Lone Star Magic Read Online Free Page B

TM’s back. Digging his heels into the
terrified horse’s side, he held on a TM rushed blindly forward.
    Carly, he had to get to Carly. Make sure she
was safe.
    Running in bucking jumps, they made it to the
open door.
    Fresh air. The heavy smoke poured out of the
barn.
    Eyes stinging, Alrick slid off TM, dodging
another furious kick. “You and I will settle this later,” he
promised the young horse. Ears flat against his head, TM lifted his
lip. Alrick ignored him. Right now, he had to find Carly.
    He ran.
     
    * * *
     
    The water from her garden hose wasn’t nearly
enough. But it was all she had. Looking over her shoulder at the
burning barn, Carly yelled again for Alrick to bring TM out. The
barn roof looked like it was about to collapse any second, with
Alrick and TM inside.
    Kayo paced frantically, barking
encouragement.
    Then TM emerged from the thick, black smoke.
But Alrick… Carly stared – Alrick rode TM out! TM wasn’t even what
horse people called “green broke”. He’d never even had a blanket on
his back, never mind a rider.
    As she watched, TM bucked. Like a burr to
wool, Alrick hung on. Then, in one fluid motion, he slid to the
ground. Kayo stopped barking and ran to him.
    Continuing to spray the roof, she felt a
spurt of satisfaction as she managed to extinguish one hot spot.
Only to see another blaze to life. She fought a losing battle. As
she thought this, the roof collapsed.
    Alrick came running.
    As he did, another bolt of lightning snaked
down from the cloudless sky, striking the roof of her house.
    Flame erupted, catching hold of the dry wood
and feeding hungrily. She turned the hose on her roof.
    “The Warlord.” Alrick shouted. He said
something else, in a language she didn’t understand and gestured
with his hand, several motions, too quick for her to follow.
    Suddenly, something blocked the sun. She
looked up. A huge dark cloud had formed in the previously cloudless
sky – directly over her house. The kind of cloud that should have
accompanied the thunder and lightning earlier.
    Rain poured down on her roof. The kind of
rain that caused flash floods, the type of rain that came with a
Category Four hurricane to the coast. Only over her house and barn.
Nowhere else. Dousing the fire.
    Dry, she stood and stared as Alrick, gave her
a triumphant grin. His brown eyes glowed. She glanced at TM, who’d
stopped his prancing and watched also, and at Kayo, who sat near
Alrick’s feet, his coat gleaming in the sun.
    In the sun. There were no other clouds
anywhere in the brilliant blue sky.
    As she realized this, the shadowy cloud blew
apart. One moment, torrents of water rained from it, the next it
was utterly, totally gone. Vanished, as if she’d only imagined it.
The morning sun again beamed bright. Her house still stood, the
roof slightly charred, no doubt waterlogged, but mostly intact.
    Alrick grinned. “There. The weather’s
reaction to his magic worked against the warlord. I was about to
try and call the rain when the storm appeared. At least it saved
your home.”
    “Magic?” Again she raised her face to the
sky, feeling the warmth of the sun on her face. “Magic had nothing
to do with that. That was the rain from the same storm that sent
the lightning.”
    His gaze narrowed. “The storm was the
weather, reacting to the magic.”
    He really was crazy. Great. Maybe
she’d better humor him. “Ah, magic. Right. Magic caused the
rain.”
    He gave a slow nod. “Yes, lucky for you. The
water kept the inferno from engulfing your dwelling.”
    “Taking this one step further,” she crossed
her arms. “I didn’t have any problems with weather until you
appeared. Was it your magic that brought the thunder and lightning
that destroyed my barn?”
    “No.”
    “Strange coincidence, isn’t it?”
    Alrick sighed. “No coincidence. The lightning
fire was the Warlord’s second attempt to kill you. I was about to
bring rain to counteract his spell, but the weather beat me