Evading The Tempest (Tempest tales Book 1)

by Sandra Elsa

  "He did point out to me that he's never had a woman refuse him anything. I pointed out to him that if he wanted to live in the real world, he better get used to it. I figure he'll go home sooner than later."

  "So are you seeing anybody now, Miss Leone?" His tone was heavily suggestive and I knew where Harrison's come-hither, came from.

  I patted the generator behind me. "Isn't that sweet. Like father, like son." I allowed my eyes to flicker over Wally before I said with a grin, "As a matter-of-fact, I have a date tonight. Providing I'm able to walk."

  The president turned to reassess Wally. Wally's unabashed grin told him all he needed to know.

  "Are we through here? I really need to get to a hospital."

  "My son seems to have fixated on you. Are you certain I can't hire you?"

  "Even his mother doesn't seem anxious for him to be found. So, no, I don't believe we'll be working together. Wally, would you please wrap my ankle, then escort His Majesty off my mountain."

  Wally didn't even look at President Drover for permission; he jumped like I'd cracked a whip on his back. He injected a local anesthetic then wrapped it snuggly. I bit my lower lip as he pulled the wrap taut. Sweat dripped in my eyes and I panted worse than when I ran up the mountain. Wally stopped and looked at me.

  "Finish it," I ground out between clenched teeth.

  He worked quickly, then taped the wrap. "Want me to carry you?"

  The anesthetic was starting to work. I shook my head. "So we can both end up in a heap. I got myself in here, I'll get myself out. Besides, you'll have plenty of time to be far far away by the time I get out of here."

  "Might I ask where your mistrust and dislike of mages springs from, Miss Leone?"

  "Can't stop you from asking. Doesn't mean I have to answer."

  His expression told me nothing. "I've researched you a bit. Seems you killed Mage Domingo five years ago."

  I hid my shock that he'd found that information. It hadn't been widely known and it had happened a long time ago. A blip in the records. He'd been doing some serious digging to come up with that. "Yep. I was exonerated of any guilt in the incident."

  "Detective Alban was first on the scene. He reported evidence of heavy magic use, but you were unscathed."

  "Mage Domingo was rather heavily intoxicated by his use of jin weed. His aim and ability were quite poor. Besides, I make a habit of wearing things like this. I pulled the charmed amber pendant from under my t-shirt."

  "You do know those are illegal." His smarmy smile made me want to heave.

  "Of course they are. Wouldn't want a normal person to stand a chance against being enchanted," I snarled at him.

  He stretched a hand toward my chest where the amber dangled. I snatched it over my head and lobbed it as far down the boulder field toward the source as I could. Anger flitted across his face, quickly smothered behind a calm, peaceful, serenity. "What did you hope to accomplish by that."

  I didn't like dealing with somebody who could hide his emotions that well. "I figure your collection is big enough. I paid good money for that, if you want it, work for it."

  "Sergeant."

  Wally's expression was unreadable. "Yes, Sir."

  "Sorry, Wally."

  He didn't look at me as he walked by. I pulled my good leg underneath my rear and levered myself up, then side-stepped to the end of the generator, away from President Drover. A gasp of pain accompanied every step, proving the anesthetic wasn't anywhere near powerful enough. I started down the mountain. Nobody stopped me and I made my way back to the treeline. At the first tree I stopped and leaned against it, catching my breath, wiping the tears from my face.

  I heard scrambling overhead and turned to watch as Wally came back over the top of the mountain. I'd apologize to him later if he was still talking to me, but I couldn't let President Drover touch me. I looked around the forest floor until I spotted a branch nearly five feet long. I tried to take a step, but my ankle gave out and I ended up crawling over to the stick I'd selected. Tears rolled down my face as I discovered the branch was mostly rotten. I sat where I was as Rollick and Wally walked down the mountain, bracketing the president. Neither of my friends looked my way. He did though. The President wore a thoughtful expression as he glanced at me, but then he continued on.

  Chapter 14

  I half unwound Wally's wrap and picked up four smaller sticks, placing them against the bone and splinting it. The tape wouldn't fasten tightly again so I knotted it. Using about two and a half feet of the branch I'd originally headed for, I managed to push myself back to my feet. Another long branch lay twenty feet down the mountain. This one was solid enough to support my weight and between the splint and the walking stick, I made it down before dark overtook the land.

  I still had to make it up the leaf-covered hill I'd slid down in the first place and the reversal of the angle my foot moved at caused a whole new sensation of pain. Halfway up, I heard the picket blowing a whistle. I wished I could remember the variations of what, how many, and how long the toots on the whistles meant. I hoped it was-- everybody out for the night. The preserve didn't allow camping, that much I knew. But there were also whistles meaning a dangerous animal had been spotted. There were a few just to keep the game interesting.

  There were only two other cars in the lot when I'd gone up the mountain and one of those would belong to the picket. Would he come looking for me, or just report me. I sat down and listened to the whistles. Everybody out. That's what they were saying. Everybody, meaning me. I forced myself back to my feet and managed to limp more of the hill before I heard a voice from the speakers strategically located in the trees. "Miss Leone? Time to close for the night."

  "I'm here." I yelled at the top of my lungs. The ground leveled out and I made slightly better time for about five steps until it started back uphill.

  "Do you need help?"

  "Yes! Please!" The footsteps came down the last twenty feet of slope and I looked up into the teenaged picket's wide eyes.

  He took my bow and arrows and put his shoulder under mine. With his help, the last of the slope went by fairly quick. At my car he asked, "Would you like me to call an ambulance?" He made the offer but he clearly had no wish to remain any longer. I'd probably already made him late for supper.

  I sat in my car and pulled my broken leg in behind me. "I got myself down the mountain. I'll get myself to a hospital. Thank you for your help."

  He made sure I was inside the car, and firmly closed the door. "I'm going to District Sixty-two would you like me to follow you?"

  "No, thank you. I'll get out of your dome and then I'll probably pull off the road and rest for a couple minutes." I started my car, and realized I'd been holding my breath, wondering if they would have done something to it out of spite.

  "Nearest hospital is in Fifty-five," the helpful picket said. "We got a doc in sixty-two, but I'm not sure he can handle things like broken bones. Usually sends anything needing x-rays down to the hospital."

  "I'll be fine, thank you." He shrugged, then walked over to his car and followed me out onto the road. I pulled over and leaned my head back on the seat. Pain had taken its toll. I was exhausted. My cell phone, claimed nine-thirty. Wally'd be off duty in an hour, would he bother checking to see if I made it home? Probably not. At least Harrison would be safe behind my wards.

  My head buzzed with the snap of sudden awakening. I glanced at the cell. Nine-forty-five. I'd just lost fifteen minutes. If I didn't get to the hospital I'd end up out here on the road all night and the solar batteries in my cheap car only guaranteed three hours travel time after dark.

  I put the car in drive and cruised down the road to District Fifty-five. One of the few districts of the Founding Two-hundred I'd never been in. Never wanted to be in. First time for everything. The picket on the gate was a Were. He leaned in the car and sniffed. Filthy and unkempt, did I assault his olfactory or excite it? He took my ident and asked, "The nature of your business?"

  "Picket back at Eig
hty-six said you have a hospital here?"

  "What seems to be the problem?"

  "Broke my ankle on the mountain." He looked down and sniffed again, then handed me my ident and said, "Hospital's three blocks straight ahead then nine blocks left on Razzle Avenue. Pretty hard to miss."

  "Thank you."

  I pulled up to the emergency room doors and turned my car off. Five people came out looking amazed that there was actually somebody in need of help. One of them, bless her, had thought to bring a wheelchair. I was helped into the seat and wheeled directly into an exam room. My ident was scanned and records collected from every other visit I'd ever made to a hospital. My wrap was efficiently removed as I was wheeled down for x-rays.

  After x-rays, they soaked my leg in a tub of ice water trying to reduce swelling and then a surgeon came in. He held up the x-ray and said, "I'm afraid we're going to have to put pins in this, and then cast it. You'll have to stay off it for at least two weeks and then you can start walking with crutches." He wanted to put me out, but I convinced him to do the surgery using a local. Last thing I needed was somebody who knew me to show up while I was groggy from anesthetic.

  Once the pain numbed to nothing, I lay back and fell asleep anyway as he pieced my leg back together. I awoke to the chirp of my cell phone in a dark room. Somebody had placed it where I could reach it. I pushed the button to light up the caller's name and saw I was calling myself. I flipped the phone open. "Hello."

  "Francesca! Thank God. I've been worried about you. Your friend from the watch tried calling several times. Then he knocked on the door for ten minutes. I figured if he didn't know where you were, you were in trouble."

  "Broke my leg. I'm in the hospital in Fifty-five. They're taking real good care of me. Should be home tomorrow. And don't worry, I won't count days I'm not there against what you paid for."

  "Just take care of yourself, Frankie. Do you want me to come out there?"

  I thought about telling him to stay away, but it might be a good idea for him to get out of my apartment. "Yes. Lot less likely you'll get noticed out here. I'm afraid after this afternoon, somebody might be sitting on my place, so be real careful getting out of there. There are wigs in my closet if you want to wear one of them."

  "Sounds like a good idea," Harrison said. "I'll be on the first bus coming out that way."

  "OK, I need to get some sleep. I'll talk to you in the morning. Feel free to sleep in my bed since I'm not going to be there."

  "Thanks. Good-night, Frankie."

  I hung up the phone, then looked at missed calls. Harrison had tried five times. There were three from watch HQ and four from Wally's private phone. There was a voicemail from Wally. "Please be all right, Frankie. And please don't hate me. Call me if you get this."

  I thought about it, but decided I didn't want to deal with what I felt about Wally until after I'd gotten a good night's sleep. Right now I wasn't in the mood to be reasonable.

  Morning brought pain and stiffness. The doctor promptly administered another local when my screeching brought him running. He gave me Trivo oral pain meds and I swallowed them without argument.

  They'd put a soft cast on, waiting for swelling to decrease before they tried anything more permanent. By the time the pain was residing, Harrison, wearing a brown wig, stood in the door of my room holding flowers. He walked over to my bed and bent over to kiss me before setting the vase on the table beside the bed. "I told them you were my fiancée. They didn't want to let me back here."

  "I'm so glad to see a friendly face, I'm good with that."

  "So what happened?"

  I told him about the afternoon's events, he frowned as I recounted the meeting with his father. When I finished, he said, "How much do you trust, Sergeant Wallin?"

  "After yesterday? I'm not sure. But he's the only other living person who knows what I am, and nobody has swarmed the hospital looking to claim the rogue talent."

  "So when can we spring you from here?"

  "They're talking about casting it this afternoon. Why don't you see if you can find a cheap apartment we can rent...In fact, you're the one with the new name, why don't you just go ahead and rent something. When I get out of here, I'll sell my car so nobody can trace it."

  My phone rang and I looked down at Wally's name and number. I flipped the phone open and held it to my ear without saying anything. After several moments he said, "Frankie?"

  "Frankie died on the mountainside in district Eighty-Six. This is Miss Leone. Is there something I can do for you, Sergeant?"

  "You can come in peacefully, Frankie. President Drover wants to test you."

  "Do not call me Frankie. My friends call me Frankie. And I'm not going anywhere in the near future, whether I wish to or not."

  "Then tell me where you are."

  "Why? So you can get points for turning me in? As far as you're concerned, I'm still crawling down the mountain in Eighty-Six. Obviously I'm in a hospital. Shouldn't be that hard to find me if you're determined. Damned if I'll make your job easy."

  The surgeon walked back in the room with a clipboard in his hand. He looked at Harrison. "I need a moment of your fiancée's time in private young man. Nothing to worry about, just a few minor delay's in treatment."

  Harrison looked down at me and I stretched out a hand toward him. "He can stay. I don't have any secrets from him."

  "Him who? Did that man say fiancée? What's going on Frankie?" I'd forgotten about Wally.

  I flipped the phone closed and said, "I told him not to call me Frankie. What's going on Doc?"

  "Well with some magical assist we should have had you pieced back together and out of here last night or first thing this morning--"

  "But the magical assist didn't work out so well."

  "Then you know?"

  "Yes, I am quite aware that I'm a null. Have you turned me in yet?"

  "No. The folk of District Fifty-five don't exactly care for the registered mages either. Records show you were treated last night and discharged early this morning. Can we expect people to come looking for you? What brought you to us for treatment?"

  "Mostly because you were closest. But I also thought it unlikely anybody would look for me here."

  "Since you did seem concerned about being found, we took the liberty of moving your vehicle to an underground parking garage and removing its identification and locator chip. When you're ready to leave, we'll return it all to you--"

  "We were actually just discussing selling it."

  "That can be taken care of too. We don't know your story. We don't want to know your story, but an unregistered mage is always welcome in District Fifty-five."

  I settled my head back onto the pillows, tears of gratitude slipped out from under my lids. "Thank you, Doctor."

  "We scanned your fiancé's ident when he arrived and reregistered you as Mrs. Daniel Bromer. We can add a first name if you'd like."

  "No. That's fine, thank you, Doctor."

  "Might I ask what your plans are when you can walk again?"

  "Hadn't got around to thinking that far ahead."

  "We generally discourage new residents in our district, but the two of you would be welcome additions. Although we would have to insist you take up residence on the east side of the district as having a null living next to the illusionists who keep up the appearance of a patch on the dome, may make their work exhausting."

  "You're telling me the dome isn't fragile?"

  He grinned, "It was never even compromised. They're built to withstand the occasional ding from a rockslide. We did have a sickness kill off half our population all those years ago. Our ancestor's decided to take advantage of it to make us look less desirable. We haven't been overcrowded since."

  Harrison took my hand as the doctor opened the soft-cast on my leg and examined it. I stared up into his purple eyes. It would seem for the moment at least, our destinies were bound together. I squeezed his hand, distracting myself from the doctor's gentle manipulation of my leg with thoughts
that life could certainly be worse.

  "Swelling's going down fine. We should be able to proceed as planned."

  "I need my things, Doctor."

  "You can't leave just yet."

  "No, but if I'm going to pay for anything, I need to transfer my funds into my fiancé's name before they decide I'm not returning and freeze my accounts."

  "Your belongings are all in the chest of drawers beside the window. Won't they just follow the transfer?"

  Harrison grinned at me. "You haven't seen what my girl can do to things like tracking spells."

  "Do what you must." He turned and walked out of the room.

  Harrison walked over to the drawers the doctor indicated and dug until he found my handheld. He brought it to me and I wasted no time transferring my entire balance, in multiple transfers, all of them ultimately ending up in Daniel Bromer's account. He looked at the end balance and whistled. "Damn, Frankie, you didn't need my money."

  "No, but I didn't build my account by doing charity work. Transfer your money too."

  He pulled out his handheld and transferred the funds while I twisted the trail it took. "Guess this means you trust me?"

  "It means we're out of options, but yes I do trust you. Wouldn't have introduced you to Herm yesterday if I didn't."

  "What about your friend from the watch."

  Anger stirred briefly even though I knew Wally couldn’t have changed his course had he wanted to. "The man who left me to crawl down a mountain, because I dared to be rude to your father."

  "You said you told him you'd get yourself out." Harrison didn't really look like he wanted to be playing advocate for Wally's interests.

  "Before I tried moving and I rather obviously needed help." Anger raised tears, which brought more anger.

  "But you have to admit, he didn't have much choice in the matter.” Yeah, I just had that thought. “It's not like you'd been dating regularly. Was he supposed to give up his career when he didn't even know if the two of you would go on a second date?" He drove his point home. Although I’d had friends I’d have risked everything for. Wally was probably even one of them. Besides, it was easier to blame Wally than admit I screwed up.