Dreamwalker (Stormwalker #5) (2 page)

That
had worked well. I could also contact the hotel through my magic mirror, a shard of which I always carried with me, but I was in no mood to deal with my temperamental mirror at the moment.
 

It was a nice evening, and a walk would not be a bad thing. I’d stroll along the highway, and Mick, when he had secured Gabrielle, would come back for me. Or if a resident of Magellan, the little town beyond my hotel, came along the road, they’d no doubt give me a ride.
 

I turned my steps southward and began my hike.

As I reached the street in Winslow that led to the train depot—the only touristy road in town, with a mural tribute to the Eagle’s song, an elegantly restored railroad hotel, and a depot that was both Amtrak stop and art gallery—a limousine pulled up beside me.

Limousines are not common sights in this little town off the freeway in northern Arizona. I stopped, peering suspiciously at the smoke-dark windows. The last time I’d seen a limo like this, it had been full of dragons in human form—not nice, sexy dragons like Mick, but serious kill-anyone-who-pisses-us-off type dragons.

The feel wasn’t right, though. Dragons give off an aura of fiery red, which sparks if you get too close. I’d been living with Mick long enough to recognize dragon aura at fifty paces.

This aura was far more subtle, hidden even. Only something very magical could cloak exactly what it was.

I didn’t have long to wonder. The door opened, and I looked inside to see a man in a business suit and expensive shoes, wearing wire-rimmed glasses and sitting comfortably on a leather seat. He appeared harmless, nerdy even, but the eyes that regarded me from behind the glasses were gray and hard as steel.

“Hello, Janet,” Emmett Smith said to me. “Get in. We need to talk.”

Chapter Two

The last thing I wanted to do was climb into a limo alone with Emmett Smith. It might
be
the last thing I ever did, so I did not leap to obey him. Even when two large thug-like men exited the car to persuade me, I stood my ground.

Emmett called himself the Ununculous.
The
because there was only one Ununculous at a time—the reason being that he’d killed all others who could rival him for the title. The Ununculous was the most powerful mage in existence. Emmett hadn’t only murdered everyone who stood in his path, he’d stolen their magic as he’d gone along, somehow absorbing it into himself. For all I knew, he ate his rivals and imbibed their magic that way.

This summer, Emmett had battled both against me and alongside me to keep another mage from taking a very powerful artifact that lent its user unstoppable magic. Gods, dragons, mages, and I had fought it out in the desert on one long, exhausting night.

Emmett had helped me then, but he’d also discovered I possessed another artifact I’d been trying to keep secret from him. He’d told me he’d be back to take it from me someday and now, here he was.

“A truce, Janet,” Emmett said. He hadn’t moved from his half reclined position, but Emmett didn’t need to work very hard to kill me. “I only want to talk. Honest.”

“In that case, we should do it somewhere public with all my friends around me, including and especially Mick.”

“You have even stronger friends than your lover,” Emmett replied. “How about Sheriff Jones? We can drive to Flat Mesa and pick him up.”

An interesting proposal. Nash Jones was a magical null—that is, magic did not affect him in any way, no matter how strong it was. One reason we’d escaped from Emmett last summer was that Nash had absorbed his spells, and then, with an assist from Mick, had driven Emmett away.
 

Emmett found Nash puzzling. I had no doubt he would love to dissect the man and discover what made him immune to magic. Emmett might not be able to hurt Nash with spells, but there was nothing to stop him ordering one of his goons to shoot him outright.

“Pass,” I said. “No reason to put Nash in danger on a nice autumn night. I do it to him often enough.”

Emmett lifted his hands. “I give you my word, I will not attempt to hurt, disable, or kill you in any way. I really do only want to talk.”

I didn’t move. “About what?”

“Many things.” He gestured to the seat opposite him. “Please. I can drop you off at your hotel. I see your friends have stranded you here.”

“It’s not far. I can walk, or call someone.”

“With what? If you are running true to form, you have lost, left behind, or destroyed your latest cell phone. Let me save your feet. And please hurry and make up your mind, before I have to insist.”

I sighed. Truth to tell, I was curious to know what Emmett wanted to talk about, though I could guess. His thugs had dark automatic pistols surreptitiously pointed at me. While I could destroy those with a well-placed slash of magic, I’d probably kill the men as well, plus blow up the car and maybe a good bit of road before I could stop myself.

Tourists on vacation, who’d come to stay in the historic Harvey Girls hotel designed by a woman architect more than a hundred years ago, were wandering the street. I’d kill them too.

Emmett knew that. His mouth twitched into his version of a smile as he glanced at the innocents around us.

“For every second you delay,” he said, “I can have one of them drop dead. How about that?”

Someday I’d get my hands around Emmett’s throat and strangle him. I looked forward to it.

I heaved another sigh and climbed inside the limo.

A thug shut the door. He and his fellow got into the compartment directly behind the driver, leaving me and Emmett in the very back space that held two leather bench seats facing each other.

“Something to drink?” Emmett asked as the limousine pulled smoothly from the curb. There was no traffic save one pickup heading the opposite direction. “I can open a lovely chardonnay, or if you’d prefer red, a Syrah blend. I don’t always like blends, but this one is an exception.”

“No, thank you.” Alcohol and I didn’t mix very well, so I avoid it. I’m a lightweight drunk, and who knew what I might do tonight if I grew tipsy? Besides, I didn’t trust Emmett not to put something in the wine.

Emmett shrugged. “Your loss. My collection is the envy of the world.” He pulled from a compartment at his side an open bottle of red, filled a wide-bowled glass, and took a sip. “Ah, this is nice. Full and fruity, very warm. Are you certain you won’t partake?”

I shook my head. Him demonstrating he’d happily drink the wine didn’t mean he wouldn’t spike it with something that wouldn’t affect him, or that the poison wouldn’t already be in whatever glass he handed me.

“You are wonderfully suspicious, Janet. Wise of you. It keeps you alive. Now.” Emmett rested his goblet on the arm of his seat. “I am certain you have guessed the main thing I want to discuss. You have a magic mirror, and I want it.”

A magic mirror is an immensely powerful talisman. It can enhance a mage’s power, assist in spells, watch over enemies, give advice, and discover information. My hotel, which I’d purchased and restored over the last couple years, had contained a magic mirror, set aside and forgotten. Mick and I had woken the thing from dormancy, and it had formed an attachment to us. The mirror belonged to us now, would fight for us and refuse to work for another mage until we both were dead.

The fact that my mirror talked like a sex-crazed drag queen with the tendency to sing loudly and off-key in the middle of the night was beside the point. It had deep powers I hadn’t even tapped yet. Emmett having it would be a bad idea.

“Sorry,” I said. “You know mirrors pass from one mage to the next only when the previous mage dies. Not a price I’m willing to pay. I like being alive.”

“There are ways,” Emmett said. “I have done much research on this topic since discovering the delicious fact that you own such a mirror. You can give me the mirror under certain circumstances and following specific rituals. I will compensate you well.”

Even if I believed him, even if he proved himself right, no way was I giving my magic mirror to someone like Emmett.

“Hmm, let me think,” I said. I narrowed my eyes. “No.”

“You have a piece of it with you, don’t you?” Emmett asked. “I know you do. I can smell it. And I know you and your boyfriend never go anywhere without a shard tucked away, in case you need it. Better than a cell phone, isn’t it?”

I gave him a neutral look. I did have a bit of mirror in a chamois bag in one of my pockets, but I had no intention of bringing it out. At least, I hadn’t until the mirror started screaming.

The high-pitched keening filled the car, and both Emmett and I winced. The limo didn’t slow. Only the magical can hear the mirror. The human driver and the two henchmen weren’t aware that anything was going on back here. I envied them.

“
Could
you keep that thing under control?” Emmett demanded, his face screwing up against the sound.

I dragged the shard of mirror from my pocket and pulled back the leather around it. The mirror was black, reflecting nothing.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
The sound spiked through my brain.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

“Shut up!” I yelled at it.

Don’t let him take me, Janet. Don’t let him! I’ll just diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie.

“Will you stop screaming?” I snapped. “You’re not going anywhere.”

The mirror dropped to silence. Emmett delicately touched his ear. “You know, I could teach you a spell to muffle it.”

Sounded divine. But, no learning magic from Emmett. He’d find a way to spike the spell the same as he’d doctor a drink.

“No, thank you,” I said. “I’ll put up with it.”

I thought Emmett would be peering interestedly at the shard, but he studied me instead, his smile unnerving.

“Think about it, Janet. I could make it worth your while. And Mick’s. I realize you own the mirror jointly.”

“I’ve already said no.”

“Yes, you have. It’s too bad, really. I like you, and would hate to kill you. I am trying to find ways I don’t have to do that.”

I wasn’t reassured. “Nice of you.”

“Not really. This is in my own best interest.” He waved his hand at the mirror and lifted his glass of wine. “Put it away. I’ll have to come at this from another angle.”

I tucked the mirror back into my pocket and looked out the window. I could see nothing of the night, only a reflection in the smoked glass of myself, and beyond me, curved and distorted, Emmett.

“You’re a fascinating study, Janet,” Emmett was saying. “The two natures of you, constantly battling. The earth magic of the Stormwalker and the crazed magic of the goddess from Beneath. It must drive you insane.”

I looked at him but said nothing. He was completely right, but I had no intention of telling him that.

“I can help you, you know,” Emmett said. “Make you able to operate the two sides of yourself independently, without worrying about destroying yourself—and everyone around you—whenever you need to work magic. Wouldn’t control be a soothing thing to have?”

I tightened. “Not if it meant being in some strange thrall to you. I’ll take my chances with blowing myself up, thank you.”

“Hmm.” Emmett shook his head. “You are one stubborn, short-sighted woman. I’m surprised the dragon puts up with you. Ah, well. If you’re ever interested, call me. I believe we have reached our destination.”

The limo was pulling up in front of the Crossroads Hotel. We’d put in a paved drive last month where guests could offload without having to park in the dirt. The driveway stood empty most of the day, as it did now. Not all of my guests needed to arrive in vehicles.

Mick was outside, waiting. I could see the dragon tatts on his arms shimmering—he was ready to go dragon, break open the limousine like an egg, and fish me out. He’d have heard the mirror screaming too.

As soon as the limo stopped, Mick had the door open and was reaching for me. He didn’t seem in the least surprised to see Emmett.

I stumbled out, half pulled by Mick. Mick shoved me aside, not in any anger at me, but so I wouldn’t be hurt by what he did next.

As Emmett gave Mick his annoying smile and started to speak, Mick threw a fireball into the limo.

The human guards and driver shouted and boiled out. They ran from the now-flaming car, but turned around and fired their pistols at Mick.

The guns were yanked out of their hands by ropes of flame. The pistols glowed in the darkness, the bullets swallowed as soon as they left the barrels. The human guards now started to yell and curse, ending up in a huddle together as they watched the limo burn, flame rising into the night. Emmett was still inside.

The flame died with a sudden
whump
. All fire vanished without even a wisp of smoke to show it had existed. Only the car, burned out, remained as evidence of Mick’s rage.

Emmett emerged from the backseat, unharmed and untouched. His hair was neatly in place, and his glasses were straight.

He brushed off his dark blue silk suit coat as he stood up, but there was no ash or soot on it.

“You owe me two bottles of wine, dragon,” Emmett said. He looked at me and sent me another little smile. “Sweet dreams, Janet.”

And he vanished.

Mick seized me and pulled me around to him. He held my face between his hands and looked down into my eyes.
His
eyes had gone dragon black, fury wiping out the beautiful blue they were when he was all human.

“Are you all right?” he asked in a hard voice.

“Yeah.” I was shaky, but standing up and alive, which was so much better than things could have been. “I’m fine. Really.”

Mick kept peering at me, checking me over. It’s true that a mage can mess you up in ways other than physical, sometimes without you knowing. Mick was looking into my eyes for signs of damage to my psyche, my brain, my emotions … anything.

I couldn’t tell whether he was satisfied, but he pulled me into a rough embrace, nearly crushing me. I didn’t mind. Being smashed against a tight-bodied man like Mick wasn’t a bad thing.

Flashing lights broke the night. Of course. An SUV marked
Hopi County Sheriff’s Department
swung through the parking lot and came to a dusty halt next to the guys from Emmett’s limo. The three thugs, minus their guns, couldn’t move. A rope of flame, courtesy of Mick, encircled them, keeping them in place.