Free Lone Star Magic by Karen Whiddon

carrying this miracle child?”
    “I was not told this. Nor who will be the
father.” He sounded bitter. “The Mage only told me what he deemed I
needed to know, no more.”
    So Alrick was as much of a puppet as she.
Carly kept this thought to herself as she forced herself to
concentrate on driving. She turned up the volume on the radio,
listening grimly as the announcer elaborated on the devastation
caused by the two simultaneous natural disasters. Finally, she
couldn’t take it anymore, and clicked the radio off.
    Alrick continued to stare out the window as
the landscape flashed past. “We must be careful,” he said. “If the
Warlord cannot find us, he won’t be able to use magic to try and
kill you.”
    “Right.” She drummed her fingers on the
wheel. “Now that we’re on the run, how would he find us?”
    The look he spared her was quick.
“Magic.”
    So much for enlightenment. “Magic how? I
don’t understand about magic – we don’t have such a thing in my
time. Does he have some sort of tracker, like a GPS system or
something?”
    “Again you refer to machines – things of
which I’m unfamiliar.” He shook his head. “Our worlds are very
different. As to the Warlord, he will trace your energy pattern,
and mine.”
    She frowned, then forced a smile. “I talk
about Global Positioning Satellites and you mention energy
patterns. I guess in a way they’re kind of the same.”
    “Are they?” He turned to look at her, his
dark eyes glowing. For a moment she stared, transfixed, then she
snapped her attention away, back to the road.
    “Stop that!”
    “What?”
    Though he sounded innocent, Carly wasn’t
fooled. She’d bet a dime to a dollar that he knew what he was
doing. She’d like to call him on it too, but there was no way in
hell she’d admit to him there were times she found him unbearably
attractive. Like now.
    He had to be magically making himself look
good, didn’t he?
    Instead, she changed the subject. “I figure
we’ll drive as far as we can before we take a break. I’ll need to
let TM out and walk him, as well as make sure he and Kayo get
water.”
    Hearing his name, Kayo whined. Carly reached
down and petted him. The border collie settled back down, resting
his head on Alrick’s knee.
    Alrick looked out his window. The rolling
hills of the Texas hill country were beginning to give way to the
flat, prairie. “When we stop, make sure there are trees. Better
shelter.”
    She liked the way Alrick absently stroked
Kayo’s back. So did the dog, whose blissful expression indicated
he’d found doggie heaven.
    “Trees. I’ll try.”
    “Tell me what you know.” Damn, she hadn’t
meant to blurt that out like a directive. “About me, about my son.
I know you said you weren’t told a whole lot, but I’d like to hear
what you do know.”
    “I’ve already told you everything.”
    “No, you haven’t. For example, I’m kind of
fuzzy on exactly how my son is supposed to save the world.”
    “Not the world, Rune.”
    “Yeah, but you insinuated what affected Rune
would affect the regular world as well. My world – in the future.
My son. Come on, don’t you think since I have to play a major role
in all this that I should know?”
    Alrick smiled. “I couldn’t agree more. I feel
the same way, and have said so many times to no avail. The Mage
spoke mostly to my father, the King. My brother and I were sent
from the council chambers.”
    Her stomach sank. “So all you know…”
    “Is all I’ve told you.”
    “Great.”
    He patted her hand. “Before we can worry
about what we do and do not know, we’ve got to vanquish the
Warlord.”
    “Back to killing.” She heaved a sigh.
    “Sorry.” He patted her arm.
    They exchanged smiles. For the first time
since this nightmare began, Carly realized she actually liked
Alrick. As a person, he didn’t seem all that different from her.
Even if he was a faerie. She chuckled.
    “What?”
    “Faerie. The thought of you being