Snake Charmer
Page 6
Chapter Ten
He grinned as she ordered what must have seemed like half the menu.
Yvena made a face and sipped at her coffee, easing a smile of relief out. “Where are we going to live?”
“There are cottages just outside the spa. We can build our own place if you like. There is plenty of land to build on.”
He had insisted on a table for four, and she knew it was not just because of her ordering habits.
“We are going to need a coffeemaker. Maybe two. I can see why you didn’t warn me. That was the one thing guaranteed to make me run.” She sipped the coffee gratefully.
“We will grab one on the way home today. For now, we are waiting for the local transporter. I made an appointment while you were in the shower this morning.”
She snorted. “I knew you weren’t just getting pruney.”
He grinned.
An elegant woman with dark red hair joined them. She ordered a coffee and smiled at Yvena. “I am Mary; how do you do?” she extended her hand and Yvena took it.
Magic flowed up her arm to the elbow and returned to Mary. “I did better before whatever that was. I am Yvena.”
Mary blushed, “You felt that? I apologize. I am incredibly curious about…new people.”
“As am I. I simply ask them.” Yvena sipped at her coffee.
They were in the back area of the café and no one was in the area nearby.
“Liander filled me in on a few details, but he was reticent of sharing details about you. I need details if the guild master is to agree that your case is a true matching of deadly opposites.”
“Did you get what you needed?”
Mary blushed, “Not really. You are some kind of reptile, but I don’t know what kind.”
Yvena leaned forward and whispered, “King cobra.” She sat back and sipped at her coffee again. “I have donated my venom in the past, but if it is the price for equal footing with my mate, I would gladly trade venom for the spell. With the guild master being the registered source, it would also afford me a measure of protection in case someone else thought that gaining custody of me again would be a benefit.”
Mary caught on immediately. “You would be protected by the guild. Very nicely done.”
“It was Liander’s idea.” She smiled and sat back as her fruit tray arrived.
“I will just have my coffee and make that call.” Mary grinned. “It is very handy having the transport guild master wed to the mage guild master. We have a lot more clout than we have ever had before.”
Liander sat and made notes on a napkin using a pen the waitress handed to him when he asked.
“What are you doing, Liander?”
He glanced at her and smiled. “Shopping list. I also have to arrange a trip to your home for us so that we can transport your clothing and any items you want.”
“Oh, good idea.” She munched on berries and kept an eye on the kitchen. She wanted pancakes in the worst way.
When the waitress came by with the carafe of coffee, she held her cup up proudly. It had been an eventful twenty-four hours.
With the cup refilled, she added cream and sugar, sipping gratefully before she slurped at the water glass.
“So, Mary, how long have you been in your line of work?”
“As with most in my occupation, since I was a teen. I have been in this area for the last fifteen years and have sent fifteen folk to the Crossroads. Normally, I do cross-country transports.”
Mary smiled, and they chatted about inconsequential things. When the food arrived, Mary said her goodbyes and whispered, “King cobra?”
With a pancake wedged in her mouth, Yvena gave her a thumbs-up.
Liander was laughing as his own meal arrived. He made his goodbyes, and Mary left the establishment.
* * * *
Two weeks later, they stood in front of the guild master while his wife prodded him in the ribs. “You agree to one vial of venom to be picked up every month for a year?”
She blinked. “Yes.”
She held up a vial that she had milked that morning.
He was startled. “Great. May I examine it?”
Yvena wasn’t sure how you would examine venom, but she watched with interest.
He opened the vial, extended his palm and a drop fell toward it, getting caught on a gold orb that sprang up in the centre of his hand. A brilliant black flash and he smiled. “Good. I have heard rumours of tainted king cobra venom. I needed to be sure.”
Liander shook his head. “Tainted, you say?”
“Yes. Several mages have been rushing to healers with nasty side effects. We investigated and found that they had all used king cobra venom but none of them were willing to tell us where they got their supply.”
“So, if it is all right, can we commence?” Yvena was eager to try sex without having to worry about scraping Liander with her fangs.
The guild master nodded. “Hold hands and face each other.”
He raised his arms, focussed and dropped a ball of power on their clasped hands.
Yvena felt hot, cold and hot again as energy ran up her arms and into her body. Liander swayed as well.
She fell into his arms and held tight while the world tilted around them. The transport guild master raised her hands and sent them back to the spa.
Liander and Yvena staggered together to the room they had been occupying and collapsed on the bed.
They rode through the storm of power and realignment for hours until the world righted itself around them.
Yvena sat up and felt something added to her. She thought of a mongoose, and to her shock, she snapped into that form.
Liander shifted into a king cobra, and Yvena swiftly resumed a matching shape. He reared up, flared his hood and fell to the floor.
Yvena hissed in amusement. Everyone thought that moving without feet was easy when in reality it was a complex blend of twists and shifting of scales.
She peeked over the edge of the bed at him, and he was back in human form. She resumed her normal shape. “Not as easy as it looks, is it?”
He gave her a rueful grin. “Not at all. I believe that I need some remedial classes.”
She moved off the bed and draped herself over him. “I know just the instructor. It is a good thing that we have all the time in the world, because this is not going to come quickly.”
He chuckled. “Excellent. Time with you is all I have ever wanted.”
She kissed him and flicked him with her tongue. To her surprise, he matched her with his own forked appendage. He was a quick study, and she looked forward to his mastery of her forms. All of them.
Author’s Note
Another month, another Shifting Crossroads.
In our next instalment, we meet a panda with control issues and a bearcat with a fixation on all things Black and White. A pair of hunters is partnered under duress, and since both of their forms get attention, they have to do all their shifter tracking in their human forms. It is a helluva handicap.
Zenina Masters
www.zeninamasters.com
Oh. News alert! My alter ego’s website (www.violagrace.com) now has trading cards for your favourite Shifting Crossroad books. Check it out.
About the Author
Zenina Masters was born in Canada and lives in Canada. She has a regular job and does nothing particularly exciting with her life. She enjoys fishing, silence and the ability to pick and choose friends she can trust. Life is too short to watch your back all the time.
Her writing life is a teeny bit of escapism, she would probably chicken out if confronted by three naked men and looks forward to one day finding out.
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