"I was afraid of that." Rhiannon whispered. He could barely hear her for the roaring in his ears.
"What?" he bellowed. "What does this mean?"
Shoulders shaking, Rhiannon turned away from him without answering.
It was Arwydd who spoke, Arwydd who told him. "As the other message says, the spell was meant to be used only once. Rhiannon used it to call Megan to you. Therefore, it has vanished."
“It can’t. Use it again." Kenric beseeched his sister's back. "Please. Surely you remember the words. Use it again. Bring Megan back to me."
"I cannot." She turned tear-swollen eyes to him. "It was complicated and I do not remember it."
The roaring in his ears grew louder. "Some of the words, then. Surely you remember some. Say them. Return her to me."
Rhiannon only hung her head, crying softly.
"I am sorry." Arwydd moved closer, laying a fatherly hand on Kenric's shoulder. "We would if we could, but we do not know how."
He could only stare at them in shock, in disbelief. "There is a way," he told them firmly, keeping his voice even toned, when all he wanted was to howl from frustrated anguish. "There has to be a way."
Neither contradicted him. For a moment the only sound was the sound of his half-sister softly weeping.
"There is a way,” he said louder, knowing the power of words. "And I will not rest until I find it."
#
In the weeks following Megan's disappearance, Kenric did not return to the world of humans. He remained in Rune, Arwydd patiently tutoring him in every bit of magical lore they could find. Nothing, not one spell, addressed traveling through time.
Rhiannon took him to the Hall of Legends, which remained open to her. He wandered there, among artifacts so ancient that their meaning had been forgotten, books and scrolls written in a language no longer understood, and engraved runes so worn by time they were no longer legible. Nothing spoke to him, nothing explained the way to bring his soulmate back.
Countless times he read the story of the legend, in all its versions, and every telling ended the same. The war
between evil and good would be fought by half-human, half-faerie. He and Megan, Rhiannon and Edmyg; each had been so clearly outlined that he wondered how any could have failed to see it. The manuscripts stopped short of naming them.
He found oblique references to Megan's journey through time, though the legend only mentioned that she would travel a great distance, one never before traveled by humankind.
As the weeks turned into months and he learned more, absorbed more knowledge, Kenric's magical powers grew, but his hope began to fade.
"I am worried about you." Rhiannon came to him one eve, as he sat in his usual place in the Hall of Legends, scanning through yet another ancient manuscript, hoping to find some clue, some hint of the magic that would help him.
He blinked in the dimming light. "There is something I am missing here, I can feel it. God's teeth, if only the spell would reveal itself."
She shook her head sadly. "You no longer eat, you have lost weight. And your hair..." She reached out and touched one long and tangled strand. "Looks like that of a wild-man who has been living alone in a cave. My brother, I would give much to see you smile again."
"Half of me is missing." He spoke grimly, knowing she would understand. "I cannot rest until I find her."
"There is something... It haunts me at night." Rhiannon sank to the ground next to him, her lovely expression disturbed. "Sometimes I hear her voice in my dreams."
This was new. Laying the manuscript carefully down, Kenric felt hope for the first time in weeks. Rhiannon's dreams were always prophetic. 'Twas part of the blood of Queens. "What does she say?"
"I cannot make out the words."
The hope that had flared within him flickered, but Kenric refused to let it die. "Try." He laid his hand on his sister's shoulder, hoping she did not see how it trembled. "Please."
They sat is silence as the shadows lengthened. At one point an attendant came and lit a wall torch, the flames sending an eerie sort of glow over the place. The air smelled sweet, the scents of a fading summer, when autumn hovers just beyond the next hill.
With the part of himself that was still human, He noticed these things and thought of how Megan would have rejoiced in them. He wondered how much time had gone by in the world of humans - had the months in Rune become a year outside? Did time pass the same wherever Megan was? In his studies he had come to believe that time was like a river, flowing continuously throughout the eons. All he did now was search for a way to make a boat to travel the river to her.
"She holds out her hand to me." Rhiannon murmured, reminding him that she tried to bring back her dream for him. "The way she did when we all joined to fight Myrddin."
Moodily, he shifted. Well he remembered that feeling of power, the way they had seemed one entity, human and faerie, united in...
Love.
Something nagged at him, something that hovered at the edges of his mind, just out of reach. Something he needed to know.
"She loves you," she continued, her voice taking on the monotone cadence of a prophetic trance. "This I sense strongly. And there are words - words she keeps repeating over and over - words she wants me to tell you."
What could Megan be trying to say? Kenric concentrated, remembering.
Love is the most powerful magic.
"Did you hear that?" Heart pounding, he stared at his sister. "It sounded like Megan's voice."
"Kenric," Rhiannon shook her head, breaking the trance."Do you love Megan?"
Affronted that she even needed to ask, Kenric nodded. "I need Megan. How can you not know this, when every breath I take is for her. She is all I can think about."
Her smile was wise. "Yes, you have said many times how much you need her. But do you love her, Kenric?"
Love. Once he had been so sure that he didn't believe in such a thing. But that had been before, when he'd been dead inside. Now he knew there were things he loved - Rhiannon, his faerie family, Lancelot, and - most of all - Megan.
"I love her," he said firmly, meeting his sister's fond gaze. "Of course I love her. More than life itself."
"Does she know this?"
"I have shown her in a thousand ways." Defiantly, he crossed his arms across his chest. "She has to know."
"Ah, yes. But have you ever whispered the words to her as you held her? Called her my love, told her that without her, life to you is not worth living?"
"She knows." He roared, rapidly losing patience. "I have given her a ring and asked her to be my wife. And yes, I have spoken words of love to her."
Patiently, she waited until he had finished. "Do you not recall the words you used then? Think on them, Kenric, then tell me for certain that Megan knows."
You are mine. He had said. The ring is a token of my need for you. He had never mentioned love. That explained the sorrow he had seen mingled with the joy in Megan's beautiful eyes. How could he not have spoken of the depth and breadth of his love for her? How could he not have told her how he felt? He loved her. Of course he loved her. How could he not?
Love is the most powerful magic.
He leapt to his feet. "That's it. I know what to do."
Satisfaction colored Rhiannon's smile. "What?"
The glow in the cave seemed to brighten. The chill that had haunted his bones lifted, making him feel strong again for the first time in months. A warrior once more, he knew this was his last hope of regaining his soul half.
He reached for the yellowed scroll that he always kept with him, the one that had contained the original spell Rhiannon had used to bring Megan to him.
With trembling fingers, he unrolled it.
The parchment was no longer blank. One word was written there, one word in a flowing script that told him his instincts were right.
Love.
The most powerful magic of all.
Rhiannon bent her head to listen as he told her what he believed he must do.
/>
Together they watched as the words to the spell formed on the scroll.
#
That night, Megan's dreams were full of Kenric. Him holding her in his arms, covering her mouth with his, telling her to wait for him, that he would find a way to reach her.
When she opened her eyes that morning, it was not to Rune. Instead, it was to an empty hospital room full of soul-less machines and smelling faintly of disinfectant.
"Good morning!" The young nurse, way too cheerful for six a.m., pulled open the curtains. "Looks like we're in for a storm today."
Outside the morning sky looked gray, turbulent clouds blocking out any bit of sunlight. Biting her lower lip, Megan blinked back tears as she remembered that final battle, when they had vanquished Myrddin once and for all. And then she had been ripped away from the only man she'd ever love.
"I think the doctor might let you go home today."
Megan nodded, her throat too tight to speak. Since they had unhooked all the machines the night before, she'd guessed she'd be released soon.
The nurse, perhaps seeing something in Megan's face, left without another word.
Lightening flashed in the distance, followed seconds later by the crash of thunder. A surge of energy went through her, a powerful jolt that reminded her of the bolt of lightning that had sent her to Kenric initially. Would she always react so to lightning? She sighed.
But something had changed. She sat up. Was it her imagination, or did her hospital room seem to be filling with swirling mist? Heart pounding, she swing her legs over the side of the bed and clutched her hospital gown closed.
Something was happening. She blinked, holding her breath, daring to hope.
A man materialized out of the shadows, taking shape slowly. A tall, muscular man, a beautiful warrior from another time and place.
Kenric! He held out his arms in welcome.
With a glad cry, she moved towards him.
"You." A voice snarled from the doorway. "So you're the one who poisoned her against me."
Megan froze mid-step, her heart skipping a beat.
Roger.
Kenric's beloved gaze met hers, steady and sure. In one stride he reached her, pulling her close with his massive arms, telling her without words that he would protect her if need be.
For a moment she allowed herself to relax into his embrace. It was tempting, so tempting to let him shelter her. The woman she had once been would have accepted gladly, shaking with sheer terror.
But Megan was no longer afraid.
She kissed Kenric lightly, and turned, stepping out of his arms to face Roger.
"Roger, go away. I’ve already told you--"
"You are mine." Though Roger snarled at Megan, he watched only Kenric. "Mine."
"No, I’m not." She spoke calmly, her voice steady. "I've already told you that I can't marry you."
Outside, the storm continued to rage. Lightening flashed and the accompanying thunder was so loud it shook the building.
“I’ll make you pay,” Roger said. “Both of you.”
Now Kenric stepped forward, so that he stood at her side. Still silent, he handed her the huge diamond ring that she'd given him so long ago as a token of her debt to him.
Finally. They’d come full circle. Now, once she’d wrapped up all loose ends, they could go back and complete their life together.
"Here’s your ring back, Roger." She held it out, pleased that her hand didn’t shake as she prayed he’d simply take it and leave. "Please go."
Eying the ring, Roger hesitated. His austere features grim, his jaw worked as he contemplated his options. The way he clenched and unclenched his fists told Megan how much he'd like to hurt her, to hit her and make her pay.
Once she would have cringed - bracing herself for the blow. But not now, no longer. Never again.
With Kenric solid behind her, she tossed the ring to Roger. He caught it easily, closing his hand around it tightly.
"Go." Kenric spoke for the first time, sounding controlled, full of unshakable authority. "Leave peacefully while you can."
Roger drew himself up, looking even more like a close shaven Myrddin than ever. "And if I don't?" His voice, though smooth as silk, contained a vague threat, a hint of violence.
Kenric sighed. "Megan and I belong to each other now. You have no further claim over her. I have no wish to fight you for something that can never be."
"Fight me?" Roger laughed. From his suit coat pocket he pulled out a small black gun. "It won't be much of a fight, since I have this. It's no contest, buddy. No contest at all."
A chill snaking up her spine, Megan took a step forward, moving slowly, careful not to attract Roger's attention. Once again, she was reminded of Myrddin and his evil magic.
Now Roger radiated the same darkness, though he held a pistol rather than magic.
There would be another final battle. She had the eerie feeling of reliving the same event over, in a different time against a different opponent. In both dimensions, this issue had to be resolved.
There in Rune, she'd merely been a small part of it. This time, she would stand alone. This time, she would have to fight. Kenric and his magic would be no match against a weapon of which he had no knowledge, no match against the deadly killing accuracy of a pistol.
She took a deep breath, drawing strength from the memory of the love that had filled her when they had fought Myrddin. She was ready.
"Don't do it, Roger." Voice steady, she banished the quick jab of fear she felt as Roger turned his head to glare at her. "It will ruin you, destroy everything - your business, your reputation, your life. Do you really want to throw it all away? For nothing?"
"Nothing?" His laugh chilled her blood. "Without your money, it's all gone anyway. You are mine, Megan. Mine, understand?"
Once again, it was all about the money. Not about love. Roger had never loved her. She wondered if he was even capable of feeling the emotion.
Bravely, she took another step forward. If she could put herself in front of Kenric, she might be able to stop Roger, to make him go away. "I never changed my will."
At her softly voiced comment, Roger's eyes narrowed. "I know. That's why I've taken steps to have you declared incompetent. As your fiancé, I have that right."
Then he would control her money. It was a brilliant plan.
"Enough." Kenric growled. "You no longer have any rights to Megan. Now take your toy and go."
"My toy?" Momentary confusion darkened Roger's expression, but it cleared as Kenric again moved to Megan's side, making it easy for him to keep them both covered by his gun. "You're as crazy as she is. Good riddance to both of you . Now, you both have to die."
"You'll never get away with it." Megan lifted her chin. “We’re in the hospital. They’ll either surround you or shoot you down before you make it to the lobby. You won’t stand a chance.”
Unfazed, Roger chuckled. "Ah, but there you're wrong, Megan my dear. "Especially when I get injured trying to keep my crazy fiancée from killing her new boyfriend with the weird clothes and long hair."
Then she knew what he meant to do. Shoot Kenric and make it look like she had done it. Because his name carried a lot of weight in prominent Dallas circles, no doubt the authorities would believe him.
She couldn't let him do it.
Roger brought the gun up to bear on Kenric.
Kenric muttered a string of unintelligible words.
Megan threw herself forward.
Lightening flashed. Thunder boomed.
Mist swirled up to fill the room.
The gun went off.
And Kenric and Megan vanished.
CHAPTER TWENTY
"Megan. My love."
As if from a long way off, Megan heard Kenric calling her name. She shivered at the emotion she heard in his deep voice, oddly hoarse, fearful and tender all at the same time.
There should have been more pain. Instead, she felt as if she were floating. None of it made sense. When she'd throw
n herself in front of Kenric, she’d felt the bullet graze her shoulder. She'd heard Roger's shout of triumph change to shock, heard Kenric's cry as the spell he'd uttered took effect too late to save her from being hit.
"I love you."
Those words had her opening her eyes. "Kenric?"
His grin was lopsided, full of more sorrow than joy.
"Aye, my Megan.” With hands that visibly shook, he touched her, his fingers coming away red. “Tell me what manner of magic did he use on you, so that Rhiannon and her council may say a spell to counteract it?"
"Spell?" Confused, she tried to peer through the haze that seemed to be clouding her eyes, trying to make out his beloved features. For the first time she became aware that his tunic was blood-stained.
"Did it hit you?" She gasped, horribly aware that her last ditch effort to protect him might have failed.
"No." Rhiannon appeared, her expression worried. "The blood you see is your own. We have found a scrape on your shoulder, but nothing to show what caused it. I cleaned it and it bleeds very little now."
Megan sat up, her dizziness lessening. "The bullet only grazed me, I think." She looked up at Kenric, startled to see a single, silver tear travel slowly down one rugged cheek.
"Kenric..." With a trembling hand, she reached up and wiped it away. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Cradling her in his arms, Kenric swallowed, visibly composing himself before he spoke. "I spoke a spell to bring us back here, but I feared it was too late. Your Roger fired his strange weapon and hit you instead of me."
Relieved that he was not hurt, Megan nodded.
"You put your body in front of mine." He sounded suddenly fierce, though his voice still came out rusty. "Why would you do such a thing?"
She winced as pain hit her. “Because I love you,” she whispered. “And I couldn’t let him hurt you.”
"I love you too, my Megan." Again he said the words that she’d waited to long to hear, though this time Megan saw no sorrow or fear in his handsome face. Instead she saw the dawning of joy, and pride, and the sensual beginnings of the powerful heat the two of them felt when they were together.
Powerful Magic Page 27