by Opal Carew
In the kitchen, she poured some red wine from the bottle she kept aside for Rand and a glass of diet Coke for herself. When she returned to the living room, she handed him his glass, then sat down on the couch. Merlin uncoiled from his napping position on the hearth and arched his back in a long stretch. He sauntered toward her, then leaped onto the couch and stretched out on the cushion beside her. She stroked his head and he laid his chin on her leg and purred contentedly.
Rand placed his glass on the end table beside his chair and folded his hands in his lap.
“Do you mind if I choose where we go this evening?”
“Go?”
He raised his eyebrows. “It’s the third Thursday of the month.”
“It is?”
Rats. Even though Rand had reminded her only a few days ago, with all the confusion associated with Nyte’s appearance, she had totally forgotten. She and Rand always reserved one day a month to spend together.
“I’m sorry, Rand, I think we’d better postpone for a few weeks.”
His eyebrows arched. “Why?”
She gestured toward the den door. “I have a responsibility to Nyte. You know he’s suffering from amnesia, and he’s still getting his bearings. I can’t just go traipsing off and leave him--”
He leaned toward her. “It will only be a few hours. Surely he can take care of himself for that long.”
“Of course I can take care of myself,” Nyte’s voice cut in, “but if Lucinda doesn’t want to go out with you, you shouldn’t coerce her.”
Oh, damn. She glanced around to see Nyte stride into the room. He raised an eyebrow as he took in Rand’s altered form, and sent Lucinda a significant look. She was certain it was meant to remind her of his suggestion that Rand would attempt to take his relationship with Lucinda beyond friendship. He obviously thought that was why Rand had taken on this young, attractive shape. Her hands clenched tightly on the armrest. Could he be right?
“Nyte, please let me handle this.”
“All right.” He strolled to the window behind Rand and stood watching, like an ominous shadow in his black jeans and sweater, hair loose and flowing over his shoulders.
“Rand, let’s do it one day next week.”
“But I have somewhere special to take you tonight.”
The tightness in his voice, though barely perceptible, alerted her to his mood. His relaxed posture was only a facade, and she had a feeling he didn’t intend this to be an evening of simple entertainment.
He shifted forward in his chair, his gaze intent. “I need your opinion on something.”
He needed her opinion? He’d never said that before.
How could she turn him down? For years, they had maintained this one day each month as a special time to renew their friendship.
“Okay.” She glanced down at her bulky, denim blue, cable-knit sweater and faded blue jeans. “I’ll go change.”
“Lucinda,” Nyte’s protesting voice broke in. “You aren’t really going with him? He’s been interfering from the beginning, and now--”
She turned to him. “Nyte, Rand is my friend, and this is my decision.”
Her determined gaze held his until the simmering anger in his eyes cooled to resignation.
“Of course,” he said finally.
“Wear something warm,” Rand suggested.
As she headed for the stairs, she wondered what kind of place Rand had in mind.
In her bedroom, she pulled on a pair of black wool slacks and a purple, lacy knit sweater. She opened her jewelry box and selected the dragon pendant suspended on a silver chain that Randalph had given her last Christmas. She fastened it around her neck and checked her reflection in the mirror. A quick brush through her hair and she was ready to go.
When she returned to the living room, both men sat stiffly waiting for her. Nyte took in her outfit with a quick sweep of his gaze, and then his lips tightened into a straight line. Suddenly, the pants seemed too snug and the sweater too formfitting. Distractedly, she toyed with the winged dragon pendant.
“Nice necklace,” Nyte observed.
Lucinda’s gaze lanced to Rand, praying he wouldn’t mention it was a gift from him. “Yes, I like it.”
Nyte stepped toward her and his fingers lightly brushed her chest as he picked up the pendant. Awareness sizzled through her, which she was certain Nyte intended. He wanted her to be intimately aware of her overwhelming attraction to him, and her lack of physical attraction to Rand.
“What is the dragon holding?”
She stared at the half inch rectangular stone clutched in the dragon’s claws. “It’s an emerald-cut ametrine. Half purple amethyst and half yellow citrine.” The effect of the single stone blending from yellow to purple was stunning. “It combines the properties of both gems--power and creativity.”
Of course, it was much more complex than that, but she’d learned long ago that most people didn’t enjoy hearing in great detail about the properties of crystals. Why, she didn’t know.
Rand stood up and strode to the closet. He pulled open the door and grabbed her jacket, then held it for her to slip on. As she pushed her arms into the sleeves, she watched Nyte stroll toward the couch. As he sat down, Merlin trotted across the living room and leaped onto his lap.
“Don’t worry about me,” Nyte said.
Something about Nyte’s easygoing tone bothered her. It was too relaxed. He stroked Merlin’s head several times, then started scratching behind the cat’s ear. Lucinda could hear the purring from the door.
“This little fellow will keep me company.” He lifted his head and smiled at Lucinda with a devilish grin. “And if I get bored, I’ll practice the fireball spell you taught me this afternoon.”
The steady thrum of Merlin’s purr broke into a staticky crackle and his ears pivoted upright.
“I think it needs a little work,” Nyte continued.
Merlin, her cowardly cat, stared at her and mewed. He hated fire.
Oh, Merlin, you’ll be fine.
Nyte’s spell did not need work. Like everything else she’d taught him, he’d learned it the first time and been able to direct it with great accuracy.
Nyte stroked the length of Merlin’s back. “I think I could put a little more force behind them.”
More force? Merlin’s green gaze flicked to Nyte, then turned to Lucinda in appeal.
“I also saw a lighting bolt spell I might try.”
She clamped her hands together. “Nyte, I don’t think--”
Rand grasped her shoulder. “Lucinda, never mind this nonsense. We must go.”
Oh, sure. Fine for him to say. He didn’t risk returning to find his house a pile of cinders on the ground.
Merlin meowed in a rising note of desperation.
Well, what am I supposed to do? Rand needs me.
Rand took hold of her hand and drew her with him. As the air around them shimmered, then blurred, she saw Merlin’s fuzzy head plunk onto Nyte’s lap in resignation.
Lucinda relaxed her body as Rand carried her with him, wondering where he was taking her. Somewhere far, she realized, as she felt the tug of time and space catching on her heels.
After a few moments, the lightness left her body and she felt solid ground beneath her feet. The light of evening had faded to darkness and it took a few moments for her eyes to adjust.
“Where are we?”
“Delphi.”
He’d taken her to Greece? Why here? Light from the waning moon glazed the towering ruins around them, lending an eerie quality to the scene.
It had been a long time since she’d been to Delphi. She wished she could see the spectacular view that lay below the mountain, but it was lost in the depths of the night.
Rand had brought her here during her own training, centuries ago. From her first step onto this mountain, she had been moved by the power inherent in everything around her, but especially from the deeply stirring core.
The Oracle of Delphi.
She felt it now,
percolating through her, an invigorating, exciting sense of power.
Rand took her hand. “This way.” They meandered further up the mountain.
“Why have you brought me here, Rand?” She kept a steady eye on where and how she stepped.
“I wanted you to feel it for yourself.”
“Feel what?” She felt the power of the Oracle, just as she had both times she’d been here before, but as unusual as that was, it wasn’t new.
“I’ll show you.”
They continued their trek upward until they stood before a leveled building. Moonlight glistened along the flat surface of the bared floor.
The temple of Apollo. Or rather, what remained of it.
She could feel the energy emanating from it. The force pressed against her like the brush of a bird’s wing.
The ancient Greeks had believed the Oracle could provide answers about the future. Many journeyed long distances to seek the advice of the Oracle.
Today, scientists marveled at the strange magnetic fields in the area. It was a mystery even to the wizards. Rand had explained to her that this area had something to do with the spawning of the first wizards, but he had always been vague about it. She suspected he didn’t know the true story.
That’s probably why she didn’t come here often. She didn’t like mysteries.
Her own life was already too much of one.
Rand walked around the perimeter of the temple, as though inspecting the foundation. After one pass, he returned to her side.
“I noticed a change in the energy around the Oracle about three years ago. Whether it’s a fundamental change to the Oracle’s energy, or an additional force combining with it, I can’t tell.”
“Why haven’t you mentioned this before?” She stared at the building, trying to sense something different.
“Before it was a mild concern, something I kept an eye on.” He sighed and leaned against one of the tall pillars. “Over the past few days, the change has accelerated.”
“The past few days? You mean, since Nyte arrived?” She planted her hands on her hips. “Rand, is this some kind of scheme to--”
He grasped her shoulders. “Lucinda, the power increase is not a natural phenomenon.”
“That doesn’t mean Nyte had anything to do with it.”
He released her, his mouth set in a tight line. “Are you saying it’s a coincidence?”
He stared at her, his blue eyes intense, waiting for her to arrive at some conclusion, she realized. It didn’t take her long. Rand had always told her coincidences didn’t really exist. The universe used the seemingly accidental incidents to draw a person’s attention to something.
“Okay. So he arrived and one of the world’s great natural wonders changed in a fundamental way. I can’t deny it must have some relationship to Nyte’s arrival. But is it really that significant? I mean, I know I haven’t been here for a long time, but it can’t have been that dramatic a change. I can’t sense anything more than--”
“Wait.” Rand moved his hands over Lucinda’s head, deep concentration lining his features. He cupped his hands and drew them in an arc downward, as through placing a protective spell over her. The air around her seemed to vibrate, causing a throbbing in her ears. Not of pain, but pressure. She realized he wasn’t erecting a protective shield, but peeling one away.
Her skin felt cold then hot then cold again. Energy pulsed against her like the beat of a thousand hummingbirds’ wings. Her equilibrium wavered. Rand’s arm linked around hers, and his other hand grasped her elbow to steady her.
“Sit,” he directed, leading her to a large, flat-topped stone. “I protected you from the energy so it wouldn’t overwhelm you when we first arrived. You’ll get used to it in a moment.”
She concentrated on deep breathing and allowed the energy to flow through her rather than trying to fight it. After a few moments, she no longer felt like a window with sleet pelting against it. The thrum of the energy still echoed through her, but she could cope now.
She had never experienced anything like this before.
“What do you think it is, Rand?”
“It would be a formidable power source, if someone knew how to tap it.”
“Power source for what?”
A shadow haunted the depths of his eyes. “If it’s Nyte’s, I’d be afraid to even guess.”
“Rand, it doesn’t make sense that Nyte has anything to do with this. He has amnesia--”
“Or so he told you.”
“--and he’s just learning to use his powers.”
“Lucinda, why do you keep defending him?” The fierce emotion in his eyes startled her. “You took him into your home even though I warned you he was dangerous. You insist on helping him when--”
She stood up and walked toward him. “You know I couldn’t leave him to fend for himself. Even if I hadn’t received The Call to help him. Not in his condition. I couldn’t do that to anyone.”
Silence hung between them, or as close to it as possible with the thrum of energy permeating the air around them.
“You did it to me--when you decided not to believe my story,” Rand said.
His words, low and filled with pain, told her more clearly than any explanation, how badly she’d hurt him.
“Rand, I never meant to hurt you. I... .”
She what? She’d chosen between duty and heeding Rand’s warning. She’d made the only choice she could. A choice she thought he’d understand.
“You chose him. How could that not hurt me?” Blue fire raged in his eyes.
When she’d chosen to train Nyte, despite Rand’s warning, he’d taken it as a rejection. How could she let him know how much she valued his friendship and still satisfy her duty to follow The Call and train Nyte?
As if it was as simple as that. She cared deeply for Rand, her closest friend and confidant. And she had a tangled mass of growing feelings for Nyte. She’d been trying to convince herself it was just lust, but Nyte stirred something far too potent in her to be shrugged away as something so shallow.
She couldn’t turn her back on Nyte, and if Rand were truly her friend he would understand that.
“I know you have some reason to distrust Nyte, but I can’t let that stop me from doing what I have to do.” She rested her hand on Rand’s arm. “But, Rand, that doesn’t mean I don’t treasure our friendship. You should know that.”
He clamped his fingers around her shoulders. “And you should understand that I can’t stand by and watch you be hurt by Nyte.”
“I guess we’re at an impasse.”
“That’s why I brought you here.” Rand tightened his grasp on her. “I’m going to prove to you that Nyte killed Clarissa in cold blood. Then maybe you’ll believe he is dangerous.”
“How are you going to do that?” She couldn’t conceive of what proof Rand might offer that would convince her.
“I’m going to use the energy of the Oracle to take us back in time.”
Her eyes widened. “Back in time? That far?”
She had toyed with time travel spells before. Short distances, like days or weeks, weren’t too bad, but moving anything more than a year took a vast amount of power, and Rand was talking about centuries. What he suggested seemed impossible.
“There are legends that, with enough power, wizards can break the spatial and time barriers we’ve experienced and travel unimaginable distances,” Rand explained.
“Legends? Rand, you’re the oldest wizard on Earth. You make the legends.”
He released his grip on her shoulders and sighed. The look in his eyes warned he was about to reveal something momentous.
“Lucinda, I believe wizards visited Earth long before I was born.”
“Visited? From where?”
He waved his hand at the night sky. “From out there.”
She glanced at the wash of stars streaking the night sky, a milky swarm of potential worlds that could sustain intelligent life.
“You mean space travelers?”
“Why not? If humans can travel to the moon, why can’t wizards cross the distances between the stars?”
“I guess.”
“And if we can do that, journeying back twelve centuries should be no problem at all.”
* * * *
Lucinda and Rand decided to return to her house to collect a few useful items to help in their journey. She didn’t want to draw Nyte’s attention, so she sensed where he was in the house then, when she was sure the den was clear of his presence, they materialized there. She switched on the light and sighed in relief to see her house still stood in one piece.
She was relieved to be away from the constant thrum of energy around the Oracle. Home felt so much brighter and warmer after the cold moonlit-marble feel of Delphi. She smiled at the view of her familiar white bookshelves filled with her many books on magic and healing. She dug her fingers into one of the bowls full of small crystals on the shelf below her collection of pewter fantasy figures. She scooped up a handful of stones and allowed them to draw away the excess energy causing her to be so off center.
She crossed the room and, as quietly as she could, opened the door a crack and peered into the living room to ensure they hadn’t disturbed Nyte. She didn’t want to explain what Rand intended to do. It sounded too much like she didn’t believe Nyte’s story. And she didn’t want to be waylaid by an argument between the two men. Nyte sat in the lounge chair beside the fireplace reading a book, Merlin curled up in his lap. She closed the door and turned back to Rand. He handed her the zippered canvas bag she kept in one of the boxes on the shelves. She took it and used it to collect together the things they needed. A half dozen clear quartz points, a variety of colored crystals, a few amulets, and her spell book.
“Don’t forget your crystal ball,” Rand suggested.
She crossed to the table where the six inch sphere stood on a stand of pewter sculpted into three dragons.
“Mrreow.”
Lucinda held her breath as she turned around, expecting to see that Nyte had accompanied Merlin to the door. But Merlin stood alone, having pushed through the cat door, and stared at her with the curiosity that felines were known for.