Free Relentless by Scott Prussing

moisture as soon as it struck him. Leesa had been with him in one storm so fierce she could hear the water hissing as his heat evaporated it.
    They stood with their arms around each other near the highway at the edge of the volkaane settlement, waiting for Cali. The dark stone Leesa was going to try again to make grow sat in the mud in front of them. Leesa had levitated herself an inch above the ground to keep her gray and blue running shoes out of the muck, and she maintained an air shield above their heads to block the rain. The water poured off the air shield’s edges in tiny waterfalls. She and Rave had chosen a spot far enough back from the road that no one driving by would be able to notice the inexplicable phenomenon.
    Today was Cali’s scheduled day to join them, and she had insisted on coming along despite the storm. “What’s the big deal?” she had said on the phone earlier in the morning. “I’ve got a raincoat and an umbrella—I won’t melt.”
    Leesa was not surprised that Cali was coming. As much as her friend loved magic, Leesa guessed that nothing short of a hurricane or a tornado warning would keep Cali away. And maybe not even that.
    A pair of headlights cut through the gloom and curved across the highway as the car made a U-turn and pulled over onto the shoulder. Leesa levitated the rock up into her hands. Since levitation provided only vertical movement, Rave used the arm he still had wrapped around Leesa’s back to direct her toward the car. The sensation felt a little like being on a moving sidewalk—she was moving forward without taking any actual steps. When they reached the car, she let the stone float back down to the ground.
    Cali got out and came around to join them. She was wearing a bright yellow rain slicker with a large picture of Donald Duck’s head on the front, as well as a matching rain hat and black rubber boots. The pie-shaped sections of her umbrella alternated pink, purple and gray.
    “Nice day, huh?” she said, smiling.  She looked up at the rain bouncing off and sluicing over the edges of the invisible barrier above Leesa and Rave’s heads. “That’s pretty cool, Leesa. If you can figure out a way to add some bright colors to that thing, you might have a winner.”
    Leesa laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind, next time I’m waiting around in the rain with nothing to do.” The more she thought about it, though, the more it seemed like that might be a good combination of spells to try. She didn’t see a use for such a pairing right now, but she was always looking for ways to stretch her abilities.
    Rave bent down and effortlessly picked up the heavy stone. Leesa watched an area of lighter gray spread out on the surface of the rock from around Rave’s hands as his heat began to dry it out.
    “Since you’re riding with Cali,” he said. “I’ll carry this.”
    “You don’t have to carry it, Rave,” Cali said. “We can put it in the trunk. It’s already a mess back there. A little mud and wet won’t hurt it any.”
    Rave hefted the rock and grinned. “No, I want to carry it. I earn kisses from Leesa when I fetch and carry rocks for her.”
    Leesa’s grin was at least as wide as Rave’s. “That you do,” she said. She leaned forward over the rock in Rave’s hands and gave him a long kiss on the mouth.
    “Ugghh…” Cali groaned with mock disgust. “Could you two be any more in love?”
    Leesa ended the kiss and smiled at Cali. “Nope. I don’t think so.”
    “Me, either,” Rave added.
    Cali shook her head and smiled. “Well, if you two are done playing tonsil hockey, can we get this show on the road? I only get to do this once a week. I want to see some more magic.”
    Leesa’s smile widened as an idea came to her. “You want some magic?” she asked. “Rave, show her some magic. Give her a kiss on the cheek. Make it a warm one.”
    Rave looked surprised for a moment, but then his expression changed to one of amusement. He put the rock down