Powerful Magic (44 page)

          
"He comes."
 

          
Was that fear in Rhiannon's silvery voice?
 
The wind seemed suddenly wintry, the bite of it making Megan shiver.

          
Next to Rhiannon, Edmyg inclined his head in agreement.
 
Megan glanced at him, then back.
 
Was it her imagination, or had his grey hair gotten darker, more black than silver?
 

          
Beside her, Kenric stiffened.
 
"Now?"

          
"Yes.
 
He has overcome my spell of cloaking."
 
It seemed the Faerie Queen stood in the center of a whirling funnel, the likes of which Megan had only seen in dusty West Texas in the middle of a dust storm.

          
"I need Lancelot."
 
Kenric moved away from her, leaving Megan feeling cold and alone.
 
Then she realized what he had said.
 
He'd called the war horse by the name she'd given him, without thought.
 

          
"Now is not the time--" Rhiannon began, shouting now to be heard over the force of the wind.
 

          
“I will not leave my horse.”
 
Kenric seemed frantic. Knowing him as she did, Megan knew he would never agree to abandon Lancelot.
 

          
"I'll go with you."
 
She yelled, moving to his side.
 

          
"No time."
 
Rhiannon began to spin, her hair lifting madly about her head.
 
"Myrddin will find you and destroy you.
 
You are not ready."

          
"My horse--"

          
"I will bring him with us."

          
"I will help you." Moving swiftly for one so ancient, Edmyg crossed the clearing to stand at her side.
 
He grabbed Rhiannon's hand, stilling her.
   

          
"We must go."
 
The last word was a shriek, as clouds as black as the surrounding sky covered the moon.
 
The silvery light that had made their clearing such a magical place, winked out.
 
So did the feeble torch and fire.

          
Instantly it was dark.
 
Not a comforting kind of darkness, but an enveloping, smothering, heavy blanket that reeked of evil.
 

          
Rhiannon and Edmyg joined hands, chanting incomprehensible words into the face of the storm.

          
It got darker.
 
Colder.
 
Ice froze their very breath.

          
The sense of doom lay so heavy upon them that Megan staggered, clutching on to Kenric's arm for support.

          
Then everything shifted and the darkness vanished.
 
And she knew no more.

#

          
The instant his sister had begun chanting, Kenric had wanted to stop her.
 
He knew what she was doing, though he still had not agreed to it.
 
He did not want to go to Rune, not yet. Only concern for Megan's safety had kept him standing within the circle of power Rhiannon had created.

          
Clasping Megan close to him, he closed his eyes, readying himself for the swoop of stomach and tingling of bones that crossing over always brought.
 

          
When he opened them again, they were in Rune.
 
And Megan, his lovely Megan, had fainted in his arms.

          
"Is she all right?"
 
Lord Brighton asked, concern

rendering his normally ruddy complexion a sickly white.
 
He made a move towards her, as if he meant to take Megan from Kenric's arms.

          
Kenric stopped him with a simple look.
 

          
"She will be fine."
 
Rhiannon waved her hand again, a fine sifting of shimmers caressing Megan's face.
 
At once, Megan opened her eyes, confusion darkening the amber color to nearly a chocolate brown.

          
They reminded Kenric of how she looked while lost in the throes of passion.
 
Unfortunately, his body responded

instantly.
 
He shifted her in his arms to hide this from the

others.
 

          
Megan's eyes went wide, telling him she felt his arousal.
 
He found himself smiling tenderly into her upturned face, wishing they were alone so he could kiss her.

          
"There will be time enough for that later."
 
Rhiannon said, her voice a sharp sword.
 
"For now, we are hidden once again.
 
Safe from Myrddin's evil workings.
 
Our power is still strong enough that we can keep him from Rune."

          
Lord Brighton tugged at his collar, shifting his feet and frowning.
 
"Edmyg has told me of this Myrddin.
 
What does he want from you?"

          
"He plans to rule the world,"
 
It was the voice of a Queen Rhiannon used now, "so that he might destroy everything beautiful in it.
 
We have ancient legends, prophecies that speak of this.
 
Even the humans have knowledge of this."

          
"Evil."
 
Lord Brighton repeated glumly, "I don't like the sound of that.
 
And my men?
 
Where are they?"

          
"They are no longer needed."

          
He opened his mouth, then closed it, looking for all the world like a fish out of water.
 
"No longer needed."
 
He muttered, then lapsed into silence.
 
His normal color had

returned and he appeared to be perspiring profusely, though the air of Rune was pleasantly mild.

          
Another man, human from the looks of things, stepped out from behind Lord Brighton.
 
Tall and ruggedly handsome, he nearly resembled a man of faerie, so beautiful were his features. Crossing to Rhiannon, he knelt gracefully at her feet, head bowed.

          
What was this?
 
Kenric straightened, not liking the way Megan's fascinated gaze seemed locked upon this interloper.
 

          
Even Rhiannon wore a look of confusion.
 
Until the man lifted his face and gazed up at her.
 

          
"Edmyg?"
 
She gasped, one hand to her heart.
 
"How is it possible?"
 

          
His answering smile was as bright as any man of Rune.
 
"Another spell, Rhiannon.
 
Don't you remember, years ago when I was taken from you?"

          
Speechless, she nodded.
 

          
"You thought I had aged so greatly?"
 

          
Rhiannon shrugged, her mouth trembling.
 
"You are human.
 
I didn't--"

          
Edmyg kissed her, silencing her.
 
When he pulled away he smiled down at her with a look of such tenderness it generated heat.

          
Kenric watched with interest.
 
His sister's normally porcelain complexion was suffused with red.
 

          
Megan turned within his arms and grinned up at him.
 
"Edmyg loves her."
 

          
Used as he was to magic, Kenric still had trouble understanding.
 
"Edmyg?"

          
Megan nodded, her gaze full of love.
 
For him, Kenric.
 
In that instant he realized his momentary jealously of Edmyg was more than foolish.
 

          
"Edmyg is not old."

          
"No."

          
"Another spell."
 

          
Nodding again, Megan pressed against him, so that her soft breasts pushed in to his chest and his arousal nestled against the juncture of her thighs.
 
Tightening his arms around her, he found himself grinning at her like a young lad.

          
"Careful."
 
He growled.
 
"Or I might take you up on it no matter where we are."

          
Lord Brighton cleared his throat.
 

          
Kenric looked up to find Rhiannon and Edmyg locked in a passionate embrace, similar to what he had been contemplating with Megan.
 

          
"There will be time enough for that later."
 
Casually,

Kenric threw his sister's own words back at her.
 

          
Flushed, Rhiannon broke out of Edmyg's embrace.
 
Still, she clutched at his hand, as though afraid to let him go. Or maybe she was unable to stand without his support.
 
Kenric certainly could relate to that.
 

          
"What is this?"
 
He asked, making his voice the stern one of a concerned brother.
 
To his surprise, it was Edmyg who answered, moving towards Kenric unafraid, though his slender body proclaimed him no warrior.

          
"We are soul mates too."
 
Edmyg said.
 
"For many years, an evil spell has separated us.
 
It not only kept me confined to Lord Brighton's keep, but made me an old man.
 
Thanks to you and your mate, the spell has been broken.
 
It could be that our coming together is also part of the prophecy."

          
Kenric remembered Megan's words.
 
Love is the most powerful of all, she had said.
 
Holding her close, he found he could easily believe it.

          
“Love is a powerful magic.”

          
The air shifted and shimmered around them.
 
In an instant, they were surrounded by three other faeries who wore the auras of their power like cloaks.
 
Uncommonly beautiful, as is the way of their kind, they said nothing.
 
Instead, they simply stared at him and waited.
 

          
"He has come."
 
Rhiannon said simply, still clutching Edmyg's hand.
 
"Willingly."

          
"Is he ready then, to begin the training?"
 

          
Since his sister could not answer for him, she met his gaze.
 
From her expression he knew what he needed to say, though he could not say everything she wished.

          
"I am ready."
 
With Megan at his side he was ready for anything.
 
He would protect her with his life if need be.

          
"And do you understand all that acceptance of this training entails?"

          
He gave a regal nod, pinning each of them individually with a bold stare.
 
"I do, though I must decline part of it.
 
I accept my Faerie blood, acknowledge that it flows through my veins equal to the blood that is human.
 
However --"