A Little Magic Read Online Free PDF Page A

.
    The power shimmered, brighter, warmer. She fought to hold it, to absorb what gift was given. She thrust up a hand, the silver of the ring she wore exploding with light as a single narrow beam shot through the layering clouds and struck. The heat of it flowed up her arm, made her want to weep again. This time in gratitude.
    She was not yet defenseless.
    Cal clicked the shutter again and again. He took nearly a dozen pictures of her. She stood, still as a statue in a perfect circle of flowers. Some odd trick of the wind made it blow her hair away from her glowing face. Some odd trick of the light made it beam down on her in a single perfect diagonal shaft.
    She was beautiful, unearthly. Though his heart stumbled when her fingers appeared to explode with light, he continued to circle her and capture her on film.
    Then she began to move. Just a sway of her body, rhythmic, sensual. The wind whipped the thin fabric of her dress, then had it clinging to those slim curves. The language she spoke now was familiar from his dreams. With unsteady hands, Cal lowered the camera. It was unsettling enough that he somehow understood the ancient tongue. But he would see beyond the words and into her thoughts as clearly as if they were written on a page.
    Protect. Defend. The battle is nearly upon us. Help me. Help him .
    There was desperation in her thoughts. And fear. The fear made him want to reach out, soothe her, shield her. He stepped forward and into the circle.
    The moment he did, her body jerked. Her eyes opened, fixed on his. She held up a hand quickly before he could touch her. “Not here.” Her voice was raw and thick. “Not now. It waits for the moon to fill.”
    Flowers brushed her knees as she walked out of the circle. The wind that had poured through her hair gentled, died.
    “You rested well?” she asked him.
    “What the hell is going on here?” His eyes narrowed. “What the hell did you put in my tea?”
    “A dollop of Irish. Nothing more.” She smiled at his camera. “You’ve been working. I wondered what you would see here, and need to show.”
    “Why did you strip me?”
    “Your clothes were damp.” She blinked once, as she saw his thoughts in his eyes. Then she laughed, low and long with a female richness that stirred his blood. “Oh, Cal, you have a most attractive body. I’ll not deny I looked. But in truth, I’m after preferring a man awake and participating when it comes to the matters you’re thinking of.”
    Though furious, he only angled his head. “And would you find it so funny if you’d awakened naked in a strange bed after taking tea with a strange man?”
    Her lips pursed, then she let out a breath. “Your point’s taken, well taken. I’m sorry for it. I promise you I was thinking only of giving you your ease.” Then the humor twinkled again. “Or mostly only of that.” She spread her arms. “Would you like to strip me, pay me back in kind?”
    He could imagine it, very well. Peeling that long, thin dress away from her, finding her beneath. “I want answers.” His voice was sharp, abrupt. “I want them now.”
    “You do, I know. But are you ready, I wonder?” She turned a slow circle. “Here, I suppose, is the place for it. I’ll tell you a story, Calin Farrell. A story of great love, great betrayal. One of passion and greed, of power and lust. One of magic, gained and lost.”
    “I don’t want a story. I want answers.”
    “It’s the same they are. One and the other.” She turned back to him, and her voice flowed musically. “Once, long ago, this castle guarded the coast, and its secrets. It rose silver and shining above the sea. Its walls were thick, its fires burned bright. Servants raced up and down the stairways, into chambers. The rushes were clean and sweet on the floor. Magic sang in the air.”
    She walked toward curving steps, lifted her hem and began to climb. Too curious to argue, Cal followed her.
    He could see where the floors had been, the lintels and