A Meddle of Wizards. Alexandra Rushe
“Yes, yes, and knocked the god stone out of your hand.” Gertie gave him a hard look. “You expect me to believe this scrap of hair and bones got the better of you? And a drab at that. I’ve passed pellets bigger than this chit.”
“She’s stronger than she looks,” he protested.
The girl’s breathing was steady and deep. As Gertie watched, the faintest tinge of color spread to her cheeks.
Gertie waved at Mauric. “Watch her while I fetch my bag. She’s sure to have a headache, with Bree knocking her about.”
“Now, see here,” Bree sputtered. “I told you, I did not hit—”
Gertie held up a paw. “Spare me. I’ll make her a tisane for the pain.”
“What about me? What about my pain?” He looked sullen. “I’m pretty sure she broke my nose.”
“Wizard, heal thyself.” Striding over to Mauric’s horse, Gertie opened one of the packs and rummaged about for her medicines. “She’ll need something for her nerves, as well. I know I wouldn’t be happy if I was yanked from my home without a by-your-leave.”
“I didn’t yank anybody,” Brefreton said. “I didn’t get the chance. She knocked the god stone out of my hand, and here we are.”
Gertie paused, one paw deep in the bag. “Are you saying you would you have given her a choice?”
“As much choice as you would have given Hara.”
“That’s different. Hara’s a spoiled little bitch. This gal punched a powerful wizard in the nose. That takes spunk. I like spunk.”
“You wouldn’t like it so much if she punched you in the nose.”
“I’ve had worse. Don’t be such a baby.” Gertie rifled through the bags of herbs. “Ah, here we are. I was worried I’d left it.”
“Mor?”
“Yes, Mauric?”
“Better hurry. She’s awake.”
* * * *
Raine opened her eyes and winced. The light hurt, she was cold, and an army of little men were trying to kick their way out of her head. Little pissed-off men in steel-toed boots. What a crazy dream she’d had. Wizards coming out of magic mirrors, waving glowing stones around. So much for taking up drinking in her declining months. On top of everything else, she couldn’t hold her liquor. She had no memory of climbing the stairs and getting into bed.
She sat up with an effort and swung her legs to the floor. The mattress beneath her thighs was hard as a rock. Making a mental note to purchase a new one, she looked down and received a shock. It was a rock. And there was snow on the ground.
Another nutty dream. Had to be. She was still asleep.
“Mor?” The masculine voice was deep and pleasant. “Better hurry. She’s awake.”
Raine pushed her hair out of her face and twisted around to see who’d spoken. A handsome man crouched a few feet away on muscular thighs. He got to his feet and Raine forgot about her aching head and her cold feet. Lord a-mercy he was huge, one of the biggest men she’d seen—well over six feet tall and packed with muscles. He was a college football recruiter’s wet dream, a goal line stand by himself.
White-blond hair hung in a braid down his back. He wore tight-fitting leather breeches stuffed into a pair of knee-high boots. In spite of the chill, his powerful arms were bare. A leather vest ended in a deep vee, exposing his massive chest. A wicked-looking knife was strapped to one big calf. In one hand, he held a sword, a real, honest-to-God pig sticker.
He smiled at her, and deep dimples bracketed his firm mouth. “Good morning. My name is Mauric.”
O-ka-a-y. As hallucinations went, this one was a honey. Raine slid off the stone, her legs wobbling when she hit the ground. Quick as a flash, the blond Adonis was at her side, wrapping a strong arm around her waist. Heat poured off his big body, adding to her confusion. Hallucinations weren’t supposed to feel . . . well . . . so muscular, were they?
“Easy now,” he said. “You’ve had something of a blow. I expect your head aches.”
“As a matter of fact, it does.” Raine lifted her hand to her throbbing head and found a lump the size of a goose egg above her right temple. “Something hit me when I fell through the mirror.”
She faltered at the strange syllables. Dear God, she wasn’t speaking English.
“Ha. You heard her.” The familiar voice was triumphant. “Told you I didn’t hit her.”
Raine clutched the Adonis’s arm, and slowly turned her head. The man who’d stepped out of her library mirror was sitting on a nearby stump looking disgustingly solid, and not at all like a figment of her imagination. No, this was crazy. She would not accept it. She let her eyes go unfocused and concentrated on her feet, on the blood pulsing through her extremities, a trick Mimsie had taught her to control her anxiety when she was little and terrified of needles and doctors.
But, instead of the reassuring sensation of the worn floors in Mimsie’s old house beneath her soles, her feet burned with cold. Bracing herself for the worst, she looked down. Grass, white and crunchy with frost, pushed between her bare toes. Heart thundering, she lifted her head and gazed at her surroundings. She was in a clearing bordered by gigantic trees. A waterfall danced down a rocky slope and ended in a crystal pool. Birds chirped in the branches, as if warming up before bursting into song. Beyond the forest, vast snow-capped mountains disappeared into the clouds.
The beat of her heart quickened to match the sharp pulse in her head. This was a dream. Had to be. She was asleep in her upstairs bedroom having a humdinger of a nightmare. When she woke up, the man, the mountains, and the blond hunk would be gone.
Dear God, please let them be gone.
“Watch out, Mauric. She looks a little green.”
The speaker’s voice was a rumbling purr with a hint of jackhammer thrown in. Startled, Raine whirled around and beheld a nightmarish creature absurdly dressed in a shapeless, brown robe and a pair of boots split at the toes. Wicked claws tipped the monster’s paws, which were the size of baseball mitts. The thing’s misshapen head was covered in long, red hair that had been divided into rough braids. It had more teeth than mouth, and a pair of sharp tusks protruded from its jutting lower jaw. A leather bag dangled from one paw, a dead rabbit from the other.
“Caught it yesterday and stowed it away to ripen.” The monster waved the rabbit in Raine’s direction. “Told Bree I’d fix you a potion for your headache, but it occurs to me you might rather have a bite to eat. You look as though you could use a good meal.”
Raine screamed and tried to run, but Mauric snatched her close, preventing her escape.
“Hush, now.” He clapped a callused hand over her mouth to stifle her shrieks. “You’re all right.”
Brefreton made a grab for the rabbit in the monster’s paw and missed. “Put that thing away.”
“Why?” The monster looked puzzled. “I was trying to be polite.”
“Were you planning on feeding it to her raw?” he demanded. “Light a fire and the Dark Wizard and his men will be on us like stink on a dead man.”
“Oh. I didn’t think about that. I sometimes forget that humans like their meat cooked.” The nightmare lifted a pair of massive shoulders in a shrug. “Oh, well. No sense letting it go to waste.”
The huge jaws parted and the monster bit the rabbit’s head off and chewed, crunching through bone like butter.
Raine’s stomach lurched. The clamor of the little men inside her head reached a crescendo, and the world went gray. With a sigh, she slid into the mist.
Chapter 5
Giants