Legend of the Sorcerer

by Donna Kauffman

  “Do it,” she whispered to him.

  “I can’t,” he said.

  “Maybe not alone.” She slipped beneath his arm. “But we can.” Just as Margaron came at them, she reached out and placed her hand over the Pearl.

  “NO!” Margaron’s scream echoed through the chamber.

  “Yes!” Cai’s and Jordy’s voices rang out in unison. Hands joined on the Pearl, they lifted it, but looked at each other. “Yes.”

  Margaron leaped at them, but as they repeated the vow, her body jerked hard and continued to spasm as she fell to the floor. She screamed in agony. “This will not be the end, Malacai,” she growled. She managed to lift her head, her smile was pure evil joy, even as her body continued to writhe in unimaginable pain. “It won’t end with me.”

  Her threat was blood chilling and Jordy began to falter. Cai locked his gaze on hers, willing her to go on. To finish this once and for all. The Pearl grew hot in their hands, but they held on. Both their arms shook with the strain.

  The room fell suddenly silent.

  And just as suddenly, they were standing amongst the ruins once again, as if the chamber never existed. Cold wind whistled through the winter air. Margaron lay, still and naked, at their feet.

  They both shuddered not only from the cold, but also from the shock of what had just transpired. The Pearl cooled and Jordy finally released it. Cai’s arm dropped to his side. He placed the Pearl in the trunk, then pulled her into his arms and held on as tightly as he had held on to the Pearl.

  “Is she … dead?”

  Cai went to bend down, but Jordy pulled him back. “It might be a trick of some kind.”

  “I have to know.” He knelt and placed his fingers along the side of her neck. He looked up at Jordy and nodded. He pulled at the dress that was pooled beneath her legs and tossed the edges over her, covering most of her torso and head.

  Jordy’s heart clutched. “Dear God, what have we done?”

  Cai stood and shook her arms. “You know we did the only thing we could. She wouldn’t have let you walk out of here twice. Remember what she did to those women.”

  “But how did she die? What exactly just happened?”

  Cai shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m not sure we’ll ever know. But I know it was right.”

  Jordy turned her face toward his chest. “Dilys took the two women to the closest medical facility. I don’t imagine that’s anywhere close to here, but she promised to call the authorities and send them out here.” Jordy buried her head against him. “Thank God you’re okay.”

  He lifted her chin. “Are you okay? Did she— Did she do anything to you, Jordy?”

  She shook her head, tears clinging to her lashes. “No. I’m okay. I’m okay.”

  Cai walked several yards away and put the trunk on a rock, then pulled her tightly to him with both arms.

  “The Pearl—”

  “Has done it’s job. I thought I was going to lose it completely when you came back, Jordy.”

  “I had to, Cai. I promised Alfred I wouldn’t fail you. I couldn’t leave you to do this alone.”

  Just then two cars rounded the bend and came to an abrupt stop. Three men emerged, guns drawn.

  Cai pulled Jordy behind him and raised his arms. “Don’t shoot, we’re unarmed.”

  The men pulled back, but kept their weapons out. “Are you L’Baan?”

  Cai nodded.

  The men lowered their guns. One stepped forward. “I’m Special Officer Davies. We’re with a task force, adjunct to CID. We’re working with an Agent Kuhn over in the States.” He knelt and checked out Margaron, giving a quick shake of his head to the other two officers. “Is this the kidnapper?”

  Cai nodded.

  “What happened?”

  “She took Jordy this morning, while she was out walking. I … I was able to follow her here.”

  “You’re saying she had the victims here?”

  He nodded. Jordy shivered under his arm. “Listen, it’s cold and she’s had a rough time. I’d like to have her checked out.”

  “We’ll take care of all that, but we’d appreciate a few more answers.” He tipped his head to Jordy. “With your understanding, ma’am.”

  Jordy nodded shakily. “She said she was Isolde Morgan’s granddaughter. That’s why she came here. It’s family property. She had the other two women with her. Have you talked to them?”

  Cai caught her gaze and squeezed her. Neither of them was going to tell tales of shimmering air and medieval torture chambers, but they couldn’t control what the other two women said.

  “We have men with them right now. I only know what I got over phone, but one of them is in pretty bad shape. Hasn’t regained consciousness.”

  Jordy shuddered at the news. Cai was right. It would only have got worse.

  “The other seems pretty confused,” Davies went on. “She hasn’t been able to give a clear account.”

  The officer checking out Margaron spoke. “No gunshots, no apparent blunt force trauma.”

  “How did she die?” Davies asked. “And can you explain how she came to end up like this?” He was obviously referring to her state of undress.

  Jordy spoke up. “Dilys had come with Cai. She took the other two women down to the medical facility when Cai got her to release us. He traded himself for us. She was delusional and thought Cai was a character from one of his books. When Cai told her they could never be together, that he and I were lovers, she stripped off her clothes, trying to seduce him. Then, she had some sort of seizure and collapsed. You got here minutes after it happened.”

  Davies looked to the other officer, who nodded. “She’s still warm. No rigor.”

  Just then another car pulled up. Dilys climbed out and ran toward them as quickly as the rocky ground would allow. She hugged a surprised Cai first, then Jordy. “So, it’s done.” She’d spoken so only they could hear her.

  “How are the other women?” Jordy asked her.

  “They’re being seen to,” she said. “It doesn’t look good for the one, but the other will do okay. She won’t remember much.”

  Cai shot Dilys a hard look, but all he said was, “Have you been to the house? Margaron said she’d burned it.”

  “The house is fine.” Her smile was smug. “It’s well protected, even in Alfred’s absence.”

  Davies stepped in and motioned Cai and Jordy away from the body. Dilys moved a few feet, but remained closer to the other officers, watching their activity.

  “We’ll need to question you more thoroughly once we’ve had you checked out,” Davies said, escorting them to the car. “She said she was related to Isolde Morgan?” When they nodded, he shook his head. “She had a connection to your grandfather, didn’t she?”

  Cai nodded. “She was a critic that reviewed his work.”

  “Odd that they both died on the same day.” He tipped his hat to Cai. “My condolences.”

  “Thank you. This whole thing took a toll on my grandfather. Perhaps it did on Ms. Morgan as well.”

  “True. If this one really was her granddaughter, then I imagine the strain of dealing with one such as her might have been enough to put her over.” He opened the car door. “Here we go.”

  As Davies walked to the other side of the car to talk to the other officer who had come with Dilys, Jordy tugged on Cai’s coat sleeve. “What about the trunk?”

  Cai jerked his head around. The trunk was no longer on the rock where he’d placed it. “Get in. I’ll be right back.”

  “No. I’m not leaving your side.”

  Davies looked up as they moved away from the car.

  “I’m just getting Dilys. Is it okay for her to come in with us?”

  He nodded. “We’ll have questions for her as well.”

  Dilys stepped toward them keeping herself between them and Margaron’s body. “Alfred is resting peacefully now,” she said. “It’s proud ye should be of what ye’ve done.”

  Jordy’s heart skipped a beat and her eyes
stung again. She felt Cai tense beside her. “Where is the trunk?”

  She smiled at him. “Why do ye ask me?”

  Cai held her gaze. “Because I just know it, okay?”

  “As well ye should by now.” Her smile faded. “Still there are questions within ye.” She sighed. “I suppose for some, that is the way of it.” Surprisingly, she patted his arm. “The Dark Pearl is where it should be. We’ll speak of it again when the time is right.”

  “That’s precisely what I’m afraid of.”

  Dilys merely tsked. “Your time will come, Master Malacai.” She took their elbows and gently urged them toward the car. She cast one last look at Margaron’s body, a satisfied smile briefly crossing her face. “Come now, we must answer the good gentlemen’s questions and leave these men to their duty. It will all work out as it should.”

  FORTY-TWO

  Cai thought he had never seen anything as beautiful as Crystal Key. He chugged the boat slowly toward the dock, wanting to savor every tiny detail.

  “It feels like we left a lifetime ago,” Jordy said.

  The clutch in his heart wasn’t new. He’d been living with it for a few weeks now. He’d be living with it for the rest of his life. “It was a lifetime ago,” he said quietly. “A whole different lifetime.”

  Jordy stood behind him and threaded her arms around his waist as he steered the boat gently against the pilings. “I miss him, too. I’ll help whatever way I can.”

  Don’t leave me then.

  Their last seventy-two hours in Wales had been one long marathon with the special CID guys, and via phone with a very pissed off Kuhn. Most of that time they’d spent apart.

  Jordy had been taken in for thorough medical examination and she’d stayed to talk to Claire, the beaten woman from the photographs. The other woman, Judith Sumner, hadn’t pulled through. Both women were single, lived in nearby areas, had friends and coworkers, but no family. Both belonged to a mail-order book club and had, over time, ordered all of Cai’s books. Margaron had made her selections carefully.

  Jordy and Cai, along with Claire, had helped to arrange Judith’s funeral. Margaron’s cause of death was a mystery. Results hadn’t come back on the autopsy, but early reports said it looked like a heart attack, possibly a congenital defect of some kind. The agents never found proof that she was Isolde’s granddaughter, nor did they find where she’d hidden her victims before their final rendezvous at the ruins. Dilys had predicted correctly though. Claire’s memory was vague on her whereabouts during her captivity. Jordy and Cai stuck to their story and after repeated, separate accountings of every minute detail, the agents had closed the case.

  Cai hadn’t talked about the whole thing much with Jordy, both of them having exhaustively talked of nothing else to the CID. Jordy had seemed to begin to come to terms with her role in Margaron’s death. Standing beside Claire as they lowered Judith’s casket into the ground seemed to help her move a bit more quickly along that path.

  They had been cleared to go home just a little over twenty-four hours ago. Dilys had stayed behind, claiming she wanted to visit some old friends. Cai had to wonder if she wasn’t just postponing coming back to Crystal Key because of Alfred. He wondered if she wouldn’t end up staying in Wales permanently. He couldn’t blame her, but selfishly, he was hoping otherwise. He wasn’t ready to be all alone. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be ready.

  He also was in no shape to make any further life-altering decisions. He knew Jordy’s time was almost up and she’d have to return to Virginia.

  But he had no idea how he was going to survive letting her go.

  At the dock, Jordy handed Fred up to Cai, then their bags, then took his hand up. She looked at the house and felt equal parts anticipation and trepidation. She was surprised how much it felt like coming home. But home was Virginia, not Crystal Key. Cai was no longer tied here in order to care for his grandfather. She wondered what plans he might make with his new-found freedom. Or would he remain here, and stay as reclusive as Alfred had been? And did any of those plans include her?

  She picked up her bags as Cai shouldered his and glanced up at him. The last few days had been rough. Hell, the last week had been no picnic. They hadn’t done much more than fall asleep together and both of them had slept most of the flight home. He hadn’t said anything to her about his expectations for the two of them, or where they would go from this point. Honestly, she didn’t know either. She had work to finish here. Cai had said that much. He would honor Alfred’s commission. He wanted the piece finished. Jordy was glad for that, and for the small reprieve that gave them both.

  She had felt a bit hollow, but now that she was here, with the warm sun shining down on her, she felt the beginnings of rejuvenation. She had a little time before she had to be back in Virginia. Maybe they’d both find some answers by then.

  They went in through the kitchen door. Cai paused, then flipped on the lights. Jordy hadn’t missed the slight stiffening of his shoulders. She wanted to help, she wanted to smooth the way for him. “I guess we’re eating pizza until Dilys comes back, huh?”

  Cai smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I hadn’t thought about that. You figure she’s put some sort of spell on the appliances so they’ll only work for her?”

  Jordy was surprised by the reference. He’d made no mention of what had really happened in Wales. It was as if, after repeating their story so many times for the agents, he’d come to believe it himself. Maybe, now that they were home, he’d deal with it. She kept the mood light. “I wouldn’t put it past her. God knows what we’ll find in her spice rack.”

  Cai just stood there, bags in his hands, staring as if he’d never seen the room before. And maybe he hadn’t. Now it was his kitchen. His house. His gardens. He looked a little lost and her heart began to break.

  “Why don’t we go and unpack. I’m guessing we’ll need an incantation to make the washing machine work, too.” She paused by his side and gently touched his arm.

  “It’s all so different. I didn’t think it would be. Or maybe I just needed it not to be.”

  “Give yourself some time, Cai. You just got home.”

  “Yeah.” He shouldered the bags up a bit higher and motioned for her to go ahead of him. “Why don’t we meet back down here. We’ll figure something out for dinner.”

  She wanted to drop her bags and take him in her arms. She wanted to kiss him softly and stroke his face and tell him everything was going to be okay. She wanted to ravish him, take him hard and fast, right here on the floor, and obliterate the pain from those too soft gray eyes.

  What she did was nod. “About thirty minutes? I could use a shower. Wash the airplane ride out of my hair.” It was on the tip of her tongue to invite him to join her. If he’d so much as looked at her, she would have. But he only nodded vacantly, his thoughts still miles away. Or a few weeks in the past.

  Balancing Fred in one hand and a bag on each shoulder, she went upstairs to her room.

  Dinner that night was a quiet affair. Cai had thawed a couple of steaks and grilled them along with a few potatoes. Jordy thawed out some frozen vegetables, put them in the microwave, and heated a tray of dinner rolls. They ate out on the lanai.

  She waited for Cai to begin a conversation, but he was lost in his thoughts. Almost finished with their meal, she couldn’t stand the silence any longer. “It’s hard to believe it was only a month or so ago that I met your grandfather. I remember thinking what a lovely place this was, so peaceful and beautiful.”

  Cai nodded.

  Jordy swallowed a sigh. Maybe she was pushing for too much, too soon. “I was thinking I’d like to go out and check on the cottage this evening if that’s okay with you. Make sure the clay hasn’t dried out, that sort of thing.”

  “Sure, fine. I have some calls to make.” He tossed his napkin on his plate and stood. “Let’s just put these in the sink. I’ll deal with them later.”

  He wasn’t even looking at her. Jordy said nothing.

 
They carried their dishes in, then he headed to the hallway toward his office. She really felt like she was intruding, and maybe she was, but dammit, the very least he could do was talk to her. He’d already made it clear he expected her to stay and finish the dragon.

  And he might want to pretend the whole thing hadn’t happened, but when they’d joined hands on that Pearl, she’d known there was a bond between them that no other could match. And he had felt it too, dammit! She’d seen the look on his face when she’d come back, and she’d watched him risk his life to save her.

  She was trying not to feel hurt, or abandoned, to be understanding of what was going through his mind. But she wished he’d turn to her for help, instead of sealing himself off like this. Maybe he just needed some time.

  She wished she could believe that was all it was.

  “Any idea how long you’ll be?” she asked.

  He stopped at the door. “An hour or two at least.”

  “Fine.” But she was talking to his back.

  It was almost midnight when she finally came back inside. She hadn’t meant to stay out there so long, but she’d peeled back the plastic and been seduced into just doing one or two minor touches. That had led to one or two more, and before she knew it, she was in her zone, oblivious to the world. She was glad for it though. Not only had it kept her from brooding about Cai, but it had made her feel closer to Alfred.

  Her satisfied smile faded when she noticed Cai’s light still glowing from his office window. She’d been hoping to find him out on the deck, or on the dock. While she worked she’d also decided that she wasn’t going to just sit back and let him make the calls. The days where she danced to someone else’s tune were over.

  When she got to the office door, she paused just before knocking. She heard the steady tapping of computer keys. Was he working or just clearing up business stuff that had accumulated while they’d been out of the country? He didn’t talk much about his work, but she’d had the feeling that things hadn’t been going all that smoothly. Not that she could blame him. Maybe she should leave him to his work. After all, she’d found solace in hers, it was likely his writing would provide the same thing for him.