Winter's Heart

by J. E. Taylor

  “I am such a fool.”

  Hands landed on her shoulders. “Tell me you aren’t married to one of them,” he said with a strained voice that matched his tight grip.

  “No. But their son did ask me to marry him. He said he wanted an alliance. A partnership to defeat the white tiger,” she said and let out a high-pitched laugh.

  “And you said?”

  “I said no. He’s too much like an older brother to me. Everything about it was all wrong.”

  Elijah’s face relaxed.

  “But it all makes sense now. The tea, the relentless failed magic training day after day. And then the recent deaths made to look like tiger attacks, and the final straw was Mr. Canicula’s sending me out here to basically die.”

  “Either way, it suits their purpose,” he said. “If you are the fated one, your death would kill both of us. If you aren’t, then it is the perfect way to get rid of you.”

  Her stomach rolled, but she swallowed the bitter bile. Good God. Every scenario, every facet of her life to this moment had all been a grand manipulation in the pursuit of Canicula power.

  Chapter 12

  “I have to go back to Opal,” Lisa said as she grabbed her coat and slipped it on. She headed towards the opening.

  Elijah scrambled off the floor and stepped in front of her. “You should try to harness your magic a little before you step into a hostile situation.” He put his hands out, splaying his fingers in an effort to stop her. “Please.”

  “What if they kill again? Do you want that on your head?” She finished buttoning her coat and glared up at him.

  Elijah closed his eyes. “Think about what you’re doing.”

  “I am.” She went to step out of the cave.

  “I can’t let you go,” he said, and stepped in front of her. He had yet to physically manhandle her, but the warning in his eyes conveyed that might change if she kept pushing.

  Each time she moved, he mirrored her, blocking her ability to get around him. “Get out of my way.”

  He pressed his lips together and shook his head. At least he had the decency to look conflicted. “They will kill you.”

  She blinked at his calm statement. If he had used force to stop her, she wouldn’t have thought twice about leaving, but the calm way he delivered that sentence made her stop and stare at him. If the lore he believed was true, then if she died, he died.

  “And then they will poison the rest of the world. That is their end game.”

  The gentleness of his voice was as convincing as his words, and she glanced over his shoulder at the woods. Still, she couldn’t let more people die because of the Caniculas’ greediness. She had already lost too much to them.

  “Then come with me.”

  He wiped his face. “Without control over your magic, we are bound to lose.”

  She lifted her hand, and she willed sparks to dance across her fingers. They obeyed her silent request.

  He laughed. “I know you possess it, and obviously can control it while things are calm, but I’m not sure you really want to vaporize the town if you go into panic mode like you did last night with those wolves.”

  She folded her hand in on itself, dousing the flames. Despite the hit to her ego, Elijah was right. She’d exploded the night before, and wiped out the wolves along with some of the trees. The blackened mark on the land that was now covered with snow was a reminder of her lack of practice. She didn’t want to take that chance in town. She did not want to be a killer of the innocent.

  “Then teach me how to control it.” She studied his expression and how the tightness around his mouth relaxed. “But we can’t wait too long, because if they are the ones doing the killing, they will get the townspeople riled up enough to come hunting for you. And Herk is an excellent tracker.”

  “If this Herk is a Canicula, he will not be able to breach those woods.” Elijah pointed towards the barrier separating the tundra from the mountain caverns they now sat in. “The farthest he can go is the barren fields. That was the curse that I made just before the ice took my last breath. I bound them to the town of Opal, just as they bound me in ice.”

  Her eyebrows rose, and she glanced at the ground trying to recall their hunting adventures as children. Every time they got close to the outer woods, he would say he wasn’t feeling well and wanted to head back. Even when she had gone into these woods with her bow, he stayed in the field instead of following her. He always seemed so envious when she came back, but she thought it was the kill she carried or dragged with her.

  “Come. Sit.” He waved towards the spot near the fire. “It’s time to master the magic you can tap, which seems to be fire related, which may be the one thing that has saved you from falling ill to their tea.”

  “How so?” Lisa took a seat, and he followed, sitting close enough for her to feel the heat from his leg. She had an urge to reach out and touch him again but refrained. Petting a tiger was different than rubbing a man’s leg.

  “Well, tar melts under flame, and soot and ash are fire-born material, so perhaps under stress, it burned through the poison that built up over the years.”

  She made a derisive noise. “It wasn’t the magic. It was having you near that allowed it to reach the surface. Herk had me training day after day for a very long time, and the only significant thing I did was roll a pencil a few inches across a table, but even that could have been attributed to the wind.”

  Elijah sucked in his bottom lip as he seemed to contemplate what she’d said. “If that’s true, that means I have to be near you at all times in Opal. At least until we can identify and eradicate all the evil.”

  He stood and collected some wood, then set it up in a small dip in the rock floor before returning next to her. He pointed his chin at the logs. “In the meantime, we have work to do. Start the fire, please.”

  She went to stand, but he put a hand on her knee, keeping her in place. When she lifted her hand to blast the logs, he shook his head. His strong fingers clasped hers, forcing her to lower her arms. This time when she conceded, he didn’t remove his grip on hers, and she didn’t want him to.

  “With your mind.” He lightly tapped her temple. “That is where your power is. Your hands are just the messenger. Your mind is where you will be able to see true evil and destroy it, so we need to strengthen that muscle.” He lifted her hand. “And we may need to work on using this, too, but that will be later. Now light the fire.”

  “How?”

  “Use your imagination. Visualize. Envision the spark and then the flame under the wood as if you just stuffed the spaces with paper and lit it with a match.”

  This felt way too much like Herk’s training sessions, except Elijah’s tone was calm and soft versus Herk’s loud commands.

  “Close your eyes and see it,” he said, nodding at the wood. “And once you actually see it in your mind’s eye, command your magic to make it so.”

  She studied the small wooden teepee he had built and then closed her eyes, doing exactly as he’d described. In her mind, she stuffed paper in between the logs and leaned over, striking a match. She held it to the paper until it was burning before dropping the stub left between her fingers.

  A low whistle came from Elijah and Lisa opened her eyes. She hadn’t just started a fire. She’d started a blaze.

  Elijah smiled. “That was more controlled than last night, but you nearly made that wood explode. The fact you didn’t is a step in the right direction, though. Now, control the flame,” he said and pointed.

  “Control it how?”

  “Make it into something. Anything will do. A bird, a heart, anything. Just manipulate it.” This time his voice carried some exasperation.

  Lisa pressed her lips against a smile and closed her eyes. She envisioned a tiger made of flame.

  “Jesus,” he whispered in an alarming tone.

  Her eyes popped open and widened at the mammoth flaming tiger in front of them. She slid back at the heat radiating from it. When it turned its head a
nd snarled at the two of them, he grabbed her wrist.

  The flames snuffed out completely.

  Lisa looked at his hand on her wrist and then at him. Her heart thundered in her chest. She had created that thing, and somehow, just for a moment, it seemed to get away from her control.

  “How did you do that?” She waved at the smoke still hanging on the air.

  “I wished it so, but I had to be touching you to diffuse your magic.” He smiled at her. “I cannot imagine what you would be like today if this had been allowed to be cultivated. You are most certainly the strongest elemental I have ever encountered.” Interest sparkled in his blue eyes.

  Lisa shifted away from him and stuffed her hands in her pockets. Again, she wondered if this man was the one she should be afraid of and not the Caniculas. Her mind drifted back to Molly and the lack of footprints leading away from her murder scene. He had some magic if he could bind the Canicula’s to Opal and stop her flames from going out of control.

  “Can you go from one spot to another in the snow without leaving footsteps?”

  “No. I cannot wish myself from one spot to another. I am not capable of teleporting elsewhere. The only things I can do is transform into a tiger and neutralize out-of-control magic by touch. I didn’t even know I was capable of creating a binding spell until I woke a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I was not within reach of those miserable Canicula beasts when they slaughtered my soulmate and cast me in ice.” He pressed his lips together and inhaled before he glanced at Lisa. “And it only took you three hundred years to bind your soul to magic and return.” He let out a soft laugh.

  Lisa blinked rapidly. Her mind stuck on his words, and his crooked smile did nothing to stop the chill that crawled down her spine.

  “Fire and ice,” he said. “I guess it is appropriate and perhaps why their poison was ineffective in squashing your gifts.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m having trouble understanding this. You think I’m your soulmate come back from the dead?” Had she traded one crazy for another?

  He chuckled and looked down at the floor of the cavern. “This was prophesized long before either one of us were born. I did not believe it. Not until I woke up and felt the barrier protecting the rest of the world from the Caniculas. That was when I believed the prophecy, and I knew someday I would be standing here with you.”

  Lisa stared at him, unsure of what to say.

  He shrugged. “I just didn’t know what kind of force you would become.”

  While her mind rebelled against his every word, the cells in her body hummed like being this close to him was where she was meant to be. It was all too crazy, but then again, she had powers she didn’t quite understand, and she needed to if she was going back into the belly of the beast.

  Chapter 13

  The next few days consisted of hunting, resting, sparring, and practicing her magic. Being with Elijah had a calming effect on her. He made her feel whole again, filling that missing piece that had been gone since she had been told of her parents’ death. Although his absence of vengeance against the Caniculas made her look at her own emotions.

  The more she worked with Elijah, the more she trusted his version of the truth. And the more she used her magic, the more she resented the Caniculas. Elijah coached her on control, not just of magic, but of her moods and her mind as well. Only in letting go of her anger would she be able to see the true measure of their hearts.

  The way to win this coming battle was not to give in to bitterness.

  “Let’s try something different,” he said as he skinned the rabbit they had caught during their daily hunting jaunt. He put it on a cooking spike over an empty firepit and stepped away. “Tonight, I want you to try to do two things at once with your magic.”

  “Excuse me?” Just when she was getting comfortable with her magic, he had to throw a wrench into the mix.

  “I want you to cook the rabbit for us, not charbroil it, and I want you to create a ring of fire near the entrance big enough so my tiger form can jump through. You’ll need to give me enough room so I don’t just jump off the ledge, though, okay?”

  How in the world was that okay? She let out a laugh, like he must be joking.

  “I’m serious, Lisa. You’ve done well with just one task, but we need to up your game before we set out for town.”

  “You’re coming with me?”

  “Don’t sound so surprised. You said you thought being near me was what unleashed your magic, so I’m not taking any chances. But I will stay hidden, because I don’t want them to recognize me. At least not until I can prove my innocence. Now stop sidetracking and do as I asked.” He waved to the firepit and to the entry to the cavern before shifting into the beautiful tiger. His blue eyes gleamed in the semi-darkness as he waited for her to do as he’d bid.

  Lisa took a deep breath to calm the sudden hammering of her heart that seeing him in tiger form always seemed to produce. She concentrated on a point on the wall between the firepit and the entrance, trying to ignore the stress crawling on her skin like a thousand fleas. If she failed, they either wouldn’t eat or at the very worst, she would cook Elijah instead and end up freeing the Caniculas.

  She closed her eyes and envisioned the circle first. His chuff echoed softly in the cave, and she opened her eyes to a circle she couldn’t even fit her own hand through. After another cleansing breath, she willed the circle to become bigger. The fire obeyed, and she halted when the circle was almost the circumference of the cave entrance. If anyone was down below, they would think this cave was on fire. She pulled back on the inner part of the circle, leaving a space large enough for Elijah to jump through.

  He did. And then turned and jumped back inside. He didn’t stop like she thought he would. He just kept jumping in and out of her flaming circle.

  Lisa knew he wanted her to continue. To start the fire under the rabbit just high enough to slow roast the carcass. She tore her eyes away from Elijah and looked at the empty firepit. In the back of her mind, she kept the vision of the ring of fire intact. At the same time, she willed sparks to ignite below the rabbit. It was difficult without a source for the flame to feed on, and she pushed harder.

  Elijah yelped at the same time a blaze jumped up under the rabbit, scorching the outer layer of meat. The smell of burnt rabbit and singed fur filled the cavern. She closed her eyes, dousing both flames herself without his help.

  “Why did you stop?” Elijah said in a strained voice.

  Lisa opened her eyes and glanced at him as he inspected the angry red burn on his arm.

  “That’s why,” she said and crossed to him, staring at the damage she had done. “I was supposed to cook the rabbit, not you.”

  He smiled. “I’m only singed. And you did sear the rabbit, but it isn’t charred.” He piled some wood underneath the rabbit and gave her a raised brow. “But it still needs to cook a little more.”

  With a flick of her wrist, the wood ignited.

  “What did you learn this time?” he asked as he retrieved some snow from outside and packed it on his arm.

  “That I can’t take my eye off of what I’m doing?”

  “Well, sometimes you have to, but in most cases if you aren’t fully concentrating and in control, things will go awry. You will need to split your attention at times, but you need to understand the ramifications if you can’t control the magic.” He held up his arm.

  “I am so sorry,” she said and reached out to his reddened skin.

  He didn’t flinch at her touch, and that fresh feeling of the air before a storm surrounded them. They both stared at the connection and then met each other’s gazes. The heat that built between them caught her breath in her throat.

  Elijah leaned towards her, his eyes sparkling in a way she hadn’t noticed before.

  A shuffle outside the cavern startled both of them. They spun to the sight of one of the children from the village. The girl’s hair was matted and her face streaked with tears as she shivered in only her night shir
t and socks. It was cold enough outside to be frostbite weather.

  “Dear lord,” Lisa whispered, and rushed to the girl. “Cheri, is that you?” she asked, scooping the girl into her arms.

  The child’s shakes were so bad that Lisa had no idea if she nodded or not. She moved close to the fire and grabbed her coat off the rock to wrap Cheri in it.

  She rubbed Cheri’s arms, trying to get the blue to recede from her fingers. “What in the world are you doing so far from home in just your nightgown?”

  “He killed my family,” she whispered through chattering teeth. “Slaughtered them one by one, but my momma told me to run. She said I had to find you. You would be able to stop him.” Her dark eyes stared at Lisa.

  “Stop who?”

  Tears fell again. “The white tiger.” Her gaze moved to Elijah. “But not a real tiger like I saw in here when I was climbing the mountainside. This one stalks on two legs and carries claws.” She brought her gaze back to Lisa, and her chin trembled as fresh tears fell. “I saw his face.”

  Lisa traded a glance with Elijah. “Who killed your family?” Lisa asked, dreading the answer. She thought she knew who was doing the killing. He had been at both scenes, and she had caught a glimpse of his dark side.

  “Mr. Canicula,” she whispered.

  “Herk?” she asked just to make sure.

  Cheri shook her head. “No. Mr. Canicula.”

  Lisa sat back on her haunches, and a measure of relief swept through her. She had been so sure Herk had been the killer. Even with Elijah’s stories of his parents, they had never been nasty to her the way Herk had been in his drunken state. She didn’t know how much Herk knew, but she prayed he hadn’t known of his parents’ plans. She didn’t think she could handle his duplicity on top of everything else.

  She didn’t want to hurt Herk if she didn’t have to, but Mr. and Mrs. Canicula were another story. They had to be stopped at all costs.