Lone Star Magic (7 page)

“Yeah, so you already said. Several times. I
guess I need to turn on the evening news and see.”

Trying to watch the window, he spared her a
glance. “Not now.”

Kayo’s barking grew louder, more frantic.

“Kayo.” Out from behind him and running,
Carly set off for the front door. “He only does this when TM gets
loose.” She yanked open the door. Kayo ran by her, close on TM’s
heels, still barking.

Cursing, Alrick followed. He sensed no magic,
and doubted the Warlord could have regrouped enough after the last
attempt to return so soon.

“TM!” The horse galloped past the house, on
his way down the gravel driveway. “He’s escaped again, dang
it.”

Alrick shook his head. “I’ll get him.”

She followed him outside. “It’d be a lot
easier if the grain hadn’t burnt. I usually put a little grain and
pellets in a coffee can, shake it around, and he comes
running.”

“Do you have something to lead him with? A
bridle?”

“Most of the tack was in the barn. But I
think I might have left one of the halters in my pickup.”

He looked to see what she meant. A bright
red, metal machine which he recognized as a means of human
transport, sat nearby.

She reached inside and retrieved a faded blue
halter and lead rope. “Got it.”

Side by side, they jogged down the
driveway.

“You should teach him to come when you
call.”

“Like Kayo?” she puffed. “Is that even
possible?”

“Of course it is.”

The look she gave him showed doubt.

“You don’t believe me?”

“Well, I know the Lone Ranger only had to
whistle for Silver, but outside of the movies, I’ve never heard of
anyone teaching a horse to do that.”

He decided not to ask. He was learning that
with Carly, sometimes he was better off not knowing what she was
talking about.

“You’re not even winded.” Now she sounded
accusatory. She also sounded like she was about to collapse at any
moment.

“Why should I be?” He pointed out in a
reasonable tone of voice. “I’m a warrior. We don’t use machines for
transport in Rune. We have to stay in shape.”

When they reached the point where her
driveway met the gravel road, he saw her gate on its side in the
ditch.

“I will repair that as soon as TM is
caught.”

“If you can. I think it’s broken. Look!” She
pointed. Down the road Kayo, true to his nature, had cut TM off and
still barking furiously, herded him back towards home.

“That’s one good dog,” Alrick said,
pleased.

“Yeah, and I didn’t even have to teach him
that. He just does it. If I had sheep, he’d be in doggy
heaven.”

Seeing them, Tm lifted his head and snorted.
He trotted up to Alrick and stopped, lowering his head so Alrick
could scratch his ears. Alrick slipped the halter over his head and
TM let him.

Tail wagging, Kayo trotted over to be
petted.

“Good dog.” Alrick gave the praise in English
then, because he knew the collie would understand, repeated the
words in the old tongue.

“What did you just say?” Doubled over trying
to catch her breath, Carly squinted at him. “Another spell?”

“No. I merely praised your pet. He’s done
well. We should reward him when we get back to the house.”

“I usually give him a dog biscuit.”

Usually told Alrick that this had happened
before. “Hold your horse.” Handing her the lead, Alrick slipped his
hands into the work gloves and retrieved the battered gate from the
weeds. It was heavier than he’d anticipated, though it still
appeared to be in good shape. The heavy wire which had secured it
to the fence before hung from the fence. A simple twist of each
wire and he had the gate hung. Slightly crooked, a bit battered,
but still better than nothing.

“Why do you always put on the gloves?”

Removing them and slipping them back into his
belt, Alrick shrugged. “We Fae don’t like metal.”

“But you can touch it?”

“I’d prefer not to. Metal grounds our magic.”
Alrick took TM’s lead. “The gloves protect my skin. Come on.”

Together, they walked the long, curving
drive. A docile TM tagged along after them. Kayo scouted ahead, his
tail a black and white plume curved over his back.

Several hundred feet before they reached the
house, Alrick felt it. The faint tingle left by magical residue.
Cursing under his breath, he stopped. “Not again.”

Carly peered up at him. “What?”

“He’s done something. I’m not sure what,
exactly, but he’s been here.”

“I thought you said he couldn’t use magic
again so close to the last time.”

“He shouldn’t. But the Warlord cares nothing
for human lives.”

“Great.”

Frowning, Alrick shook his head. “The Mage
has told me traveling through time takes great power. This is why
the Warlord hasn’t been able to manifest fully here. For now, he
comes, uses magic to try to kill you, and is pulled back to his own
time and place.”

“So until he gets strong enough to beam
himself here, we should be okay?”

“Not okay.” He turned, trying to determine
the direction and shape of the spell. “He can still do a lot of
damage, even while not totally here.”

“Well.” She heaved a sigh. “Let’s go check
out my house. Do you think he booby trapped it?”

“Booby,” he looked at her, “trapped? What
does that mean?”

“Set a trap. Like when we open the door, a
fireball comes at us.”

Grim, he considered the possibilities. “I
don’t know.”

They started forward again. As soon as they
began to move, Kayo ran ahead. He skidded to a halt thirty feet
from the house and started barking. His warning bark.

“Kayo, shush.” Carly rubbed her temples. “All
this crap going on has given me a killer headache. Alrick?”

Something in her voice made him reach out to
her. “What’s wrong?”

“Look at my house. What’s he done to my
house?”

He squinted in the sunlight. “What do you
mean?” Then he saw. “It’s covered red.”

“The red is moving.”

They crept closer. The structure appeared to
be shimmering.

“Stop.” She grabbed his arm. “Those are fire
ants! My house is covered in fire ants!”

Whatever fire ants might be, they didn’t
sound like a good thing. They didn’t look it either, swarming over
the entire structure like a single, mindless, mob.

“Ants don’t eat wood.”

“No.” The dark look she gave him told him it
was worse, at least as far as she was concerned. “They bite though,
and their bite stings like crazy. Worse, I’m deathly allergic.”

“Allergic?”

“Yes. I swell up like a balloon, and my
throat closes.”

Concerned, he studied her. “This has happened
to you before?”

“Yes. I’m also allergic to bee stings, wasp
stings, and yellow jackets. I have a self-injection kit, and I have
to give myself a shot of epinephrine and take an antihistamine
tablet.”

“Where is this kit?”

She regarded him glumly, a hint of panic in
her eyes. “In the house.”

“I’ll go get it.”

“No way. They’ll swarm over you in seconds.
Have you never been bitten by a fire ant?”

“We don’t have them in Rune.”

“They sting. And burn. The best thing to do
is avoid them.”

“Is they natural to this area, or did the
Warlord summon them?”

“Fire ants do live around here, and yes,
every spring and summer I have to deal with their mounds. I keep a
gallon of fire ant killer in the garage.”

“The garage which is now covered with
ants.”

“Right.”

“I’ve got to get inside and get your
medicine. I can’t take the chance of you being bitten.”

“I don’t plan to go anywhere near them.” Her
dry tone didn’t entirely hide her despair. “If they’re all over the
outside like this, I’ll bet there’s more inside.”

Making a non-committal sound, he crossed his
arms. “Looks like the Warlord may have made your decision on
whether to stay or to leave much more clear-cut.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“You’re not going inside your house. You have
no barn. Where do you plan to stay?”

Lifting her chin, she looked at him, her
expression stubborn. “How did he know about my allergy to insect
bites?”

“To him your life is history. Perhaps many
things are known about you in the far future. This would be a
simple spell, to command the ants. He must have believed you to be
inside, asleep.”

She shuddered. “That would have been a slow,
painful death.”

“The Warlord doesn’t care. Dead is dead, to
him.” Alrick decided to press his advantage. “Now are you ready to
leave?”

“Hell, no.”

“Where do you intend to stay? To sleep?”

She gestured wildly. “There. In my pickup.
Luckily I left it out the last couple of nights.” She shuddered.
“Normally I park it in my garage.”

“It’s red. How do you know there are not ants
on it?”

“Good question. Go check.”

With a shrug, he did as she asked. Parked
away from the ant-covered house, he saw no insects on the pickup.
“No ants.”

“Great.” Rubbing her arms, she didn’t sound
thrilled. “Now is there going to be another storm or what?”

He started. “The weather.”

“Exactly. You said—.”

“I know. I don’t want to stick around to find
out. Let’s go,” he urged. “It’ll be much easier to hide from him if
we’re on the move.”

“We can dodge the weather?” She stared.
“You’re serious?”

Pointing to her ant-covered house, he nodded.
“Do you see any alternative?”

He saw the resignation settle into her face,
even as she continued to fight against what she knew to be truth.
“I barely know you. Maybe I could call my mother…”

“You would endanger her?”

“No, but…”

He pressed his advantage. “Do you have more
grain for TM?”

“No. And Kayo’s dog food is in the house. My
food. My emergency kit. The gun. Everything. Except…” Taking a step
towards the pickup, she stopped. “Would you mind checking to see if
I left my purse on the front seat of the truck?”

Slipping on his gloves, he went one better.
Opened the door and retrieved the bright yellow bag. Handing it to
her, he grimaced. “Is that leather?”

“No, vinyl. I can’t afford leather.” She
studied him. “Don’t tell me you don’t have leather in Rune
either.”

He shrugged. “We don’t kill animals for food.
Why would we do so for clothing?”

“Good point.” One more look at her house had
her taking another step back. “Is it me, or are they moving
closer?”

A solid line of fire ants swarmed towards
them.

“Get in the truck.” She climbed into the
driver’s side. “Hurry.”

He did as she asked, careful not to touch any
metal with his bare skin. He’d hate to be trapped in a metal box
covered in ants. Kayo barked and jumped into the back.

She slipped a key into a slot and turned. The
pickup’s engine roared to life. “I keep the horse trailer out in
the pasture. We’ll hook it up, load TM, and go. But we’ll need
supplies.”

“Is there a place you can obtain more?”

Backing down the driveway, she rubbed her
neck with one hand. “I suppose we could make a stop in town at the
feed store.”

The wind began to gust. “Storm coming.” Carly
sounded fearful. She pushed her foot down on the pedal, causing the
vehicle to accelerate.

Alrick smiled. His job of protecting Carly
had now become a whole lot easier. He hoped.

* * *

Taking off with a man she barely knew – what
would her mother think? Still, after paying for the grain and dog
food at the feed store, she’d stood outside while Alrick loaded it
and eyed the pay phone. Part of her knew he was right – if this
crazed Warlord really wanted to take her out, her mother would be
in danger. The other part of her, the little girl that resided
inside the core of her, wanting nothing more than to go running
home to Mommy. Even though Mommy now lived in Seattle and Carly
hadn’t returned a single call in the last six months. Her
depression had been too great to deal with her mother’s
overwhelmingly positive attitude. She regretted that now.

Leroy Toddle, a burly man who owned the ranch
immediately west of hers, sauntered past.

“Afternoon, Leroy.”

He didn’t even look her way. She let her
shoulders sag for a second before straightening them. By now she
ought to be used to the snubs and rudeness, but she wasn’t. She’d
done nothing to these people. Nothing but marry into the family of
the man whose parents had owned the biggest spread in town.

When she and Liam had taken No Name Ranch
over after his parent’s death, their neighboring ranchers had lined
up with offers to buy. Liam had turned each and every one of them
down. Now here she was, three years later, with Liam dead a year
and barely hanging on by the skin of her teeth. They all knew it,
and none of them had even once stepped in and offered to help. They
wanted her to fail so they could buy the ranch cheap. Myrna at the
feed store had even whispered that the men were taking bets as to
the date she’d give up and sell.

As if having the entire county against her
wasn’t bad enough, now she had to deal with this Warlord from the
future. And Alrick, from another dimension.

She glanced over at her truck. He’d finished
loading the sacks in the bed and leaned against the side, waiting
patiently for her to join him.

Tommy Jordan’s rude refusal to help load
hadn’t seemed to bother Alrick in the least. Maybe he didn’t
realize that loading was Tommy’s job.

She sighed and began walking. Kayo barked
once. His “happy to see you” bark. Inside the attached horse
trailer, TM stomped his feet to show his impatience. Oddly enough,
he’d walked right into the horse trailer at Alrick’s request. A way
with animals appeared to be a slight understatement on Alrick’s
part.