Kay Hooper - The Wizard Of Seattle

Roxanne watched them and wished she could hear what they were saying. They looked very intense, both of them a little pale and utterly still, as if whatever they were talking about mattered a great deal to them.

She didn't trust Merlin, naturally, but had to admit if only to herself that she owed him her life. Why had he healed her injuries? From all she knew of male wizards, not one would lift a finger to save a female, counting himself lucky that there'd be one less enemy for him to worry about.

Serena might have encouraged him to do it, of course. But, again, Roxanne knew of no male wizard who would pay the least heed to the wishes of any powerless female. If Merlin had indeed healed Roxanne because Serena had asked him to, the rapport between them was certainly out of the ordinary.

And baffling to Roxanne. They traveled together, a very powerful male wizard and a strikingly beautiful woman, both of them obviously in the prime of life and health-and yet she wasn't his concubine? They were companions, Serena had explained, and yet Roxanne saw and sensed an intensity of emotion between them that she could only compare with those of the mated pairs she knew in the city. There was always an underlying wariness between such mates, but also a powerful need that seemed to be beyond reason or understanding. To Roxanne, anyway.

Watching the two by the stream, she wondered what it was they felt. Though he was quite adept at controlling his features, even Merlin seemed to be struggling with emotion, something Roxanne had believed was impossible for a male wizard. Did he actually care about Serena? She cared for him, that was plain, but many powerless women Roxanne knew had deluded themselves into believing that the wizards who bedded them felt love, as well as lust. Still, despite her emotions, Serena was hardly subservient to the wizard. She followed him readily, but seemed to do so by her own choice rather than his force or will.

Could such things be the norm in the place where they came from, that Seattle? Were male wizards there capable of kindness, perhaps even of genuine caring?

Roxanne didn't know, couldn't know, but the possibility made a pang of wistfulness dart through her- gone as quickly as it had appeared. Even if there were places outside Atlantia where male wizards weren't treacherous and brutal, it could make no difference to Roxanne, because she was trapped here and because she was a wizard.

Unbidden, she remembered her recent encounter with another stranger. He had come to the city- unusual though not unheard of behavior for a male wizard. A young man, he had obeyed the laws without protest and had seemed content to wander about, his occasional questions polite and unthreatening. Handsome, as most of the male wizards were, he had smiled often and once had even laughed out loud…

With an effort Roxanne closed the door on those thoughts. It was, after all, pointless to think of such things. Perhaps she had . felt something unexpected, even extraordinary, when she had looked up into his clear gray eyes, but it hardly mattered. They were both wizards.

Besides that, Roxanne doubted she would ever be able to feel anything except fear and cold sickness if any man, wizard or powerless, came near her. Her memories of what had happened to her were mercifully clouded, but they haunted her nonetheless. They always would, she knew Merlin had healed her injuries so well, she bore not a single scar to remind her of the violence of that night; still, she could hardly forget.

In fact, she could be bearing a lasting reminder of the violence done to her. It had occurred to her last night, and though Serena had urged her to grieve and get angry, Roxanne's tears had come from the realization that her rapists' seed might well have taken root in her womb.

If that had indeed happened, Roxanne would be bound by the laws of Sanctuary to bear the child, though she wouldn't be required to rear it herself. Oh, everyone would be sincerely compassionate about what she had suffered, but she would not be allowed to harm herself or the unborn child. In Sanctuary the scarcity of children made abortion punishable by death.

Roxanne's hand crept to her lower belly, and she prayed to every god she didn't believe in to spare her the torment of giving life to the child of a brutal rapist. And even as she prayed, her eyes lifted to scan the mountains ringing the valley, probing for the gleam of palace windows half hidden among trees.

The closer they came to the city, the larger it looked to Serena. The stone wall surrounding it was very high-at least twelve feet-which meant that as they approached, what they mostly saw were rooftops (slate or tile), and what little was visible through the open gate.

Open, but guarded. Four powerless men, armed only with knives at their belts and simple bows, stood impassively on either side of the gate, arms folded. like the village men Serena and Merlin had first encountered, they were dressed in heavy trousers and laced shirts, but wore no coats. They appeared formidable, since they were carbon copies of the Neanderthal villagers, but it was obvious they weren't the true guards-at least not during the day.

The two women evidently were guards; Serena could sense their power and knew both were wizards. Unlike the men, they carried no visible weapons, but their inner force would undoubtedly make them far more deadly than the males until the night and the Curtain sapped their strength.

Both were as delicately lovely as Roxanne. like her, they were blond, a couple of inches shorter than Serena, and appeared almost ethereal-fragile rather than frail. There was nothing weak about the way they stood, hands on hips, and watched Roxanne and the newcomers approach.

"Let me speak to them," Roxanne warned her companions quietly. "Strangers are rare here, and a Sentinel's duty is to be suspicious of everything."

A bit hurriedly Serena said, "Is there anything in particular we should know about the city before we go in?"

"Yes." Roxanne glanced at Merlin to include him in what she had to say, but looked directly at Serena. "You'll be cautioned to obey the laws posted just inside the gates, but no one will mention punishment. It's very simple here. The price you pay for breaking any law is banishment from the city-forever. That's true of wizard and powerless alike. However, because of the fear and mistrust between male and female wizards, every male is watched carefully, and if he's caught breaking any one of the laws, he's likely to be attacked and severely injured before the Sentinels can get him out of the city. Remember that."

Merlin nodded slightly to show he understood, even though neither woman was looking at him. Serena had said very little since their brief but intense talk by the stream; finding out that she was the sole female wizard in their time had shaken her badly, and she had pulled away from him almost immediately. Her face had closed down and was still closed, pale, expressionless, and her eyes were unreadable.

He hadn't wanted the conversation to end that way, so abruptly and with so little explained, but it was dear Serena had absorbed all she was able to for the moment. So now they were on the verge of entering a city where it was clear Merlin could be viewed with open suspicion and hate, and where Serena would undoubtedly be forced to digest even more disturbing information about this splintered and doomed society.

How would that affect them both?

Roxanne reached the guards first, the other two halting behind her, and spoke pleasantly to her fellow wizards. "Good afternoon, Nola. Phaedra."

"We thought you lost, Roxanne," Phaedra responded in the same amiable tone. She was the taller of the two guards by an inch or so, and wore a half smile that didn't reach her slate gray eyes. "Two nights away from Sanctuary?"