"I can't imagine anyone deserves to be attacked by..." she wasn’t entirely sure how to finish that sentence. She eyed the man warily. “Not even whatever it is that you are, yourself.”
Kaylee stirred behind her and tried to peek around at the mystery man, but Faith held tight. Her niece did not need to see any more of those monsters than she already had.
"You have my thanks," he stopped in front of her again, his hands again held loose at his sides. "Even before you did that, I was going to tell you that you are safe with me. Now, I offer my protection. I swear to you that I will keep you and the girl safe. You risked your safety for mine. I will protect you with my own life, if necessary."
She blinked at him. She was so damn tired. She knew that she couldn't keep the shield up for much longer, and her choice seemed to be: trust this stranger, or... trust this stranger.
Hell.
"Where's my sister?" she asked.
The man shook his head with a frown. "I haven't seen any others. Only more of those." He gestured over his shoulder. "But I haven't seen anyone else.” He glanced down at Kaylee's head and back up to meet her eyes, and she knew what he wasn't saying. He hadn't seen anyone alive or dead.
Double hell.
"Please, Magaestra. We should go. I don’t know if those things were part of a larger pack or were just a small group of rogues, but either way it’s not safe here now.”
"Oh God," she tried not to cry. She had to be strong for Kaylee, and she had to find Crissy.
“I will protect you. But we should go."
His steel-silk-chocolate voice was far more soothing than it should be from someone so deadly. Still, she found herself nodding.
"Okay. Yeah. Let's go, Kaylee," she said. She felt Kaylee start moving, and warned, "Don't look, sweetheart. Keep your eyes closed and hold onto me while we get out of here, okay? We'll call your mom when we get someplace safe.”
"Okay." Kaylee slid her small hand into Faith's own and she lowered her arm, the shield shimmering away into nothing.
"Oh. That... that was holding me up." As soon as she released her hold on the magic shield she felt like all the energy was drained from her body, like a plug was pulled. She felt herself crumpling to the floor and her own voice sounded like someone else was talking, and the last thing she felt was strong arms catching her and a warm voice saying "Rest, Magaestra. I will protect you.“
4
Aldric blinked down at the woman in his arms and struggled to get his mind fully wrapped around the last few minutes. A human woman. Using magic. A human woman protecting a child from a rogue werewolf attack, by means of a shield formed entirely of magic.
And as clear as the distrust of him was in her eyes, she hadn't hesitated to try to protect him from the rogue he had failed at first to actually kill. What Aldric had thought was the sound of the beast's neck snapping had been merely a leg, and he cursed his own carelessness. He would have to be more thorough in the future, especially now that he had this woman and this child to protect.
It was very nearly beyond his capacity for belief.
He hadn't seen a human mage since he was a small child– and that was a very long time ago– and now not only was there one right here, but she had defended him. And there had been something fierce in her eyes before they had fluttered closed that he wanted to see again.
"Aunt Faith?" the child whimpered, still following her aunt's instructions to keep her eyes closed.
"Your aunt is safe, child. But she wore herself out in the battle and needs to rest," he said.
The child didn't much resemble the woman. Where her aunt had long, soft brown hair pulled back in a braid, the child had wild, dirty blonde curls flying around her head. The woman's eyes had been hazel, and the child's eyes were a deep green. Well, they were when she wasn't squeezing them shut. Aldric had only managed that quick glimpse.
"Here, put your hand out, I will guide you," he said.
A small crease formed between her brows. "Mommy and Aunt Faith both said that I shouldn't talk to strangers."
Aldric found himself smiling despite himself.
"Your mother and aunt are both wise women," he said. "But if there was a fire, you would speak to a firefighter, correct? Or if you needed an ambulance you would speak to the paramedic?"
The child's frown deepened slightly and she chewed on her lip for a moment before nodding. "That's true. Mommy says that when I'm in trouble I should look for a helper, like a policeman or a doctor."
"Exactly so,"
The girl's expression cleared, though she kept her eyes squeezed closed.
"Okay," she said. "But you're a monster fighter, not a firefighter."
Aldric was unable to stop the chuckle. "Among other things, yes, I am. My name is Aldric Donnelly, and it is my job to try to keep this area safe from monsters.“ It was as good an explanation as any he could come up with. Defining the differences between rogue wolves and his clanmates could wait until all three of them were safely away from here.
She held her hand out now in as formal an introduction as she could manage, and Aldric couldn't help but be charmed. He reached out and shook it, which made the girl smile in delight.
"My name is Kaylee Francis Latham. It is nice to meet you," she said. "You promise Aunt Faith is okay?"
"It is an honor to meet you, Miss Kaylee. I believe your aunt is perfectly well, simply exhausted. Here," he took her hand and guided it to her aunt's shoulder, and Kaylee immediately wrapped her arms around Faith's neck in a hug.
"We should go. I will take you both someplace safe where your aunt can rest."
"My mommy went to the store. What if she gets back and is worried?"
Aldric frowned at this information. Faith had asked about her sister, and now Kaylee said that the woman was somewhere nearby and unaware of the danger.
"I will call a friend of mine to come and help look for your mother. Now, I'm going to pick your aunt up so I can carry her to my truck, so step back for a moment," Aldric said.
"Don't forget her purse! Aunt Faith never goes anywhere without her purse," Kaylee said.
"Where is it?"
"On the little table by the front closet. She says that if she doesn't put it in the same place all the time she'll never find it again."
Aldric smiled again. "We will walk past the table on the way out. Perhaps you could pick it up for me? Once we are by the door, you may open your eyes. Just be sure not to look behind us, it's not something you need to see."
"Okay," Kaylee said. She backed up enough to let Aldric stand, then reached out blindly until he put his elbow in the way of her hand. "Hang on to me and I will guide you."
Faith fit neatly into his arms, her head resting on his shoulder like a lover's, and Kaylee trotted along beside him without hesitation as if they were old friends. Something in his chest squeezed and he recognized it as satisfaction. An odd reaction, certainly, over two people he hadn't even properly met.
"Okay, Miss Kaylee. We are at the table. Would you please take your aunt's purse and open the door?"
Kaylee opened her eyes to find the bag and then eyed the door with something like suspicion before turning those emerald eyes on him.
“You’re very big,” she said.
“I am six feet and three inches tall,” he replied, not sure what else to say. He probably looked like a giant to the child. She nodded as if this was exactly the information she wanted, then frowned and glanced at the door she stood beside.
"What if there are more monsters outside?" she asked. Her voice was small and frightened, and her eyes wide.
He shook his head. "I would know if there were any more of those rogues here. I could hear them, for one thing. They are annoyingly loud creatures. Quiet makes them nervous," Aldric said.
"Like when you're in a library and it's really quiet and you have to sneeze but you don't want everyone to look at you?" Kaylee asked.
Aldric opened his mouth and tried to think of a response that made any sense but c
ouldn't form any words. "I suppose?" he finally said. It seemed to be enough for the girl since she nodded in understanding and reached to turn the knob.
"You are a very brave child, Miss Kaylee. I have been a warrior my whole life and I have known adults who have less poise in the face of such a situation."
Kaylee turned and glanced up at him, very seriously. "Mommy says that panic never helped anyone and that if I'm in a scary situation I need to stop, think, and listen to the people who know more than me."
"I cannot wait to meet your mother. She sounds like a remarkable woman." Aldric was beginning to think this whole family was remarkable. If all three of these women could use magic... Aldric frowned. In that case, then it was likely that all three were in a great deal of danger. "Miss Kaylee, do you see that black truck? Would you be so kind as to go open the back door for me?"
Kaylee giggled but nodded. "You talk funny. I don’t know a lot of the words you use,“ she said before she scampered over and yanked the door open.
"Others have remarked upon that trait in previous interactions," he said, keeping his face as serious as he could while spouting the most pompous phrase he could think of on the spot. He winked at her as he carefully maneuvered Faith into the back seat and wrapped the middle seat belt around her waist so that she was as safe as could be while lying down across the back seat. It was fortunate that the drive wasn't terribly long.
Kaylee's eyes lit up. "What does that mean?"
Aldric carefully closed the door on Faith and pulled the front passenger door open. "It means that other people have also told me that I talk funny."
Kaylee cracked up, and he lifted her into the front seat. "I know that this is extremely irregular, but it is the best I can do, with your aunt still asleep. My home is not far, and if I remember correctly, my friend Marc and his son are home today as well. Jake is near your age, I believe."
"I'm five years old!" Kaylee was very proud of this. "And a quarter!"
"An excellent age. Jake will also be six very soon," Aldric said. He made sure that Kaylee was buckled in as well as she could be and closed the door. His mind was trying to spin wildly with theories and guesses, but he needed to focus. Once Faith and Kaylee were safe at the clan house he could go look for the missing sister and hopefully all three women would be safe and protected by dusk.
After he climbed into the driver's seat of his SUV, he started the engine and hit a button. The cab was filled with the ringing of a phone, then, a woman's voice.
"Aldric Donnelly, what the hell do you want this time of day? Weren't you planning to be out brooding over the northern borders?"
"Please take care with your language, Tamika," Aldric's tone stayed serious. "I have passengers. Miss Kaylee, this is my friend and assistant monster hunter, Tamika Jones. Tamika, this is Miss Kaylee Francis Latham, and she is five and one-quarter years old."
Kaylee gasped. "You remembered all of everything!"
"Of course. You told me important things."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the call. "It's a real pleasure to meet you, Miss Kaylee Francis Latham. Well, meet you over the phone anyhow. However did you get mixed up with that old grump?"
"He's not a grump, he's a helper. He saved me and Aunt Faith! He's a monster fighter, which is like a firefighter except for monsters and not fire.” Kaylee turned to peer at Aldric. "How did you fight those monsters? Did you use a big sword? The heroes in one of the cartoons that I watch fights monsters with a big sword."
"Um, No. Just a knife," Aldric said, and Kaylee's face fell in disappointment. "But it is a large knife if that is any consolation."
"I suppose that's okay," she agreed.
Tamika's gleeful laughter filled the truck. "Oh, Miss Kaylee, you and I are going to get along just fine."
"Please don't be so loud, Tamika. Kaylee's aunt is sleeping in the back. I will explain that later, but right now we need to find Kaylee's mother. I tracked some rogues to the Latham's cabin and interrupted an attack. I fear that there may more that I didn't dispatch, and Miss Kaylee’s mother was in town and unaware of what happened.”
"Whereabouts?" Tamika's voice was serious now, as well.
"The cabin is just over two miles from the north border where I was headed. Kaylee's mother was in town and heading to the grocery. Miss Kaylee, what does your mother look like? And the car she is driving?"
"Mommy looks like me, mostly, but much taller and her eyes are the same as Aunt Faith’s. And our car is blue and not very big and Mom always says that she wants to trade it in for an SUV, but car shopping is a pain in the ass," Kaylee delivered this statement with not a drop of humor.
Tamika cracked up again.
"Well, honey, what do you look like then?" she asked.
"Miss Kaylee has curly, very dark brown hair and green eyes, but her aunt’s eyes are hazel. I would guess that her mother has an athletic build if they resemble each other that closely. What is your mother's name?"
"Christina, but nobody calls her that unless they've never met her. Everyone calls her Crissy."
"Okay. An unfamiliar dark brunette lady named Christina Latham, driving a blue car in town. Shouldn't be too hard to spot the car I don't know. I'll send Mia to the cabin while I'm at it, in case she makes it back there. Meet you in town?"
"I am going to take Miss Kaylee and her aunt to the clan house for safety. Faith is still unconscious and the situation is concerning. Then, yes. I will meet you in town if you have not already contacted me."
"Great. I can't wait to meet you in person, Miss Kaylee!" Tamika's voice grew warm. "I think we might be best friends and just not know it yet."
Kaylee laughed. "Thank you, Miss Tamika! I hope you find my mom okay."
"Me too, sugar. I'll go start looking right now," she said.
"Thank you, Tamika. I will be there soon," Aldric said. He hit a button on the steering wheel and the call disconnected. Kaylee chatted on for a few minutes about how nice his car was, and how cool the call had been just talking into the air and the whole car heard it like a giant, inside-out telephone or like magic, she said, which Aldric found charming and odd at once.
When he made the last turn and bumped carefully down the road to the clan house, he glanced in the mirror to check on his other passenger. Faith was still unconscious, and he was worried. The mages of his youth found their magic slightly draining, he remembered, but he could not recall any of them simply passing out after a simple shielding spell.
And he wondered what happened to her arm. The one she had held in front of her to direct the flow into the shield was red and had several welts on it. If one of the hounds had caught her bare flesh, she might have lost the arm entirely, rather than being injured. He was glad to see mere bruising and a few scratches rather than a bloody mess, but it was puzzling.
And he wanted her to open her eyes again.
"Wooooooow. Is that your house Mister Aldric?" Kaylee's awe was clear.
Aldric chuckled and looked over at the building. He looked at the building and tried to see it through fresh eyes. It was a large building, big enough to pass for a resort of some kind. It needed to be, to provide space for meetings and other gatherings. Not that the entire clan was likely to gather together as a whole very often, but it happened regularly enough a large percent of them were here for one reason or another.
As a result, the building sprawled a bit. The wide front of the cabin-style building spanned three sections, with the center projecting slightly forward to meet the circular drive. To one side an attached garage had two bay doors painted white with pretty trim around the frame. The other section was more obviously residential, with doors leading out to a deck that wrapped around the side of the building and led to the back.
Lit up in the evenings, it was a warm, welcoming, bright place. Now, in the early afternoon sunshine, it almost glowed like a rustic palace, and Aldric was proud to have had a hand in both the building of it and the business that went on inside.
&nbs
p; "You live in a castle? A forest castle?" Kaylee's voice was hushed and when he stopped the car at the front door, he found her staring up the steps looking somewhat awestruck. She turned to stare at him now, with the same expression. "Are you a prince?"
Aldric chuckled. "No, Miss Kaylee, I am not a prince. I am, however, the head of security for this area. I am, I suppose, the chief monster fighter." He said it with such grave seriousness that even Kaylee could tell he was being silly, and she giggled.
"But yes, little one. That is where I live with a few close friends. Welcome to the Frostwalker Clan house."
5
Faith's whole body ached. It was like last year when she had the flu and even her toenails ached in a general, stupid way. She rolled over and snuggled deeper under the cozy blanket as she reluctantly swam back to consciousness.
She ached, and her arm throbbed like it was one big bruise, and man, she was tired, but at least the bedding smelled amazing, unlike when she had the flu. Some scent that made her think of dusk and moonlight and home. The coziness almost made up for feeling so awful.
Why the heck did she feel so bad? She cast her mind back, trying to figure out what happened before bed that would have made sure she didn't get any rest as she slept. And what smelled so damn good? It sure as heck wasn't her laundry soap. She made sure to get the unscented kind because the perfumes made her sneeze and itch.
Faith took a deep breath and considered. Vague memories of catching fireflies on vacation as the lingering sunlight faded to nothing, family barbecues, and backyard camping with Crissy when they were kids floated into her mind, drawn by the scent association.
...Crissy.
Faith surged upright and blinked her eyes open, trying to get her bearings. The room was strange and masculine. Cream walls provided a background to a plain wooden dresser and a bookshelf neatly filled with paperback books. A desk with a closed laptop sitting square to the front edge and a mouse sitting neatly beside it was pushed under one of the two windows, both of which were covered with heavy blue curtains drawn closed. Some dim light still dribbled through the small gaps, letting her know that there was still daylight outside.
Magaestra: Found: An urban fantasy series Page 3