Magic, New Mexico: Touching Topper (Kindle Worlds Novella) (My Crazy Alien Romance Book 2)

by Donna McDonald

  After hearing the private nature of Topper’s comments, the native woman walked away to give them some privacy, whistling to get the dogs to follow. The dogs left Stark abruptly and took off after her. She called each name and hooked a dog’s harness into a spot along the towing line. About half done, she walked to the front and secured Mercury. He stood watching her walk away and seemed to be waiting patiently for a command.

  “Okay, Mercury. On Line,” she called loudly.

  Mercury walked forward until his harness strained against the weight of the towline he lifted from the ground. He leaned his weight into the motion and kept it taut as she hooked up the last six dogs. What a truly remarkable animal.

  Stark climbed to his feet and wiped the snow off the back of his pants. A giggling Topper took care of the rest. For once, he was too distracted to appreciate her hands on him. “That Mercury is one very smart beast,” he said, watching the dog perform his duties.

  “Yes. He has great eyes too. I’m sure we’re in very good doggy paws with him. By the way… you’re driving the sled. I’m sure you can figure it out.”

  “What are you planning to do while I drive?” Stark asked.

  “What else? I’m planning to cover up and keep warm. The coat and boots help, but I plan to be comfortable for our entire trip.” Topper walked to the sled and took the only available seat. She covered her legs with the fur blanket provided—real fur no doubt—and made herself comfortable.

  Their sled supplier spent a few moments going over commands and showing Stark how to operate everything. Mercury barked from the front, letting them all know the dogs were ready and anxious to be on their way.

  Stark waited until Sandra was out of earshot. “Are you sure about us going out alone, Topper?”

  Topper nodded. “One hundred percent. I trust Mercury completely. I’m sure you’ll do just fine as well. Now yell Mush and let’s get going.”

  Stark snorted. “Thanks for your help.”

  “You’re very welcome,” Topper sang.

  He couldn’t hold it in. “For your information, they don’t really yell Mush. The sled driver is called a Musher. That command was just something in those entertainment vids you enjoy watching.”

  “Fine. Yell something else. The dogs and I are both getting bored,” Topper said.

  Stark’s eye roll went unnoticed, but it sufficed to express his bemusement. At least that demanding comment had sounded like the female he’d originally mated.

  He didn’t understand his apprehension about the trek. How could he feel the need to complain that Topper never even asked the woman a single question about what might happen if things went wrong? Her compliance and ease was making the trip much easier overall, but if he didn’t know better, he’d think his mate had been replaced with some sweet-natured clone in the middle of the night.

  He checked the directional device attached to the sled’s steering. All he had to do to get there and back was keep the dog sled following the line on it. That shouldn’t be too hard. According to Sandra, the trip out and back shouldn’t take more than a few hours, even with the fresh snow.

  “Hike! Let’s go,” Stark called.

  A couple of strong tugs and then the sled was gliding smoothly across a quiet blanket of white.

  Resig ran into General Arctic’s office. “Sir—a portal opening has been predicted. It will happen in the next few minutes.”

  “Where?” Arctic demanded.

  Resig swallowed. “As unbelievable as this may seem… it is happening here. I cannot explain it.”

  Arctic smiled. “I can. Fate has decided to become my servant. Or perhaps it is that goddess you secretly worship.”

  Resig let the comments go, just as he did most of the General’s insults. “Are you prepared to travel, General? What assistance do you require?”

  Arctic stood and inspected his clothing. He walked to a wall and donned outwear he reserved for wearing in the ice fields. It covered him all over and should protect him well. He grabbed a ready pack from a nearby chest—one he’d specifically prepared with weapons enough to finish off any creature he might encounter. One of them he would use to take down Stark.

  “Lead me to that portal, Captain. Mind my troops while I’m gone or I’ll have your life in forfeit when I return,” Arctic ordered.

  Resig nodded, glad he’d taken so much training in blocking the mind reading powers of the elderly Glacierans around him. Often they couldn’t prevent themselves probing. The General didn’t even try to stop. “My loyalty is to our troops, General.”

  Arctic snorted and followed him out the door.

  A rumbling shook the ground as they walked and it sent everyone stumbling. In a nearby flight field several shuttles were tossed on their sides as a large swirling vortex appeared in the middle of them. Both men strode rapidly to it, followed by all the guards on duty with weapons drawn.

  Arctic stopped, looked at it, and then briskly nodded. Resig nodded back, hoping the man couldn’t see his relief to see him go.

  “May you meet the fate meant to be yours, General.”

  “Keep your well wishes for some other fool, Captain. I make my own fate,” Arctic declared, stepping into the portal.

  No sooner had Arctic disappeared than the portal closed too. Resig turned his head as a blast of energy rocked him and the troops behind him. When he looked back a beautiful woman stood where the portal had just been. The light she emanated hurt to look upon and it had Resig falling to his knees.

  “Goddess… Icela,” he whispered. “I am honored by your visit.”

  “Keep your heart strong, my warrior. Tell the council what your wicked general plans,” Icela ordered.

  “As you wish, Goddess,” Resig whispered. He glanced behind him and saw all the guards had become frozen statues staring at him. He raised his face to Icela. “Are they alive? Can they hear us?”

  Icela bowed her head once. “They are mostly unharmed. It was the quickest way to assure they would not use their weapons on me. You might have been hurt if their aim was less than true. Your warriors will thaw… eventually.”

  Resig looked at his men and then back at her. “Is there anything we can do to help General Stark?”

  “No,” Icela said sadly. “All you or I can do is hope the Earth will treat him as a favored son.”

  With another blast of light that had Resig hiding his eyes again, the goddess disappeared.

  Chapter 5

  The sound of dog paws hitting snow didn’t do much to disturb the blissful silence. The sled slid effortlessly across the white landscape through towering hills and tall mountains on either side. There were forests now and again, but mostly rock faces and uneven surfaces.

  The panting dogs seemed not to mind the winter weather or that they were pulling a solid load. The location tracking device that counted the miles gauged their travel speed at a modest six miles per hour. Sandra had told him some sleds travelled much faster. The fresh snow really was slowing them down a bit.

  By the time they were nearing the two-mile point of their trek, they were passing through cliffs sheltering a narrow passageway. Stark stopped focusing on the sled and dogs to study the majestic passing scenes the way Topper was doing. Relaxing finally, he looked in wonder at the natural beauty surrounding them.

  The landscape was nearly as pristine as the ice fields, only much less forbidding. Unlike his homeland, he wasn’t constantly looking over his shoulder to see if some giant creature was after him for food. The biggest thing they might encounter on their trek would be an Alaskan bear or moose. While both of those creatures were sizable, he knew he could easily handle an animal of that magnitude.

  He bent until his mouth was near Topper’s ear. “Are you enjoying the ride?” he asked. Topper nodded and chuckled in reply. Her happiness sounded almost musical.

  “It’s very beautiful out here. I can see why this sort of stillness would appeal to you, Stark. If I wasn’t so lip-numbing cold, I’d probably love it myself,” she sa
id.

  Stark chuckled about her honesty and snuck in a quick cheek kiss. He straightened back to see Mercury slowing and looking around. The sled abruptly slid to a slow stop, forced to do so by its leader. Mercury paced back and forth, his nose to the ground in front of him. He lifted his head and looked back at Stark. Then he let out a howl and took off again.

  One word filtered through the dog’s actions to alert him. Danger. Mercury felt they were in danger.

  The dog barked anxiously to the ones behind him, and suddenly the sled was veering sharply to the left. Somewhere nearby, Stark heard a distinctive crack. It sounded like a primitive weapon being fired.

  Then the sled tilted as the ground shifted beneath them. Stark toggled his weight to keep them from overturning. Topper squealed in alarm as she grabbed hold of her seat.

  Mercury barked once and the dogs jerked the sled hard as they ran full out for some destination only the worried Malamute knew.

  “Hang on, Topper,” Stark yelled to his mate. “The earth is shifting beneath the snow.”

  “That’s not earth under there,” Topper yelled back, desperately hanging on to her seat as the sled bobbled. “It’s water and it’s supposed to be frozen solid this time of year.”

  Trusting the dogs to make the right decisions for them all, Stark hung on as the sled sped up. Behind them the landscape opened in a crack that quickly let the water rise through. Once they were half a mile away from the fissure, Mercury slowed and brought the team to a stop once more.

  Stark jumped from the sled and immediately dug beneath the sled, pleased to see they were now on solid ground instead of frozen water. He was all about ice, but not when so many creatures were under his protection. Thankfully the sled dogs had been brilliantly trained.

  He walked passed the whining, concerned animals. “It’s okay,” he told them. “It’s okay. We’re all safe now. Thank you all for being so brave.”

  He went immediately to Mercury who ducked his head. Stark pulled his gloves off and reached out to rub between their savior’s ears.

  “Close call, eh?”

  Mercury nudged Stark’s palm, asking for a harder rub. Tension rolled off the creature under his hand. Stark didn’t blame the smart canine for being afraid.

  He rose and looked back the way they’d come. There was no reversing the trail. He could maybe try to freeze the passage back, but the size of the body of water might drain his energy before he got done. What if Topper needed him and he was too exhausted to help her? He shuffled that option to the ‘last resort’ column.

  Stark saw Topper talking on a primitive looking communication device and walked back to hear the conversation. She was just signing off when he arrived.

  “Emergency radio. Sandra had hers on and heard me at first call. Good thing we were still in range.” Topper held up the device briefly before tucking it away. “Got to conserve the battery. It seems there was an earthquake right after we left. The ice passage we just came through won’t form back and harden enough for travel until a couple weeks from now. Sandra said we’d have to go around. It’s a two day trip—some of it on foot—through uneven land, but she says Mercury knows the way. She’ll send someone to meet us with fresh supplies. Technically, we have to survive one day. They’ll help us with the other.”

  “Earthquake?” Stark asked.

  Topper frowned. “Sandra’s story.” She tapped her head. “According to Lacey, it was a portal opening up here. She said the random portals around Magic and Phoenix disappeared all at the same time and then she got a weird sensation that something was wrong with us. Those random portals were the ones created by the Fates, Stark. Something’s gone terribly wrong. I’d transport us all back, but I don’t have that much energy. I’d for sure not be able to clear Sandra’s memories. As bad as I hate admitting any limits to my power, we need to tough this out as long as possible and return without the aid of magic if we can.”

  “I understand. I’m afraid I don’t have enough power to mend the ice or I would try refreshing our trail.”

  Topper shook her head. “The last mile and a half was over a natural lake that stays frozen for many months of the year. The ice in the lake only goes down a few feet though. Under that is flowing water. It’s too big a risk to take, Stark. We might need your power over the cold elements later.”

  Stark didn’t answer while he’d thought through their options. His resigned sigh echoed in the quiet. “I am in agreement. The only course of action seems to be to head back as Sandra indicated. If you want to pop back to our hotel room and wait the trip out, I’ll bring the dogs back by myself.”

  Topper shook her head. “No. This is our honeymoon. I’m not leaving you to handle this alone… or those darling dogs who kept us from dropping into the lake. I have a warm coat, great boots, and a hot husband. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  “Okay. I’ll tell Mercury.” Stark shrugged his shoulders inside the coat he was suddenly glad to be wearing. It was now going to be useful to have the extra protection. Conserving his power meant he could use his ice skills to build a snow shelter later. That would keep all of them warmer. He could build a separate one for the dogs.

  “Stark?” Topper’s anxious voice stopped him. “Any idea who might want to open a portal from Glacier to Alaska? That’s too coincidental with us here at this exact time. If the Fates had done it, they would have popped in on us to let us know why.”

  His jaw hardened at the thought of any danger greater than just surviving the freezing weather. “My enemies are all dead, Topper. I made sure of it before I retired. If someone wanted to get to me, they could have easily found me in the ice fields of Glacier. My work was always public there. How about you? Any death threats we need to consider?”

  Topper shook her head and snorted. “No one wants to kill me, but quite a few would love to put me in a cage and experiment on me. That reason doesn’t seem enough to track me down here. I think the portal has to be someone after you. That’s what my instincts are saying. Want me to contact Lacey and have her send Frost to investigate it?”

  Stark shook his head. “No. That would leave Magic less protected. What if this portal is a decoy of some sort? Let me talk to Mercury about where we need to go. We can handle two days out here. I’ll be right back.”

  Moments later he was climbing on the sled. “Mercury said there’s a place we can make camp about four hours from here.”

  “That’s pretty precise information for a dog to know,” Topper said, grinning at her husband.

  “Dogs are complex creatures. I interpreted the travel distance for your benefit,” he said, making his mate chuckle.

  Mercury glanced back at him and Stark nodded.

  “Hike! Let’s go,” he yelled.

  Once more the pack took off, dragging the sled and their human companions behind them.

  Chapter 6

  The first hour she shivered. During the second hour, after the twilight nearly disappeared, Topper began to seriously feel the cold. Normally, she’d have felt super sorry for herself, but she couldn’t under the circumstances. The dogs got slower and slower, but they never stopped.

  When Mercury finally slowed and then ceased walking altogether, Topper was worried for all of them. They were in the middle of nowhere, in the barely moonlit dark, and out in the open with the exception of a snow covered thicket of evergreen trees sheltering them on one side.

  You could see the real effects of the weather on the landscape that hadn’t seen any travelers in a while. Snow had drifted into high walls against the incline where the woods rose.

  Stark said nothing to her as he climbed off the sled. He walked to the front and released Mercury from the harness, petting the dog. Mercury walked off a ways, stretched, and then groaned. Guilt softened her heart because the animals had done most of the work to make sure they survived.

  Determined not to complain, or be a burden, Topper forced her cold limbs to help her climb out of her seat. She moved to the opposite side of the sled,
stretching her limbs much as Mercury had. Together, she and Stark unhooked all of the dogs. Once free, they milled about using the bathroom and sniffing at the packed snow.

  She watched Stark lift a hand and heard him speak words she didn’t understand. Evidently the dogs did because they stopped and gave him their full attention. When he stopped talking, they went back to their browsing, but none of them walked far away.

  Topper stared at her husband in awe. Stark’s alien powers were just as amazing as her magic. Or at least they were to her. “What can I do to help get us settled for the night?”

  Stark stepped over the harness to get to her. He lifted a gloved hand to her bare cheek.

  “Get back under the covers on the sled until I get us a shelter built,” he said.

  “Can’t sit anymore. I need to walk off my leg cramps.” Topper caught his hand when Stark went to move away. “Build it big enough for the dogs too. I don’t want them to have to sleep out in the cold.”

  Stark gave her a strange look and she nearly laughed.

  “You’re open to sharing your living space with them?”

  Topper nodded. “We owe these dogs our lives. I don’t want anything to happen to them.”

  Stark smiled, his breath visible in the cold. “Building a shelter won’t take me long. I’ve been saving up my energy for just this sort of effort.”

  He walked several hundred feet away from the sleigh and waded directly into a snow bank taller than he was. Topper held her breath, wondering what on Earth he was doing covering himself up in what had to be a ten foot snow drift.

  Then millions of white flakes lifted to swirl around him, forming a spinning circle. The ring of snow whirled faster and faster until she could see the shape of a snow hut forming. Stark was in the middle of it all, eyes closed as the snow formed a shelter around him. It soon covered him up once more, but moments later he walked out a small opening.