by Viola Grace
Axom smiled at her as she belted up and he put the car in gear. “They have that effect on people.”
He was talking about them as a species, weird. “They?”
“The steeds of the hunt.” He was a competent driver, he kept his hands on the wheel and only glanced at her as he pulled away from the curb.
That was unexpected, she was riding in a horse? “But this is your car, not your horse.”
“She chooses to be one or the other.”
Of course it was a girl. “She?”
“Her name is Mavix. She chose me as her rider over six hundred years ago.”
He was really not the type to look his age then. “Funny, I wouldn’t have pegged you for more than one hundred and ninety nine.”
His glare was almost palpable, so she had to laugh as he gunned the engine and they were off.
“Where are we going?” Her curiosity got the better of her, she had to know.
“To somewhere I am pretty sure you have never been before, and a place that your enhanced reflexes will not help you to manage the task.”
“Now you have me intrigued. So, where are we going exactly?”
It was his turn to laugh. “So, how have you and Tara managed to keep up your friendship over the years?”
“It took a lot of work, like all friendships do, but we both knew it would be worth it.”
“Why did you move to be near her?”
“I can use my talents anywhere. She needs her house to hide her gifts, and the community that expects the unusual from her.” Caro could hear the warmth in her voice and let it flow. Her abiding friendship with Tara was one of the cornerstones of her life. Tara had been her rock when her body became stronger and faster, and the neighbours started to notice. They hadn’t been as encouraging as her friends and family. Her family had helped her buy a house near Tara in this small town the instant that she had turned eighteen. To date, the only frowns she got were from the health equipment suppliers.
“So, you are happy here?”
“I am happy to be near my friends and family. Anything else can be changed and it usually does change, all on its own.”
“That is a very healthy outlook. Not many people have it in this generation.”
That was creepy. He had already mentioned how old he was, he didn’t need to rub it in. “A few of us do, but you are right, it isn’t a common outlook. So, where are we going, Grandpa?”
That earned her a scowl. “Referring to me in such a manner is only going to inhibit our trip for ice cream on the way home.”
She let out what she had to admit was a nasty chuckle. “That isn’t really going to stop me. You brought up the matter of your age.” She put another tip into place. “I am guessing that Artemis tipped you off that I know what you are.”
“Indeed. I can tell you, it is a relief. The first few of us to try and win your kind over had to contend with a certain amount of disbelief.”
“Well, you can imagine how it sounds in our modern world to hear that elves are coming back into it, and we are the gateways. How does that work exactly?”
“Each of your group was born with the seeds of natural magic inside them. Your summer at Silverwood woke the seed and it began to grow within you. Silverwood was originally a gateway between the human and elven worlds, we called our world Underhill.” His tone was wistful, he was obviously seeing something in his mind that she could not imagine.
She left him in his thoughts and tried to imagine where they were headed. She didn’t recognize the route that they were taking, but there was nothing on the highway to indicate a destination or even the road that they were on. They were truly on the road to nowhere.
Three times in the next hour, she wanted to start a conversation, but fell short. The silence was nice. He had relaxed and was smiling slightly whenever he looked at her, which was every five minutes or so. She couldn’t help but smile back. Unlike the jocks that had pursued her in the past, he seemed simply happy to be near her. Caro was a little surprised to feel the same.
It was weird to have a male as a companion and not just a convenience. It was a comfortable feeling.
Just as she was surrendering to the odd feeling of serenity that was taking her over, she saw what had to be their destination. An enormous silo attached to an outbuilding. The purpose of the structure was not clear, but when Axom turned in, it was obviously their destination.
“We have arrived.” He turned the car off and exited to come around to her door.
“I can see that, but where is here?”
“My dear Carolyn. We are going to learn to fly.”
He took her hand as she left the car and led her bemused self to the buildings. She could not have heard him correctly.
Chapter Five
“You know, I don’t usually let a guy see me in baggy nylon on the first date.” She finished zipping up the suit and moved her arms to test her range of motion. The helmet and goggles were next. She was snugging the helmet into place when he turned her and gave her a short kiss on the nose.
“Well, thank you for making the exception.” His grin was irresistible, the white expanse of his teeth winking at her with a just a hint of sharpened canine showing. He finished with his own suit in a dashing black and silver, then calmly fastened his matching helmet into position over his pointy ears.
They had finished the orientation at the In Fly Entertainment centre in just over half an hour and were getting ready to enter the silo portion of the facility. They were about to fly in winds that reached one hundred and twenty miles per hour, and they had all day to play. Axom had booked the facility for them for six hours.
Today Caro was going to learn to fly.
She couldn’t wait.
Her hands were trembling with eagerness to jump onto the column of air, and with the help of Jenny, their instructor, that is just what she did.
Forty feet was as high as she could climb by turning her body into a pancake. The acrobatics were easier and rarely under her control. She spun, flipped and pirouetted on point while laughing and grinning herself silly.
At last she had to concede Axom his turn. The grace that he exhibited while running and just breathing carried into the air. Caro took a seat against the padded walls and just watched him roll, twist, climb and descend. It was beautiful. If she had half his grace, she would have been stunning in her acrobatics.
As if she had summoned him, Axom approached her while still flying and held out his hand. They had gone over the possibility of tandem flying, but she hadn’t thought that she would go that far.
It seemed far too intimate for a first date and yet, he hovered there until she nodded, stood and joined him in the air. It was magic. They connected with their hands, separated, backflipped with their feet together and then floated in a lazy spin. Time ceased and eventually their Jenny appeared to tell them that their time was up.
Reluctantly, they descended to the mesh floor and rejoined the ground-walking society. With her goggles off and her helmet in her hands, Carolyn looked longingly back at the air tunnel. “I really want one of those.”
“I will distract them, you stick it in your purse.” He was smiling and looked as enamoured with their experience as she was.
“Ha. Very funny.” Her stomach growled alarmingly. “I think we may have missed lunch.”
He stripped out of his suit, “We didn’t miss it. It is in a cooler in the car.” His t-shirt and jeans fit him like a well tailored suit. A very sexy well tailored suit. All the smooth muscles of a Grecian statue on display behind modern clothing. What a wonderful age to live in.
Chapter Six
“So, you teach me to fly and then you set up a picnic? There is nothing that I admire more than a man who can plan ahead.” Crusty breads and cheeses were laid out on the traditional chequered cloth with fruit adding a colourful splash to the array.
“I do try. It is hard to find a balance with the modern woman and romance. I believe I have done well.” He cracked th
e bread in half and poured her a glass of sparkling grape juice.
“You have indeed. And you noticed that I don’t drink alcohol, very nice.”
“I have your friend Tara to thank for that one. I asked her for advice on your food preferences.”
His honesty was refreshing. “That took some guts. Most men would not dare go to a woman’s best friend before the first date.”
“I am not most men.” He offered her some of the food on a white china plate, smiling when she took it.
That smile was going to be the death of her. “I think I am beginning to believe that.” She toasted him with the glass of juice and grinned back at him. The next half hour was spent in silence. She took in the panorama of the field, the flowers and the pasture that their vantage point overlooked. A horse was grazing off to one side, its dark hide gleaming blue and a deep smoke as it moved slowly through the bucolic splendour.
It was a fantastic view. And the company wasn’t bad either.
By the time Carolyn had finished munching, Axom had cleaned his plate and put it back in the container near the cooler. He took hers from her and, in a few economic movements, everything was packed away.
When they were sitting and looking at the horse that had decided to play on its own in the field, Axom lightly took her hand, “I am going to ask you a question, and I would like you to consider it carefully.”
She blinked and met his serious gaze. “Shoot.”
“I would like you to accompany me to Silverwood tomorrow. There is no running club and if you have no other plans I would like you to see the home that I would offer you.” He was completely sincere.
“Wow. I need to think about this. Is that horse coming closer?”
“What?” He looked up. “Oh, that is Mavix. She likes to graze when she doesn’t need to provide transport.”
She had known that the car was a shape shifter, but this beautiful horse was picking up speed and coming straight at her. The look in Mavix’s eyes was pure challenge.
“Axom. This is about to get ugly.” Caro got to her feet and watched the horse come. The beating of hooves against the turf was hypnotic, but she kept her wits about her as the horse charged.
Axom sat bemused as Caro began to run toward Mavix. She left him on the chequered cloth and answered the unspoken challenge that the steed was offering. If she wanted to race, it was on.
Mavix didn’t slow, but matched Caro speed for speed as she began to race the horse across the field.
This was the race that she had wanted, needed. With the steed thundering beside her, trying to keep up, Carolyn raced laps around the field. Her limbs moved effortlessly and she embraced the feeling, so akin to flying that she got when she truly ran.
Mavix’s breath was coming harder, she was blowing and Caro smiled. She had outlasted the supernatural horsey. One more lap and she slowed herself enough to see Axom standing with surprise in his eyes.
She dropped to the ground, breathing lightly. “Well, that was fun.”
“I don’t think that Mavix was expecting that.”
“I wasn’t expecting it, but there it was. I couldn’t resist.” She was genuinely tired. It was a good feeling, like her body had finally caught up to its potential.
“Have you ridden a horse before?”
“No. I haven’t had the chance.”
“If you are willing, I think Mavix would be a good subject for your first time. She is too tired to put up a fight and it will reinforce the fact that you are in charge.”
Should she or shouldn’t she? Riding the horse would be fantastic, but she didn’t think that it would be fair to take advantage of the horse in her tired state. “I think I will wait until it is a fair fight.” Mavix eyed her with what only could be termed relief. They were both tired and it was unmistakable that Caro had won the first round.
“If you wish. So, will you come with me to Silverwood tomorrow?”
She looked from him to the horse that had suddenly grown a horn. “I think that I might enjoy that. Yes. I will come with you.” His smile blinded her. She blinked to stop the warmth blooming within her. “But it doesn’t mean anything. I just want to see Artemis and the girls again.”
His nod let her know that he didn’t believe her for an instant. Funny, she didn’t believe herself either.
Chapter Seven
The drive to Silverwood was another trip in companionable silence. Carolyn sat in the leather seats and simply enjoyed the feel and sound of the car around her. The edges of the road grew from rural to heavily forested with a gradual shift. They were almost there.
“Have you been back since your summer there?”
“To Silverwood? No. It has never seemed right before.”
“It feels right now?”
“Yep. Or I wouldn’t be here.” She felt more sure of that than she did of anything. It was time to go back, but only because Tara would be coming along soon. If her best friend would not be with her, she simply would not have considered it.
He turned the wheel and in seconds they were moving through the covered drive that was the entryway to Silverwood. As the trees thinned out there was only one thing for Caro to say. “Holy shit.”
“A little bit of new development has happened since you were last here.”
Her sarcasm broke free, “Oh, you think?” The small city that was taking shape before her eyes amazed her. Neat and tidy homes with enormous yards spun out on spokes from the central town square which was actually a circle.
“Holy crap.”
“It is easier for us to enter the modern world and integrate with a solid starting point.”
“This is pretty solid. How long did it take?”
“Construction started right after you and your companions left. So, around ten years or so.” He steered Mavix smoothly around the square.
“Is everyone here male?”
“There are five other women currently here, aside from yourself.”
“Westa, Fiona, Artemis, Valentine and Hannah.” She knew them all.
“Wow. You really have been in touch with them.” They were heading into one of the spokes, the height of the trees was truly amazing.
“How did they build the houses without pulling down the old growth trees? It doesn’t seem likely that they grew afterward.”
“They were very careful. The houses were all made from local trees and rocks as well.”
“How thorough.”
Mavix glided to a halt. The enormous structure that they were in front of had to be his home. There were balconies everywhere. The perfect place for a big cat to curl in the sun.
“This is my home.”
“I guessed as much.” As soon as Axom lifted her overnight bag from the trunk and closed it, the car turned back into a horse and scampered off.
“Where is Mavix going?”
“Probably to play with the other steeds. There are over thirty of them here.” He opened the door without a key and she shook her head. This didn’t need to be a gated community. Who would steal from one of the Wild Hunt and live to tell the tale?
Chuckling, she followed Axom as he gave her the tour of the house, including the odd hallways that led nowhere and the endless doors to the balconies. “So, I am guessing you like windows? Lying in the sun?”
“And wandering around the house naked. There is a reason that you can’t see any of my neighbours’ houses from here.”
“Is strutting naked an elf thing? Or is it just you?”
“It’s a shifter thing. The less clothing you have on, the faster the shift.”
Her bag was now in one of the guestrooms. “Do you have time trials for something like that?” They were on their way to the living room. Carolyn claimed the sofa with her arms spread wide.
He laughed, a nice dark comfortable laugh. “We do when we are learning. Now it is simply a matter of pride.”
“Feline pride or personal pride?”
He barked another laugh. “Both.”
“So. W
hat is on the agenda for today? Fishing? Are you going to bake cookies?”
He sat back in the recliner. “I thought that you would like to go for a run. Full out. In public.”
This was better than getting flowers and chocolates. “Are you serious? Won’t anyone notice?”
“Everyone will notice, but no one will judge you for it. In Silverwood, the extraordinary is the everyday.”
“You should put that on the Welcome to Silverwood sign.” She got back to the matter at hand. “But seriously. I can run here?”
“You can run, jump, lift and do whatever your body tells you to do. There are no restrictions for you here.”
“Just a minute.” She ran up the stairs, changed into her running gear and was down the stairs again before he had gotten out of his recliner. “Okay, let’s go.”
“Let me get ready and I will join you.”
“What?” It was too late, he was stripping off. “Oh, my.” The planes of muscle as well as his semi-aroused cock were only visible to her for a moment and then the shifting began. In less time than it took for her to recover from a sneeze, she was standing next to an enormous panther.
“Let me get the door.” The cat walked up to her and rubbed against her with his head. He almost knocked her over with his enthusiasm. Caro moved toward the door and noted the large pad on the inner frame. It was a metal plate surrounded by claw marks, obviously used by Axom when he was shifted alone. “Or perhaps you should open it. I am a lady after all.” She gently moved his head away and he rubbed her one more time, then hit the plate to have the door swing open.
Carolyn did not waste any more time. She had the all clear to run as fast and as far as she could, so she did. It was fantastic. Each and every step she took gained more and more speed until she knew she was a blur on the landscape. Her enhanced eyesight took in the design of the town, registered the hands raised in greeting as she whipped past, welcomed the sight of Fiona and Westa, and her hearing kept her apprised of how close Axom was.