“No, your beast will have its own cycle, and it will make itself known with a dramatic increase in libido and that will erode your ability to make proper decisions. That is what the pride is handy for; they help weed out unsuitable men and protect you during that time.”
“I can take care of myself.”
He glanced at her, reached into his pocket and handed her a card. “This is the number of a transporter who can send you to the Crossroads. If you don’t want to go to the pride, you will have to find someone, and the Crossroads is an excellent place to find a match. Those who work there will make sure you are safe and that no one takes advantage.”
She took the heavy cream card and nodded. “Thank you. How much does it cost?”
“I will make some calls. Amelia likes you, and she doesn’t like most strangers. You will have a fully paid stay for six days. After that, you are on your own bill.”
She cocked her head. “Why are you offering me this?”
“Because you don’t have anyone and that was the situation Lee was in when I met her. She had someone who was willing to send her to the Crossroads on the off chance she could find someone, and she found me. It was the best day of my life, and I would never wish for anything different. If you can make that change to someone else’s life, I consider it a worthy investment.”
She blinked and a tear crept down her cheek. “I will keep it in mind.”
“Good. Google the signs of heat in a lioness. Check yourself every few days. If you woke up after a lifetime dormancy, heat is not too far behind.”
Anessa nodded and kept her hands in her lap for the rest of the way to the bus station. The entire way home on the bus, she stared at the card with the number on it. No name, just a number. Her instincts told her that that number was going to be very important.
Chapter Four
To Evan’s relief, she returned to the shop the next day. Everything went back to her normal rhythm, but she now had much more time in her afternoons.
Unable simply to give up, she had put herself on the bottom of the volunteer roster. Eventually, she would make her way back to the big cats, if she had patience.
Anessa bought a spell-testing kit from the shop and took it home on her first day back. She carefully followed the directions and tapped the dust into the sample area of the kit. With her safety goggles on, she put a drop of the diagnostic potion on the sample.
There was a bright flash and a puff of smoke. Coughing, she quickly slipped the identifier slip onto the smear of ash. It turned a strange combination of goldenrod and silver.
The spell key was a foldout piece of paper that expanded to fill her coffee table. The goldenrod meant it was a fey spell, and the silver...
She looked through all the tiny squares of colour and finally found the speck of silver. “Sleep?”
Anessa cleaned up the kit and samples, burning it all in a bowl. Having her superintendent digging through her stuff would be awkward if he found the kit. It looked like a drug kit if you didn’t look closely at the directions.
Wondering what kind of sleep spell it was, she finished her bookkeeping and looked at the list of her clients. They were all doing well enough now to hire actual accountants to work on their books. Some were even doing exceptionally well. Perhaps it was time to let them go.
She wanted to travel; she wanted to be somewhere else and out of a city. It was a new impulse, but she had enough money to start over and buy a small house elsewhere. She could find something to do for a living outside the city, she always did.
Just like that, she decided to jump. All her clients’ books were up to date for the month, so it was the perfect time to hand them off.
It wasn’t a pleasant evening, but she told them that she was in desperate need of a vacation and that she didn’t know if she was coming back. She recommended local accountants and promised to return all outstanding receipts the following day so that their records could be kept together.
The moment she finished her calls, she felt lighter. With a happy sigh, she made up the envelopes with the receipts and a CD copy of the current accounts. The stack of envelopes was ready to take with her in the morning and her life was markedly simpler already.
It was a good feeling when she headed to bed and one less thing was hanging over her.
With all of her books handed off to their respective businesses, she did an inventory of the shop. There was a bit of shrinkage on the fur, but she thought that Evan might just be parcelling out too much without measuring.
It was either that or he was handing it over to friends and not recording it. That had happened before.
She made note of it and then went on to housekeeping. She swept up a large amount of fine dust, and she paused. Kneeling, she touched the dust and rubbed it through her fingers. She knew that texture. Leroc had been here.
She gathered the dust in the dustpan and dumped it out the front door to disperse it through the air.
A familiar presence was behind her. She put the broom and dustpan down, turning toward him. “Good afternoon, Leroc.”
He inclined his head. “Good afternoon, Anessa. I see you have completed your training.”
“I have. I have access to her and as much control as she would let me have. And by she, I mean my beast.”
“A lioness. A large, lovely lioness. Well done.”
She chuckled and started to wipe the counter. “It was not a choice.”
“Well, you inhabit her very naturally.”
She smiled. “I cannot think that you are here just to compliment me on my agility-course work.”
“I am not. I would like to invite you to the Crossroads.”
She blinked at the words out of his mouth. “The Crossroads?”
“Yes. I have been told that my match is going to be there, and so, I would like you to make your way so that the seers’ prediction will come true.” He smiled slightly.
The thought was bright and tempting, but she said, “I don’t know about that. I mean, we spark when we touch.”
“That would be mitigated by the spells they have access to.”
“Mitigated?”
“They call it balancing. Half my magic to you and half of yours to me.” His smile was coaxing. “All who saw you from that point on would think you an elf.”
“And what would they think of you?”
He bowed low. “That I was the most fortunate of men to have won the heart of so fair a lady.”
Anessa smirked. “Very nicely done. I am the queen of normal, and I know it.”
Her very nature embraced the fact that she was normal. Brown hair, brown eyes and normally beige skin. Nothing about her was exceptional, not her body, not her mind. She was the poster girl for normal. The only thing odd about her was her discovery in a hospital with no trace of where she had come from or who she had come from.
Her origin was the only exceptional thing about her.
“You consider yourself normal?” He raised his brows.
“I do. By human standards, I am very normal.”
He grinned. “You are working in a spell-supply shop.”
She shrugged. “I would have to work in some kind of shop.”
He extended a card. “If you do go to the Crossroads, call me. The fey government is picking up the tab for all women and men who are willing to make themselves available to the fey.”
She gingerly took the card, careful not to touch him. “Okay. I will consider it.”
“That is all I can ask.” He inclined his head and left the shop.
Anessa tucked the card in her bra and continued with her daily tasks.
She went to the order book and read the first few lines, gathering the order, wrapping it and labelling it for pickup or delivery. Humming to herself, she went through the order book and completed all the orders for the next few days. Each order was a combination of herbs, gems, powders, feathers or fur. Now and then, there was the clipping of claw or horn but nothing too large.
The
shop packaged everything in waxed paper bound with a gleaming cellophane cover and tied with butcher’s twine and a red wax seal. The addressee was carefully scripted on a small card and tied onto the twine. Anessa only did one order at a time. Mixing them up created odd results that she didn’t want to think about.
Two shifters came in to sell fur and claw trimmings. She looked down at the samples and she inhaled. Her scowl should have been able to peel paint.
“Well, I would love to purchase these samples from you, but they aren’t feline.” She nudged the claws. “These are canine claw trimmings, from a standard, un-magical dog.”
She tapped the fur on the other side. “This was taken from a fur coat. Not magical, not feline and not getting you anything.”
One of the young men put his hands down on the counter. They changed into claws and scraped against the wood. “We want Traff crystal.”
She blinked. “No.”
The other male showed tufted ears and a flattened nose. “Do it or we mess up that pretty face of yours.”
Anessa had two choices. She could hit the alarm and possibly be attacked, or she could jump the counter and thrash these two. She smiled and made up option three.
With her knee, she hit the alarm, sealing the shop. She jumped over the counter and grabbed each of the men by the throat, banging their heads together with a snarl.
To say they were surprised was a gross understatement. Shock was written in each pair of dazed eyes.
“You...you are not a mage.” The shifter who had marked up the counter said in a dazed manner.
Anessa didn’t say anything. She held them down until the shimmer of assistance arrived. One man and one woman from the guild appeared and raised their brows.
Anessa sighed. “They wanted some of the inventory.”
The two officers took possession of the shifters and cuffed them tightly.
“Quick thinking, mage.” The male smiled at her.
One of the shifters muttered, “She isn’t a mage. She’s a shifter.”
The officer pushed him to the spot they had appeared in. “Don’t be stupid. If she were a shifter, she wouldn’t be able to read mage script. How would she be able to work here?”
That little tidbit remained with Anessa while she tidied up after the scuffle. How am I able to read mage script if I am a shifter?
She guessed that Evan might know the answer, but he didn’t come in until late afternoon.
Chapter Five
Three days later, she had no more information than what Evan had been willing to give her. Somewhere in her family tree, there was a mage and that magic remained in her bloodline.
For the thousandth time since this change in her circumstances started, she wished that she knew who and what her parents were. For the first time in her life, she felt the liability of not knowing. It wasn’t just inconvenient; it was dangerous.
The agitation grew with every passing day until it was a second heartbeat in her limbs. When the heartbeat moved to her groin, she picked up on the fact that it wasn’t just her change in social circumstances. Her beast wanted something, and it wasn’t going to let her delay much longer.
She was putting a vial of water taken from a pool at the full moon back on the shelf when her hands started to shake.
Evan was in the shop, and he asked, “Are you all right?”
Anessa flexed her hands. “I am just going through something, and I don’t know how long it will last.”
He sighed. “You are in heat.”
She blinked. “How do you know?”
“You have turned up the air conditioning so high, my testicles have retracted and you are still sweating. You have looked at every male customer as if he were edible and each female as if you wanted to tear her apart. You have a decision in front of you.”
She wanted to snarl, but she nodded. “Right. Either join the pride or hunt my own mate.”
“Or the Crossroads. It would open the possibilities up to you.”
“Are you good friends with Leroc?”
He blinked. “No, he has only been in the few times you have seen him. I met him outside the shop on that first day.”
Anessa tilted her head, and her lioness hummed at the thought of Leroc seeking her out. “I suppose I should make a call, whatever I decide, if I stay around here today, your inventory is in danger.”
He chuckled. “Take the day off. Call me if you are coming in tomorrow; otherwise, I shall consider you on holiday.”
“I am sorry to be taking so much time, Evan.”
“Don’t be sorry. You have been here every single day for the last six years. You deserve your time off.” Evan winked. “With pay.”
She had her backpack and was out the door before he could change his mind.
Anessa sat in her apartment and stared at the two business cards. She could tell Leroc she was going and get the whole thing paid for on the fey account, or she could call the number James had given her and have him support her. Either way, she needed to move quickly, this was getting ridiculous.
She closed her eyes and hovered her hand above the table. Instinct had gotten her this far, and she trusted it to take her the rest of the way.
She felt a thick card snap into her hand, and she opened her eyes. Leroc’s card was in her hand. It was enough of a sign for her.
She packed a bag with enough clothing for a week and picked up her phone. With slow deliberation, she dialled the number.
His voice was husky and welcoming, “I am delighted that you have called.”
“I need to get to the Crossroads.”
“Expect a transporter within the hour. He has your paperwork.”
“Thank you.”
“No, thank you. I will endeavour to make sure that you never regret this.” Leroc chuckled. “See you soon.”
The call was over, and Anessa was left with nothing else to do but get down and do push-ups until her arms hummed.
The surge of energy in her small apartment caught her attention, and she snarled, whirling toward the intruder.
The young man held his hands up. “Miss Prin? Please, come with me.”
She nodded, calmed herself and her claws, and got her backpack. “I am ready.”
Her appliances were off, her fridge was empty and she was ready to leave.
The transporter smiled. “It will just take a moment.”
A circle of light hung in the air in front of her, and when he spoke, she stepped into it.
The explosion when she arrived caught her off guard.
Shouts of confusion were all around her, and Anessa looked into Leroc’s face as he lifted her in his arms. “Hey, I made it.”
He chuckled, but there were worried lines around his mouth. “You did indeed. Welcome to the Crossroads.”
A woman’s features swam in her vision. “That is my line. Anessa Prin?”
Anessa nodded.
“You seem to have other magic already embedded in you. It didn’t react well to the shifter gateway, but that is why we have a built-in hole in the roof. Leroc is going to carry you to the Open Heart, and I will be there shortly to finish your registration.”
Leroc didn’t wait. He was carrying her out into the light and down the street.
She groaned.
“Are you in pain?”
She squinted at him. “No. I am merely thinking that I just blew up the Crossroads.”
“You aren’t the first. You seem to have more than the normal share of mage magic for one of your kind.”
She sighed. “Wonderful. So, what do you do for a living?”
He barked a laugh. “I am retired. I have one specific skill that has been discontinued by the fey as it is not appropriate for the modern age.”
“What is it?”
“I am the sandman. I took willing females and males from their homes to their elven lovers, and when the lovers tired of them, I took them back. It doesn’t really fly in today’s day and age.”
Her ears were still
ringing. “I can see why they discontinued your use. Enjoying retirement?”
“It would be better if I had someone to enjoy my time with. Perhaps a family in the future.”
Her shoulder throbbed, and she tried to look but he distracted her.
“So, how many kids would you like? I am thinking three.”
She blinked. “That is...are you already planning kids? Just you carrying me is like being cradled by lightning.”
He grinned. “It just means that we are a good match. Our powers repel each other on an equal basis.”
He stepped up toward a building, and he turned sideways to ease her in. A woman’s voice was low. “I will get Spike.”
“We will be in my room.”
“Right. I will hurry.”
The woman went silent. Anessa assumed she had left.
“Who was that?”
“Our hostess. Teebie of the djinn. She has gone to get some medical help.”
“Um, why?”
“You were injured when you blasted in. I now understand why I was ordered to be here for the last few days.” He chuckled.
“You have been here for days?”
He was on the second floor and walking down a hall. She kept her vision focused on his face, because she didn’t want to see her injury. As soon as she saw it, pain would follow, and it was taking all of her concentration to keep her focus on Leroc.
She pressed her head to his shoulder and closed her eyes, inhaling his scent. It was the best distraction she could offer herself as he turned sideways and carried her into a bedroom, settling her carefully on a bed, sitting up.
When her arm brushed the pillows, she felt the pain.
Footfalls approached rapidly, and two new voices came in.
A woman was next to her, and she introduced herself. “Hiya, Anessa, my name is Spike, and I am here to help you with the medical help you need.”
“Okay. Pleased to meet you.”
“You have a large chunk of broken wood through your upper arm, and I have to remove it. It will hurt, so if you can find something to keep you calm, do it.”
Roar of Magic Page 3