A Kind of Magic

by Donna Grant

  Roderick took a step toward Alex when he spotted the ray gun.

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  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Elle came awake slowly to the feel of water on her back. It took her a moment to realize that it wasn’t water but snow beneath her. She tried to sit up and nearly groaned at the pain lancing through her skull from Alex’s hit.

  Muffled talking reached her, and she opened her eyes to the loveliest sight in the world. Roderick.

  How he had gotten there and when didn’t matter. He was here. He had come for her. Maybe it wasn’t because he cared about her, but because it was his duty, but that didn’t matter. He was there. That was enough.

  Then she realized what they were saying. Alex called her weak again, yet Roderick had called her the strongest woman he had ever met.

  Warmth grew inside of her that pushed away the iciness of the snow. Slowly, she climbed to her feet, careful not to draw attention to herself. She had no wish to have Alex’s gaze on her again, nor did she want Roderick to worry about her. If he thought she was still unconscious, then he would fight better.

  And then she saw it. The gun, and by the rigid stance of Roderick, that weapon meant something to him. She thought back over the many times he had fought, and never once had he been afraid. He was immortal. Only the ray from .…

  Her thought drifted away as she looked at the weapon again. A gun, but different.

  It had to be the kind that could kill him.

  The warmth that had enfolded her seeped away, leaving her as cold as death.

  There was no way she would allow Roderick to die. Not for her. What he did was too important for the survival of his planet as well as Earth.

  Because of her love for him, she would do whatever it took to keep him alive.

  * * * *

  Roderick halted instantly. The same weapon that had killed his brother was about to end his life. He eyed the nasty weapon, then raised his gaze to Alex.

  “Where did you come by that?”

  Alex shrugged and laughed. “Its amazing what my master can get hold of when he wants to.”

  “Are you going to play with it all day, or use it?”

  Roderick waited for his taunt to spur the bastard on. The flail in his hand swung on the chain as Roderick began to move his hand. He braced his feet apart, waiting for the attack. Behind him, he heard the battle cries of Val, Hugh, and the knights as they raced towards the cottage, but Roderick never took his eyes from Alex.

  “Kaleno,” Alex yelled as he raised the ray gun towards Roderick.

  The world seemed to slow to an unnatural crawl. Roderick could hear the drops of snow as they fell to the ground from the snow laden limbs. At his back, he heard the A KIND OF MAGIC

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  whoosh of the blade as a sword cut through air.

  His gaze stayed on Alex though. The bastard let out a great rush of air that slowly billowed around him just before his finger moved toward the trigger that would end Roderick’s life.

  To his left, the snow crunched as someone moved toward him. He realized too late it was Elle. And he knew what she was about to do. His heart screamed for her to stay, but he didn’t utter a word. Instead, he crouched and released his flail as he heard Elle approach. The rush of his blood hissed in his ears, and fear engulfed him.

  With only mere moments in which to pull Elle out of the way of the laser, Roderick moved his left arm and grasped her to him. Just as Alex squeezed the trigger, Roderick turned to protect his woman.

  He heard the scream of the ray as it left the gun and shot towards him. A cry tore from his throat at the raw pain that penetrated his body. He lowered his head to look at Elle. She was so beautiful, so pure and full of passion. He was going to miss her.

  Her eyes widened as his weight began to fall on her. Blackness began to fill his eyes until only Elle was left.

  “Love you,” he managed to get out as he closed his eyes.

  * * * *

  Elle toppled with Roderick, screaming his name over and over. Something warm and sticky coated her hand, and she didn’t need to see it to know it was blood.

  Roderick’s blood.

  With more strength than she knew she had, she managed to turn Roderick on his back and lean over him. She didn’t heed the tears that ran down her face or the battle that raged behind her. Or even Alex.

  Her only thought was Roderick.

  He breathed but barely. It was as if the life drained out of him with every breath.

  She laid her head on his chest and listened to his faint heartbeat. It wasn’t supposed to be him lying there, but her. How had he known what she intended?

  With her eyes closed she recalled his last words.

  Love you.

  He loved her. And Alex had killed him.

  Rage took the place of grief as she raised her head to glare at Alex. “You will pay for that,” she said between clenched teeth.

  He laughed and shrugged. “Who will make me pay? You? I doubt it.”

  “We’ll

  see.”

  She had taken only two steps before Alex lunged at her face with his meaty fist.

  Somehow, she managed to duck in time. There was no way she could compete with him without a weapon, and he knew it.

  Elle cursed and looked around for a weapon. She saw Roderick’s flail and his sword, neither of which could do her any good since she couldn’t pick them up, much less use them. How she wished she had her bow.

  And then she saw it strapped to Roderick’s stallion.

  She glanced at Alex to see him raise the gun at her. Without another thought, she ran towards the horse, grabbed her bow and arrows, and rolled just as he let loose the first A KIND OF MAGIC

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  shot.

  Her flesh stung where the laser skimmed her, but she shook off the pain and climbed to her feet.

  “You were lucky that time,” Alex taunted. “You won’t be again.”

  Elle merely smiled as she notched an arrow.

  He laughed and raised the gun. “A bow? Really, Elle. I’ll fire off two shots before you even think of releasing that arrow.”

  “Let us see, shall we?” she asked.

  She didn’t wait for him to respond as she lifted her bow and took aim. Once she had him in her sights, she released the arrow the same time he fired his first shot.

  Having no other recourse than to dive to the side to miss the laser, Elle didn’t know if she had found her mark or not. She came to her feet to see Alex still standing, and she cursed her uselessness of the bow.

  Then, the most amazing thing happened. Alex fell backwards, never to move again.

  Elle blinked and started towards him. She notched another arrow just in case, but when she reached him, there was no doubt he was dead.

  Yet there was no time to rejoice as the sounds of the fighting reached her. Elle looked up to see several of the knights dead and Val and Hugh covered in blood as they battled the harpy alone.

  Several crossbow bolts protruded from Kaleno’s body, but they didn’t affect her at all. Another one landed in her wing, and that’s when Elle spotted Mina hiding behind the stack of wood.

  Val never said a word to her, but he gave Elle a look that sent her into action. She jerked as if shot and looked down at Alex. The stone still hung around his neck. She knelt and yanked the necklace off, then looked around for something to smash the stone.

  Panic set in as she realized there wasn’t anything. Then she spotted Roderick’s sword. She pulled the massive sword out of its sheath and set the stone on the ground amidst the snow. Quickly, she jerked up her skirt and wrapped it around both hands as she reached for the sword again.

  She turned the sword so that the blade faced the sky and the hilt was turned down.

  With a deep breath, she lifted the sword and glanced toward Kaleno. The harpy slowly turned towards Elle, saw was she
was about, and lowered her arms. Kaleno gave a small nod of her head to Elle.

  Elle swallowed and stared at the creature for a moment. Kaleno knew she was about to die and faced it without fear. Elle plunged the hilt toward the stone and saw Kaleno burst into flames.

  Light erupted as the stone shattered, throwing Elle back. She covered her eyes as the light blazed around her and then fizzled away.

  “Elle,”

  Mina

  shouted.

  She opened her eyes to see Mina running towards her, but all Elle cared about was Roderick. She turned onto her right side to find him next to her. Her hand reached out and clasped his normally warm hand that was now nearly as cold as her own.

  “Don’t leave me,” she whispered as the others reached her.

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  She let Mina help her to her knees as Val and Hugh tended to Roderick. Elle didn’t feel any pain as Mina pulled away the bloody scraps of her skirt from her hands.

  “Is he … gone?” she finally asked the men.

  Hugh raised his gaze. “Nay, and I won’t let him.”

  “Into the cottage,” Val shouted as he hefted Roderick’s weight onto his shoulders.

  Elle followed them into the cottage. She refused to let Roderick out of her sight.

  “Sit,” Mina told her after she had closed the door and bolted it.

  Elle did as commanded.

  “I need some water,” Val called out.

  Elle jumped to do it, only to have Mina’s hand on her shoulder. “How will you carry it?”

  “By

  my

  hands.”

  Mina raised a brow, which caused Elle to look down. Her hands were covered in blood. Her blood. Despite her protection against the sword blade by her skirt, it hadn’t saved her.

  “Stay here,” Mina said as she rushed to help the men.

  Elle’s hands began to shake. Not because of her injuries, she could care less about that, but because she could lose Roderick. The pain that thought brought her was too much to bear. She felt the weight of it on her shoulders and knew she couldn’t withstand it. It would crush her, and she would welcome it. A life without Roderick wasn’t worth living.

  How much time elapsed with Val and Hugh working to save Roderick, Elle didn’t know. All she knew is that she prayed every second of that time for his life to be spared.

  Even when Val and Hugh finished with Roderick and then came to tend her hands, she continued to pray.

  “He can’t die,” she said.

  Val turned her head until she looked at him. “Don’t give up on him.”

  “Never,” she vowed.

  “This might hurt,” Hugh warned as he turned her hand and picked up a bottle.

  Elle shrugged. After what Roderick had done, she would endure physical pain of any kind.

  Hugh poured the bottle over her wounds, and, though she fought to stay awake, she succumbed to the blackness that called to her.

  Val caught Elle just as she slumped over the chair. He pushed her hair away from her face, amazed at her bravery.

  “She

  killed

  Alex.”

  Mina nodded. “And destroyed the stone.”

  “By herself,” Hugh added.

  Val held her as Hugh finished bandaging her cuts, and then he picked her up and carried her to where Roderick lay. Gently, Val laid Elle beside his friend and stepped back.

  “I’ll forever be thankful that Gabriel left some of his herbs. Without them, we might not have been able to save Roderick.”

  Hugh sighed. “There’s still a chance he won’t survive.”

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  “He has to. Elle will never forgive herself otherwise.”

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  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Roderick turned toward the warmth and hissed at the jolt of pain in his side. His entire body ached, as if he had been beaten to an inch of his life.

  Or shot with a laser gun.

  His eyes flew open as he recalled everything that had happened. With his heart hammering in dread, he looked around at the cottage and saw Val slumped over the table by the hearth. A soft moan beside him turned his gaze, and he nearly cried out with joy.

  “Elle,” he whispered.

  “I’m glad to see you are coming back to us.”

  Roderick lifted his gaze to find Aimery standing beside the bed. “Was it close?”

  “Closer than I, or Elle, would have liked. I’m glad to say you are both doing fine now.”

  “Both?” Roderick repeated and tried to sit up so he could see where she was injured.

  Aimery reached out and pushed him back down. “Not yet. You’re wound is still too new. You’ll be proud of your woman.”

  Just hearing the words from Aimery’s mouth brought a flush of delight to Roderick. “Why?”

  “She not only killed Alex herself, but she destroyed the stone.”

  “Alone?” Roderick couldn’t believe it.

  Aimery nodded. “Alone. She took your sword and hit the stone with the hilt.”

  Roderick’s eyes jerked to her hands atop the covers, bandaged and unmoving.

  “Were the cuts deep?”

  “Deep enough,” Hugh said as he joined Aimery. “She used her skirt to try and shield her hands, but it only did so much. You should have seen her. It was amazing.”

  He smiled as he gazed at his woman. “I wish I could have.” His smile faltered.

  He looked at Aimery and swallowed. “My father?”

  “Is doing much better,” he answered. “We had a nice long talk, and he wishes to see you. Very soon.”

  Roderick sighed. “When I’m closer to learning the answer to stopping this madness.”

  “I think you should go once you are healed. Your family needs you.”

  “The Shields need me,” Roderick argued.

  “What of Elle?” Hugh asked.

  Roderick hadn’t had time to think beyond killing the harpies. Now that the mission was over, he needed to think about what his plans were.

  And he needed to talk to Elle.

  * * * *

  Elle fought against the receding blackness. She had no desire to face the world A KIND OF MAGIC

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  again. Not yet. Not without Roderick.

  Yet, whether she wanted to or not, she was awake. She kept her eyes closed and moved her legs. She was in a bed, and by her guess it was at the cottage. That had only one bed.

  Before she let herself think beyond that, she turned her head and opened her eyes.

  She was alone in the bed, and since there was no way Roderick could be up so soon after such a wound, that left only one answer.

  He hadn’t survived.

  The pain that lanced through her brought a flood of tears. She turned her face into the pillow and cried at losing Roderick, at never telling him how she felt, and at not having a future with him at her side.

  Hands gripped her shoulders, but she pushed them away. She needed time to grieve … alone. And nothing Val or Hugh could say would help to lessen her pain.

  “Elle.”

  Her heart stopped, and her eyes flew open. Slowly, she turned toward the voice and soaked up the sight of Roderick. Tears began again at the realization that she hadn’t lost him.

  “I

  thought….”

  He nodded. “I know. I’m not, however.”

  “Thank God,” she said and sat up. “How?”

  “Gabriel’s herbs. Hugh and Mina brought them with them just in case.”

  “Well, I’m glad they did,” she said. “It saved your life.”

  “And your hands,” he said as he looked down.

  Elle studied her hands and shrugged. “It’s a small price to pay to end the evil.”

  She raised her gaze to him. Aft
er all that she had been through, gained, and nearly lost, the fear she had lived with nearly all her life was gone.

  It was either ask now or wonder forever. So, she took a deep breath and asked,

  “Did you mean what you said?”

  His brows furrowed. “When?”

  “Right before you passed out.”

  His forehead smoothed out, and he smiled. “You mean, the ‘I love you’ part?”

  “Yes,” she said and swallowed hard. She might tell herself her fear was gone, but directly asking Roderick left her feeling as though she was falling into a pit of nothingness.