“Fine,” Theo said sharply. “Change of subject—when was the last time you saw Alfred? Apparently, he’s gone missing too.”
Topper sighed and stared at the ceiling. Why was she always held responsible for everyone’s decisions? She was a witch, not a muse.
“The last time I saw Alfred was the night of our dinner date. It was awkward and that’s the best thing I can say about it. He complained all through the meal about how hard it was living as a human and said he should have just stayed a fish. Who reported him missing?”
“No one. He and I had a lunch date, and he never showed. There’s an opening for a fish and wildlife warden for the Magic area. I thought it would give Alfred something productive to do with his human time.”
Topper sighed and nodded. “That’s a great idea. I’ll make sure to check on him as soon as this is over.”
“Are you sure nothing bad happened on your date?” Theo asked.
Topper shook her head. “No—nothing happened at all. I thought we parted as friends, but I’ve never been great at all that male ego stroking stuff. Maybe I said something that sent Alfred into a funk. But if I did, I have no idea what it could have been.”
Theo shrugged. “Okay. If you see him while you’re hunting green meanies, tell him I need to talk to him.”
“Sure thing,” Topper agreed. She reached out a hand and Stark just looked at it. “Hold my hand in yours. We need to touch one another to travel the way I want to.”
“More magic travel?” he asked. Stark slid his fingers through Topper’s, surrounding her smaller hand with his much larger one. A sense of rightness exploded along his nerve endings.
Topper never answered his question. She just smiled… and then they were flying.
***
Topper landed on the edge of the road leading up to the property. She waited patiently for Stark to walk off his small bout of nausea. She frowned at his back. “Did you eat before you travelled through the portal?”
Stark shook his head. “No, I had a glass of ale with Polar—Frost’s father. Probably a mistake, but Polar insisted.”
Topper shook her head. “Well, that could be the problem with magic travelling again so soon. I have to speed up our molecules to make it happen and that burns a ton of calories. Are you vegetarian or carnivore?”
“Carnivore,” Stark replied.
Topper closed her eyes and chanted. She opened them to a thick sandwich piled high with everything she’d had in her refrigerator in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. She held both out to him. “This should hold you a bit. I’ll feed you better later. The outside is bread made from organic ancient grains. The inside is fresh meat, cheese, and vegetables.”
Stark took her offering, smelled it, and then took a healthy bite. “It’s very good. Thank you, Topper.”
Her stomach rippled in satisfied flutters at his thanks and his obvious enjoyment of the food. “You’re welcome. I’m sorry I didn’t ask if you’d eaten earlier. I’m usually a more polite host.”
Stark didn’t answer her. He finished off the food and then opened his drink. “Bottled essence of the Goddess. I wish they had this on Glacier—very portable. I use canteens, but they’re not as aesthetically pleasing,” he said, holding it up level with his shifting eyes.
Topper smiled at his description and his pleasure. “I find it is the simplest things in life that make it worth living. I like adventure, but I can also appreciate the sun setting across the New Mexico desert just as much.”
“Indeed,” Stark said, handing the now empty bottle back to her. “I think I could also bask in that caring smile of yours for a few hundred years. Thank you for feeding me, Topper. I sometimes forget the need for food until my body revolts like it did when we travelled.”
“You and every other male ever born. It must come with the gender. In all my years, I’ve never figured it out.”
Topper sighed at how happy Stark’s happiness made her. Wow—she really needed to date more. She was obviously missing male attention.
Stark snorted. “Too much reflection on the past makes you start counting time backwards. It is an easy slip from there to feeling old.”
Topper shrugged and studied the driveway dirt. “I guess that’s right. Even being a powerful witch, I will not live past two hundred Earth years. The women in my family tend to die early and not even last one hundred years. My time is growing short, if that’s the case for me. To balance that, I live life fully and don’t have many regrets. I find counting my blessings makes the good parts last longer.”
Stark smiled fully. “Then I shall count them with you. I am feeling very blessed that we met.”
Topper swallowed hard at the sincerity shining from his face. She’d seen Frost look at Lacey like that. She turned away, not letting her mind conjure up more than was really there. Stark was being friendly—that’s all it was. And he wanted sex. All men were extra nice to women they were pursuing. She might be out of practice with men… but she wasn’t stupid.
When they reached the house, only one of the shifters was home. They were invited in and she showed them the matching dog beds and dog bowls. The furniture in the house was sparse, except for an incredible four poster bed that was a mile high and had things hanging from it that Topper pretended not to notice. But it certainly looked like the jaguars knew how to play.
Nearly everything else in the house of any worth had a dog’s name on it. Theo was right. The dogs were their family. And the woman was ill with genuine worry.
Stark looked around the food dishes, the water bowls, and investigated the pillowed beds. He rose and asked to see where they normally played and did their business when nature called.
Out they all trekked to the backyard to see the area.
Stark walked around until he found what he was looking for. He picked up several things from the ground and carried them back with him. But it was his frown that told the real story. Topper braced herself to hear it.
“Two of them took the dogs as hosts,” he said, holding out bits of fur dotted with tooth marks and bloody patches. “It looks like the males got them because the female is bright red.”
“What can we do?” Topper asked, reaching out to hug the woman who’d started to cry.
“Find them fast,” Stark said flatly. “In two days, the physical connection would still be partial, but each individual dakkari would have taken over their dog’s mind in a single day. If we find them quickly, we might be able to remove the dakkari before it is absorbed. I can’t guarantee the animal’s lives, but becoming a fully assimilated dakkari host would be a worse way for the animal to die.”
Topper hugged tighter when the woman rolled into her chest and started weeping full out. She met Stark’s sympathetic gaze over the woman’s head. “Isn’t finding them the problem we’re still trying to solve?”
“Yes. But it’s gotten a little easier,” Stark declared. “They’re with the beeberg. We just have to locate the animal she’s taken over. I promise you the dogs will be nearby.”
Topper pushed the cat shifter gently away and ran a hand full of glittering magic over her hair. The shifter’s sobbing reduced to sniffling almost immediately. She looked at the woman’s face and met her gaze. The shifter would not know she acted from magical inclination, but they didn’t have time to indulge her grief properly. If they didn’t find the dogs, there was going to be a lot more weeping.
She lifted the woman’s chin with her hand. “I want you to call your mate and tell him about your dogs. And I want you to call the Sheriff if the dogs show up again. Don’t do anything to them and don’t let them into your home until we get their alien abductors off them.”
Topper smiled at her whispered okay and patted her cheek. She stepped away and held out her hand to Stark. “Okay. Let’s head back to town and see if Theo has any more leads for us.”
Stark linked his fingers through hers and braced himself. “Ready when you are,” he said, gripping her hand. “At least if I get
ill again, my body has something to reject this time.”
Topper squeezed his fingers and laughed at his trepidation. She found herself liking Stark’s company far more than she’d expected. Not all men were such good sports. “It takes a brave person to fly with the most powerful witch in town. Looks like your impressive man package isn’t all you’ve got going for you.”
Stark felt a smile take over his face. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d been so entertained by just a female’s company. “Is that a compliment on your world, Topper? Because it is definitely one on mine.”
When his sincere gaze turned to her, Topper panicked at the challenge in it. She was transporting them back to town before Stark could act on the genuine interest shining in his eyes.
CHAPTER 5
The three of them stood in Theo’s office looking at a map of Magic mounted to a wall. Stark’s idea was that the beeberg had been present when the dogs were abducted. His theory was that she led them away from their home and stalled for a time until the mind control links were established by her mates.
Topper watched Theo and Stark triangulating an area where the animals might have travelled since their abduction. It covered pretty much all of town. She sighed loudly and made both males look at her.
“Sorry. It’s starting to get dark and I’m tired. Opening the portal was tough on me. As much as I want to save the mastiffs, we can’t canvas that much territory this evening.”
Theo bobbed his head in agreement. “Right. I can probably visit a few strategic families on the other side of town and ask them to keep an eye out as well as pass the word along. Maybe you guys can get some rest and resume the search tomorrow.”
Topper looked at Stark. “Do dakkari on the run sleep?”
Stark nodded. “Yes. They sleep more when they are joining a host. Saving the hosts is going to be difficult anyway. I didn’t want to say it in front of their concerned owner today.”
Topper hung her head. “I got that from your explanation. Right now, I need food… and a bath.” She raised her gaze. “Let’s go home, Stark. I’ll make dinner and we can strategize about tomorrow.”
Stark’s smile widened as he put a hand on his chest where a large warmth was spreading through his muscles. Perhaps it was the cadence of her voice… or her vulnerability. He simply could not explain why he was so thrilled at the idea of spending even more time with Topper.
“That is a gracious offer. I happily accept.”
When Topper held out her hand, Stark once again took it. He turned to offer the frowning sheriff a polite nod. He could not erase the male’s concern this evening. Fortunately, the sheriff’s face disappeared from sight and Topper’s kitchen appeared instead. He’d noticed the room during his visit to her house earlier.
She slipped her hand out of his and it was all he could do not to snatch it back and pull her to him for an embrace. Instead, she stepped out of his reach.
“If you want to shower while I fix us dinner, use the bathroom in the hall. Just call out if you have questions. I’ve seen you naked, so I don’t mind coming in there to help if you have trouble getting something to work. Frost said our indoor plumbing was similar to a more primitive version used on Glacier.”
Stark watched her walk to a cold storage box and pull food from the shelves. “I would like to clean off the dust of our travels, but I feel bad for leaving you to do this alone. Do you need any help?”
Topper stopped pulling out things and turned back to him. “No, I’m fine. I actually like to cook. The Fates come to visit a lot. They love my cooking. I’m just going to throw together an omelet. Don’t worry—I’ll make sure yours has a lot of carnivore protein.”
Stark bowed his head. “Thank you for being so thoughtful.”
“You’re welcome,” Topper declared. She raised her hand and motioned for him to leave. “Go on. I’m fine. Come back when you’re done.”
After Stark left, Topper gripped a countertop and took a few deep breaths. The attractive Glacieran was nearly irresistible when he was being so nice and polite. No wonder Lacey had ended up sleeping with Frost. She wondered how polite Stark was in bed. Or did his arrogant side win out?
She laughed at her wicked thoughts as she went back to her cooking.
***
Stark stared at his empty plate. It had been full a few minutes ago. He raised his gaze to Topper who was smiling at him over her drink. Her plate was empty as well.
He was more than satisfied—he was content. Great food cooked by a beautiful woman. It was not something that happened to him often.
Stark bowed his head. “Thank you for the excellent food, Topper. It was wonderful.” His heart constricted when she bowed her head and smiled almost shyly. Why was such a competent, beautiful female so embarrassed by compliments?
“Hasn’t a woman ever prepared you a meal before?” Topper asked, sipping her wine.
Stark snorted. “My mates were intelligent companions but less domestic than I was. Much to my chagrin, both of them expected me to use my retired military status to provide them with an abode in the city and an easy life full of servants who would meet their needs. They were shocked to find themselves living in a remote location with someone who left them alone for weeks at a time. Neither relationship lasted long. And I did not wish to choose wrongly a third time.”
“So did you marry for the sex then? I suppose you would call it privileged mating availability?”
“No. Any female can relieve basic needs. I mated for the companionship and thought it would be nice to have someone to come home to. The ice fields are a lonely place, even for someone who likes their independence as I do. Perhaps it is not a fit life for any female. Willing partners come to visit me, but they do not stay. I don’t take it personally.”
Topper chuckled. “At least it spares you cooking breakfast for them the morning after.”
Stark sighed… and shrugged. “Probably for the best since I don’t cook at all. It is my greatest failure.”
He shrugged when Topper laughed at his admission.
A smile accompanied his next shrug. “When I served as a Star Ranger, I was often sent to strange planets that had food I truly couldn’t eat. Once I went many of your Earth months living off Glacier survivalist rations. After I retired from that work, I vowed to make good food a priority in my life, no matter where I lived. Unfortunately, I am out in the ice fields a lot and cooking heat is too much of a luxury in a temporary shelter. Despite the obvious irony, in my current job I find myself once again living off Glacier survivalist rations. This is why even your simple food is a feast to me.”
Topper snickered over Stark’s story. “Okay. Now I feel sorry for you. After we catch the dakkari, I’ll make you a giant steak. If an omelet makes you so happy, you’ll be ecstatic eating a whole meal of meat. I eat alone more often than I have company, but I cook for the pleasure it brings me. I could magic it together, but it’s not the same experience.”
“You appear to have created a very nice life for yourself, Topper. Are you contented?”
Topper took another sip of wine as she thought of how to answer. “Am I contented? Yes. I think I am—for the most part.”
“Why do you have no mate?” Stark asked, really wanting to know.
Her head was shaking before she realized that she wanted to tell Stark what she had never told anyone. Only her sisters knew it had even happened. She had been a young witch, barely twenty-five, and not nearly as powerful as she had become in her thirties. Her sisters honored her decision to simply forget her lapse in judgment. She had forced everyone else to do so the way she always did.
“I was madly in love once,” Topper admitted, though it felt strange now to say it aloud. “Lanier wasn’t like me. He was just a regular human. When he found out I was a witch, he got scared. In a short period of time, he became so afraid of my power that he reported me and my whole family to government officials. When they came to Magic, hoping to experiment on us and steal our power, I had to m
ind wipe all of them. It took all the power I had at the time and my sisters lent me some of theirs to get it done. I made the scientists believe they had failed to find anything but a family of eccentric humans. They left Magic and never returned.”
“What did you do about your betrayer? Did you seek him out and kill him?” Stark demanded. “I would have.”
Topper swallowed hard and then laughed because she suspected he spoke the truth.
“Oh, I thought about killing him, but being a coward doesn’t mean you deserve to die. There are millions of people on Earth who fear the kind of power that exists in Magic. Loving someone like him was my mistake. So, no—I didn’t kill him. Instead, I tracked him down and wiped away all his memories of me. Now only I remember. It’s better that way.”
“But you are still wounded inside from his betrayal.”
Topper snickered at his poetic way of saying the guy had broken her heart. “Not really, Stark. I just never kept a lover for long after that. My power equal never showed up in my life so I settled for temporary relationships. When I broke up with a guy—human or otherwise—I always made him forget me. That small measure has kept me and the rest of Magic safe.”
Stark frowned as he nodded. “Your story tells me we have led similar lives. It does not please me to know you have suffered the same loneliness I have suffered. It seems like a waste for both of us.”
Topper stood and carried their empty plates to the sink. She would leave them until morning. It would be comforting to wake and see their dirty dishes. It would remind her that she didn’t have to be alone unless she chose to be.
She brought a wet cloth back to the table and wiped the surface down while Stark watched her every motion. She was aware of his masculine interest, but at the same time, she found him a good listener and a comfortable companion. Perhaps they were becoming friends—of a sort.
“The real problem for me is that I never found a person—human, witch, shifter, or immortal creature—who understood how important it was to me to protect those who come to live in Magic. All creatures who roam the Earth deserve a safe place to live and raise their families. It is Gaia’s law of creation on this planet—much like the way Icela takes care of Glacier. I’m friends with the three Fates too. They drive me crazy with their stupid prophecies, but at least they keep me from screwing up more.”
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