Free WebMage by Kelly McCullough

snores informed me that my roommate had arrived while I was unconscious. Fortunately, Rod only sounds like that when he's had four or five too many. He must have stumbled in drunk and passed out. If he followed his usual pattern, I could probably use him as an armrest while I fired my pistol without waking him. Assuming things didn't get too messy, he had an excellent chance of coming through the next half hour without noticing a thing or suffering any harm. That was all to the good. I didn't like him much, but I didn't want him getting hurt because of me. Hopefully it wouldn't become an issue. I wanted to be gone before the bad nastiness coming through the ether arrived, and I was well on my way.
    Less than fifteen seconds passed from the time Mel woke me to the moment I started groping for the doorknob. When I'd first moved into the dorms, I'd set a gate spell into the tiny shower Rod and I shared with the other two bedrooms in our pod. It was mweb dependent, but because it was a permanent gate, it was faster than an Up link. The question was whether anyone had tampered with it while I was gone. I didn't really want to test that the hard way. Unfortunately, it didn't look like my wants were going to be consulted. I finally managed to make the door cooperate, but stopped when I realized Mel wasn't with me.
    He was still beside the bed, standing perfectly still. "Come on," I husked. "What's the holdup?" There was no response. "Bugger. Mel, are you all right?"
    "He's fine." Cool and inhuman, the voice emanated from the column of light.
    A woman's form faded into being. She was tall and pale, with long black hair and Fate's eyes.
    "Atropos," I whispered, and cold sweat broke out on my forehead. She continued as though she hadn't heard.
    "I've merely sent him an override command that immobilized him. I didn't want you vanishing before I had a chance to speak with you."
    "Grandmother," I said, realizing my first impression had been mistaken.
    Atropos might have injured or killed Melchior, but she would never have bothered to freeze him. Setting my pistol carefully on the floor, I rose to my feet. I didn't know why my grandmother was there, but I was pretty sure it wasn't to give me a pat on the back and a box of cigars. She might not take kindly to my being armed.
    "Had I known you were coming, I'd have dressed more appropriately." I said, gesturing sheepishly at my T-shirt and boxers. "I apologize."
    She waved a hand dismissively and whistled a short complex chord in hex, somehow managing the Fate trick of harmonizing with herself. For a brief moment I felt as though millions of tiny spiders were running madly around on my skin.
    When it stopped I was clothed for court. The boots came six inches above the knee and were made of black leather as soft as mountain moss. Green silk tights covered my legs under the boots, and a green silk tunic hung to midthigh. Over that was belted a black leather doublet cut high on the sides. The only things missing were a rapier and dagger. Their absence was made more conspicuous by the empty buckles on the belt where the sheaths would normally have hung.
    When combined with the fact that my familiar continued to stand stock-still, the missing weapons assumed the quality of a bad omen. I studiously avoided meeting my grandmother's gaze as I prepared to make the obligatory bow. Feeling the presence of a hat on my head, I reached up to sweep it before me. Habit made me use my right hand, and the numb fingers lost their grip halfway through the maneuver. It was broad-brimmed in the cavalier style, and an ostrich feather dyed forest green was attached to the band by an emerald brooch. It was also quite aerodynamic, and it sailed all the way to my grandmother's feet.
    "Sorry, Grandmother. I appear to be a bit lacking in grace at present."
    "What happened to your hand?" she asked. Her tone implied that I had done something stupid to bring the injury down on myself.
    Stung, I answered without thinking.