it three feet when it occurred to her to question why Lin wanted to marry her. She turned to him again. “Uh, I’m not trying to be ungrateful for your interest and all, Zhu, but do you care to tell me why you’re hell-bent on matrimony?”

  “You are a Thorne. Descended from Isis.”

  “That’s been established, but how does that work for you?”

  “You will be my unending source of power, Winter Rose.”

  She went cold. Now she understood. Lin intended to tap into her magical energy for his own personal battery source. He’d be unstoppable.

  “I’m gonna have to decline your kind offer, Zhu,” she said with a mock-regretful sigh. “I’ve a whole host of candidates ahead of you.”

  Zane’s groan indicated she’d misstepped. Lin wouldn’t bat an eye about removing the competition—starting with Zane. Panic curled in her chest and tried to choke off her airway. She worked to remain calm in the face of her error.

  Lin surprised her when he smiled. He seemed amused instead of angered. Was she that predictable? If she lived through this little adventure, she definitely needed to up her game.

  “Shall we retrieve the amulet before your reinforcements arrive?”

  “I don’t have reinforcements coming.” She waved to Zane and Rafe. “As you can see, this was the extent of my little army. It’s embarrassing when compared to the scale of yours.”

  Winnie met Zane’s incredulous gaze and almost laughed again. His expression clearly indicated that he thought she was the perfect candidate for a mental health evaluation. Perhaps he was right. How she maintained her calm in the face of certain death was beyond her own comprehension.

  “You’ve stalled long enough. The amulet, Winter Rose. Now.”

  Alastair’s voice sounded in her head. “Give him what he asks for, Winter.”

  “No.”

  All heads turned in her direction. The entire group was stunned stupid. She imagined she could feel Alastair’s shock as well.

  “I don’t mean to be difficult, Zhu, but I need that amulet to bring my mother out of stasis.”

  A fleeting glimpse of emotion came and went from Lin’s face. Did she imagine his flash of regret?

  “Let me put this another way. The amulet or your lover’s life. You choose.”

  There was no choice. Zane was healthy and alive. Her mother was not.

  On leaden feet, she trudged to where Zane stood. For a long moment, they stared at one another. No words were necessary. They both knew this was the end, one way or another.

  Suddenly, his mouth twisted in a sweet smile. “I love you, Winter Thorne. You take that with you wherever you go.”

  Dear Goddess! He intended to make the choice for her!

  “Zane,” she choked out.

  He reached to comfort her but received a rifle butt to the back of his skull.

  Winnie screamed as he crumpled. “You didn’t have to do that,” she snarled at the guard. Rage curled her fists. The air current changed, and the temperature dropped to freezing. Winnie drew her element to her and directed a forceful, icy blast toward the guard.

  He flew forty feet and landed with a hard thud.

  She spun wildly about ready to take on any and all who challenged her. The mass of men stepped back, fearful of her anger.

  “Anyone else looks at him sideways, and I’ll cut you in half,” she promised. Fury vibrated in her voice and made clear her intent should another hair on Zane’s head be harmed.

  Satisfied she’d gotten her point across, she knelt and cradled his head. When she felt for the bump, her fingers came away sticky. Tears poured from her eyes, and she swiped at them impatiently. Warming her cells from the nucleus, she concentrated all her healing energy toward the wound on Zane’s scalp.

  Winnie sighed her relief when his eyes fluttered open. “Welcome back, my darling man.”

  He groaned and shut his eyes. “Well, this is embarrassing. I mean, all the movie heroes can take a gun butt to the head and remain standing.”

  “You may not be a movie hero, but you’re my hero, Zane.”

  “I think your new beau might object,” he murmured.

  She leaned in and whispered for his ears alone. “My new beau can go fuck himself.”

  “That’s my vicious sweetheart,” he said approvingly. “Is this going according to your plan? Because I’m here to tell ya, I would’ve been happy had you eliminated the head wound on my part.”

  She gazed down into his beloved face and gave him a warm smile. “Sometimes we need to improvise.”

  “Good to know. Does burying my head in your ample bosom fit in there somewhere?”

  “After. Can you stand?”

  “I’m right as rain thanks to you. I was just enjoying being held against your chest.”

  Winnie bit her lip to stave off her giggle. Their whole conversation was inappropriate in light of the danger, but it was so Zane.

  She smoothed his mussed, blond hair back from his face. “I love you, Zane Carlyle.”

  “I love you too, Willow.”

  She dropped his head in the sand and stood.

  “Way to spoil a touching moment, babe,” Zane groused as he rose to his feet.

  “He’s trying to keep your anger simmering. Seems he’s realized you’re stronger when you’re emotional,” Alastair informed her. “Smart boy.”

  Winnie strode to the area where she felt the amulet’s pull the strongest. “How do we determine where to dig?” she asked Zane.

  “The rope indicates where the original wall should be located. Granted, we are going off of an old sketch, so it might not be accurate, but the aerial photos seem to suggest we’re correct. We could conjure equipment to help with that. They pinpoint the depth and width of a wall’s location using GPS, radar, and a magnetometer if necessary.”

  “Conjure your tools, Mr. Carlyle.”

  “I will when you send Rafe to safety,” Zane said, surprising Winnie. “The poor bastard is turning gray.”

  “Mr. Xuereb is not your concern. Conjure your tools.”

  “I only see one tool here,” Zane snapped. “In case you’re not familiar with the term, that’s you.”

  “I would shoot you in the leg to gain your compliance, but then I’d have to kill my beautiful fiancée since she’d call on her power to destroy us all. So, I will do this a different way.” Lin pointed his weapon at Winnie and chambered a bullet for effect. “Conjure the tools.”

  24

  Zane had little-to-no doubt that Lin would shoot Winnie. The man was deranged and on a mission. And while Zane hadn’t been privy to their conversation in the SUV, he had a good grasp on the situation based on Lin’s marriage declaration.

  How Lin intended to channel Winnie’s magic was a mystery, but Zane would be damned if he was going to let that happen. A glance around showed him just how damned. Nineteen guards, minus the one Winnie had thrown halfway across the desert.

  Zane made a mental note not to piss her off in the future, and also to kiss the hell out of her for showing restraint when she’d been angry with him in the past. She was one badass chick.

  He made eye contact with Winnie, and at her slight nod, he conjured the tools he needed to verify the ruin walls beneath them. With Winnie’s help and a watchful eye on Rafe, whose condition seemed to be deteriorating, Zane prepped the area and calibrated the equipment.

  They adjusted some of the grid lines according to the readouts.

  “This spot is my best guess,” he told Lin. “The amulet’s energy is the strongest in this antechamber.”

  “Start digging,” Lin ordered.

  “Rafe needs attention, and we need water.” Zane hoped his tone conveyed his firm r
esolve. He was done taking orders until Lin compromised on medical care for Rafe. If her friend died, Winnie would never forgive herself.

  “There is nothing to be done for him. Continue with your task.”

  “Zhu, please.”

  Winnie’s soft, pleading tone did what Zane’s obstinate tone couldn’t; it softened Lin’s stance.

  At Lin’s nod, Winnie conjured a case of water. “I think your men must be thirsty by now, too.”

  One by one, she handed out water. When she came to a short, oriental man with smiling eyes, she tripped. The man caught her instinctively and cast a worried glance in Lin’s direction. From Zane’s position, he noticed what Lin couldn’t; Winnie slipped a vial into the man’s hand. It matched the one she’d given to him and Rafe earlier.

  Although Zane hadn’t studied the photo of Winnie’s uncle in great detail, he assumed the Asian man had to be Ryker. He sent up a silent thank you to the Goddess. Maybe they had a chance of surviving yet.

  “What can I do to ease your suffering?” Zane asked Rafe.

  “Not much. The blood flow has stopped.”

  “You look the color of death, man. Is it the poison or blood loss?”

  “A little of both, I would imagine.” Rafe lowered his voice. “Whatever Winnie gave me has slowed the progress.”

  Zane uncapped a water bottle and handed it to him. “What do you suppose it was?”

  “If I had to guess, some type of serum to counteract the poison. Lin is coming this way. Act like an asshole.”

  “That shouldn’t be hard to do based on your continued flirtation with my woman.” Zane winked and stood to face the approaching Lin.

  Lin glanced between each man as if to gauge the sincerity of their animosity toward one another. “You should be dead by now,” he told Rafe. “Curious.”

  “Yeah, I guess I’m lucky I’m such a healthy specimen.”

  With that comment, Rafe clarified for Zane that, in another place and time, the two of them could’ve been friends. Once the suave, debonair act was gone, Rafe became a man’s man; a witty, everyday sort of guy.

  Lin glanced over his shoulder to where Winnie was examining the equipment readings then returned his cold gaze to them. “You’ll both be dead soon enough.”

  “Winnie’s not going to like that you didn’t keep your promise,” Zane warned mockingly.

  “Your break is over. Start digging.”

  “It’s sweltering, and we need a tent over the site. I’m going to conjure one for Winnie’s benefit.” Zane wasn’t asking; he was telling. If the fucker wanted to shoot him for seeing to Winnie’s needs, let him. “I’m also going to make shade for Rafe.”

  Lin sneered. “You would see to the comfort of the competition for your woman? You are pathetic.”

  “It’s called compassion, asshat. You should try it on sometime.”

  Zane never saw Lin strike. One minute he was upright, the next, Lin’s foot had connected with Zane’s solar plexus. The impact sent Zane into the dirt, gasping for breath. Christ, he hadn’t realized a blow could hurt so fucking bad. He wanted to throw up from the pain.

  “Next time, I will shoot you in the head,” Lin said dispassionately.

  Winnie was at Zane’s side in seconds.

  The air temperature dropped, and black clouds rolled in. Lightning struck, and a thunderous boom shook the ground. The wind picked up, and with it, a sandstorm started. Winnie’s black hair whipped about her head, and color flooded her cheeks. The blue of her irises became nearly translucent. She’d never looked more beautiful than in her rage.

  “What is wrong with you?” she shouted at Lin over the gathering elements.

  When Lin pointed his gun at Winnie, Zane almost had a heart attack.

  Zane forced himself to a kneeling position and hugged her to him despite the pain in his middle. “It’s okay, babe,” he hollered. “It’s okay.”

  “I’ll fucking kill the next person who touches him,” Winnie warned. “Just try me, Lin.” She fisted her hand, and the gun in Lin’s hand was no more. She’d thrown it to kingdom come with the force of the wind.

  Lin backed away with a look of smug satisfaction.

  As abruptly as the storm started, it ended.

  “Let me look at you,” Winnie said as she peeled up Zane’s shirt to expose his abs. Her breath hissed out when she saw the angry mark across his stomach. “Are you hurt?”

  “My pride. That fucker is quick.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “You need to stop reacting when they attack me, Win.”

  Her dark head came up. “Why?”

  “I think they’re testing your powers.”

  “Lin said that earlier. You think this is one continual test?”

  “Yep.”

  “My reaction is instinctive, Zane. I can’t stand by and watch you be hurt.”

  She frowned and grabbed her head.

  “Win? Are you okay?”

  She glanced back at Lin who had moved to talk to his head minion. “Yes. Alastair is inside my head. He’s yelling at me for losing my shit.”

  “He thinks Lin is testing you, too?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What’s his plan for extraction?”

  Winnie shrugged and offered him water from her bottle. “He hasn’t said. Either there’s no plan, or he doesn’t trust me with the details.” She winced. “Okay, so there’s a plan in the works, but no details yet.”

  “Alastair seems pissed from this end,” Zane chuckled.

  Winnie cut him with a look. “Let’s get this over with. I’m losing my patience with the lot of you.”

  As Zane shifted to rise, he gasped. “Shit. I think he may have broken my rib.”

  Winnie probed along his ribcage. Zane was unable to prevent the second sharp inhale when she touched his lower left side.

  “I think you’re right,” she murmured. “Stay still.”

  A purple arc of light left her fingertips and warmed the area of his abdomen almost to the point of painful. When she was done, she pulled back. “How do you feel?”

  Zane shifted from left to right and probed the impacted area. “Good as new, babe. Let’s see to your other admirer’s comfort.”

  They joined Rafe, and Winnie conjured a small canvas tent above him, along with a cooler of drinks—inspected by one of Lin’s men for weapons.

  As they positioned themselves to create a tent over the dig, Zane asked Winnie, “How in the hell did you stop time before?”

  “That wasn’t me.”

  “If not you, then who?”

  “I don’t know. But it wasn’t me.”

  Zane didn’t have any more time to dwell on who might’ve assisted them, because Lin was fast approaching.

  “Tell Alastair, I prefer this plan of his to end with me alive, okay?” Zane said hurriedly. When he noticed her tears forming, he smiled. “Don’t get all emotional on me, Wynona. I need you to stay focused.”

  Winnie sputtered a laugh and brushed the dampness from her eyes. “I’m going to part the sand with the wind. Tell me where you think we should start.”

  Zane gestured toward the north corner of the room. “There. That’s the spot where we felt the energy the strongest earlier.

  “Okay, come hold my hand to amplify my power.”

  He complied. Like a dual teleport, he could feel his cells warm. His body fired instantly. But the difference ended there. In performing magic of this magnitude, Zane’s cells amped up to almost burning. The hair on his arms stood at attention, and the connection with Winnie felt almost spiritual in nature.

  As he watched, a type of mini tornado formed, and Zane experienced a moment of unease. Winnie sensed his misgiving and squeezed his hand tighter. Her control was incredible. She was able to utilize the funnel cloud to rock back and forth over the antechamber. Sand and rock were lifted and deposited along the outside edge of the grid.

  The process took time, and Zane was grateful for the tent to shield him from the sun’s intensity. Still, the heat w
as getting to him, both internally and externally.

  “Picture a chilly breeze, Zane,” Winnie suggested, sensing his distress for a second time. “You can have it circle us and cool us down.”

  “It won’t interrupt what you’re doing?”

  “Not at all.”

  Zane did as she suggested and imagined their home in the early morning hours on a fall day. The air around them picked up and dropped by a good twenty to thirty degrees.

  Again, Winnie squeezed his hand. “Well, done.”

  “You should be getting close to the top of the chamber, Win.”

  “Yes, I’m starting to feel some resistance. What do I need to do after the sand is removed?”

  “I’ll evaluate what we have once you reach the ceiling, if there is one left intact. I suspect there isn’t. The resistance you’re experiencing could be that we’ve hit part of a wall. If that’s the case, you’ll need to shift focus and spend a little more time using your handy-dandy tornado to remove the sand.”

  Winnie nodded and left to check on Rafe while Zane examined the structure she had uncovered.

  * * *

  Winnie knelt beside Rafe where he sat. “How are you?”

  “Achy, but not dead, thanks to you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. I still have to get us out of this mess.”

  Rafe’s smile was warm, considering the incredible pain he was suffering. “I have faith in you, qalbi. You are a force unto yourself.” His smile dropped. “But if it comes to saving me or saving yourself, you leave me to my fate. Do you understand?”

  “I can’t do that, Rafe.”

  “You can, and you will. You take Zane and get out.”

  “Lin will surely kill you if that happens.”

  “Perhaps.”

  Her heart contracted at his bravery. “Don’t ask me to do that, Rafe. You’ve become dear to me in the short time we’ve known each other.”

  His dark eyes ate up her face. “You are one of the most incredible women I’ve ever known. And believe me, I’ve known a few. And for that reason, I want you to get out of this mess unscathed.”

  “If something happens to you, I won’t be unscathed. I’ll be heartbroken.”