Free Lone Star Magic by Karen Whiddon Page A

one…”
    He frowned. “Why?”
    “I picture little people in tutus, dancing
around among flowers or something.”
    “Those are sprites. We are more like those
elves depicted in your legends.”
    “Elves?” She raised a brow. “With pointy ears
and all that?”
    “No pointy ears.” Lifting his hair, he
pointed to his own, well-shaped ears. “I know not how some of your
myths got started.”
    “Creative license, I guess.”
    Outside of Fredericksburg, she pulled off at
a rest stop. “Hey, it’s deserted. That can be good or bad, but this
time I think we’ll take it as a good omen.”
    “Why here?” Alrick didn’t like the looks of
the place. A squat concrete building was the only structure.
    “There are more trees here than anywhere
else.”
    While she backed TM out, Alrick stood by to
walk him. She handed the lead to him and clipped a leash on Kayo’s
collar.
    “Come on boy, let’s go stretch our legs. They
followed Alrick and TM to the clearing behind the rest rooms.
    When she was thirty yards away, her pickup
truck exploded.

Chapter Five
     
     
    THE FORCE of the explosion knocked Carly to
the ground and sent Kayo flying. Alrick turned in time to see Carly
go down. He looped TM’s lead over a tree branch and went
running.
    Kayo jumped to his feet and ran with him,
barking. Black smoke billowed into the air.
    Carly didn’t move.
    Heart pounding, Alrick lifted his gaze
skyward. Though he hadn’t sensed the other’s magic, the Warlord had
tried again. Had he so quickly succeeded?
    “Carly?” Lifting her wrist, he felt for a
pulse. There. Light, but steady. She lived. He checked her for
injuries, finding only one bloody scrape on her elbow where she had
hit the ground. But when he lifted her head, his hand came away
crimson with blood.
    Head wound. How serious? Quickly glancing
around the deserted rest stop, he heard the wail of sirens in the
distance and knew within minutes they would have company. Should he
let the humans heal her? Could they? He couldn’t risk it.
    The pickup continued to burn. Flames leapt
into the sky, the smoke another beacon.
    Alrick cursed. The Warlord had grown more
powerful. This time, he hadn’t felt any prickle of warning, any
awareness of the Warlord’s magic.
    Carly lay so still. Bleeding. Kayo whined,
licking her face. With a toss of his head, TM broke the loose knot
keeping him tied to the tree and trotted over, whickering.
    The sirens grew louder. Closer. Down on the
highway a huge tractor truck pulled off onto the ramp leading to
the rest stop, no doubt attracted by the fire.
    The relentless Texas sun beat down on them.
Waves of heat shimmered off the blacktop.
    He would have to use magic – he saw no
choice. Alrick would cast a spell and take them all to Rune.
    With one hand, he took Carly’s arm. With the
other, he touched TM’s leg. Kayo seemed to understand and came
around to rest his shaggy head against Alrick’s thigh.
    Alrick spoke the words.
    The rest-station, the heat, the fire, and the
smoke shimmered and vanished. He knew a second of disorientation,
then felt the blessed moist air of Rune. Kayo lifted his head to
look at Carly and whined again.
    “We’re here.” He spoke the words into the
shadowed stillness of a leafy glade. Relaxing somewhat, again he
checked Carly’s pulse. Though uneven, her heart still beat. He
breathed a sigh of relief. Here, the Warlord could not so easily
travel. Here, Carly was safe. Now to get her healed.
    Kayo growled. A second later, a hunched man
in a silver robe came crashing through the underbrush. No doubt
notified of their arrival by the disturbance in the fabric of
reality, the Mage from the future hurried over. He skidded to a
halt, glancing first at TM, then Kayo, before he looked at Alrick.
He gasped when he saw Carly, unconscious on the ground.
    “You brought her ?”
    “I had to.” Quickly, Alrick explained what
had happened. “She wasn’t safe.”
    The older man nodded.
    “Can you heal