Shanna Swendson - Don't Hex with Texas

If he noticed, though, he didn’t let on. We walked silently to the path that led down to the water’s edge, where I waited for him to do something incredibly disappointing like putting his fingers to his lips and giving a sharp whistle or chanting a summoning spell. Instead he turned pink and stepped toward me. “You, ah, um, remember how this worked last night?”

I faked a dramatic sigh. “If I have to suffer for the sake of our cause, well, I guess that’s just my cross to bear.”

He surprised me by grinning in reply. “I have to admit, it’s one of the least unpleasant things I’ve had to do in the line of duty.” I wanted to ask him why, if it was so not unpleasant, he hadn’t done it when it wasn’t in the line of duty since he’d been here, but he was already kissing me and I forgot about saying anything.

Our first kiss had been under an enchantment. Our second had been in the middle of the company Christmas party. We’d had a few more since then, but not recently, before last night. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the long drought or because of the magic in the air, but this was one of the better ones.

When we finally separated, I whispered, “You know, that’s good for more than just summoning nature spirits.”

I didn’t get to hear his response, for a burbling voice near our feet said, “Geez, use a bullhorn, why don’t you? We said we’d be here.” I turned to see the naiad from the night before clinging to the creek bank.

“Thank you for coming,” Owen said. “I’ll lead our enemies to you, and then you and your people should give them a good scare. I don’t want anyone harmed permanently, though. I just want them never to want to have anything to do with magic ever again.”

“We’re looking forward to it,” the naiad said. “The crew is on their way and should be here by sundown.”

“Is anyone there?” a voice called from above. It was Rod. Owen released my hand as we made our way up the path to the park. Merlin was with him.

“Will we have our allies?” Merlin asked.

“They’re on their way,” Owen said. “I’ve just spoken to the naiad who’s been dealing with us.”

“Excellent. It appears that we’re ready.”

Granny arrived then, carrying a bottle with a scarlet thread wrapped around its neck. Teddy followed not too far behind, breathing hard in his effort to keep up with her. He carried a pillowcase with something in it.

Granny went right up to Merlin. “I trapped a sprite a few years back,” she said, holding up the bottle.

“It’ll be mad when I let it go, so I’m thinking I throw the bottle into the midst of all them naughty boys and see what happens.”

I cringed as Rod visibly stifled a laugh, but Merlin bowed gallantly to her. “Thank you for your efforts, good lady. I am certain that will be helpful.”

She brandished her cane. “And if that doesn’t work, I can swat a few backsides.”

I leaned over to whisper to Owen, “A sprite?” In my experience, “sprite” was the term modern male fairies preferred, since there was a stigma involving men and the word “fairy.”

“A legendary wild creature,” he whispered in response. “Not the kind you’re used to. Some don’t even think they exist. They’re right out of folklore and get the blame for all kinds of things. I’m curious to see what she really has in there.”

“If she’s got anything in there.”

“If she caught a sprite, it could help us.” He raised his voice to a more normal speaking level and addressed Teddy. “Did you find the things you were looking for in his room?”

Teddy raised the pillowcase. “Right here. There were eighteen of them. I got out of the room not too long before he came back and packed all his stuff away. There was a lot of yelling and cursing about having been robbed, let me tell you. That brought out Ramesh and his shotgun, so Idris didn’t bother lodging a formal complaint.”

“What is it?” Rod asked.

Owen took the pillowcase from Teddy and drew out one of the necklaces. “This.” He tossed it to Rod, who immediately raised both eyebrows.

“You’ve got to be kidding. It’s a good thing we got our hands on these. We’d have been toast if they’d been armed like this.”

Merlin leaned over Rod’s hand to study the necklace. “Very interesting work, but rather unorthodox.”

He straightened and pinned Owen with a sharp look, then asked, “What did you plan to do with them?”

“I gave one to Dean so he’d be armed while he’s in the middle of them. I hope we can count on him not to abuse it. Otherwise, my main concern was that they not have them. This magic is too dark-tinged for me to feel comfortable using it.” Suddenly, he smiled. “But I do have an idea.”

He took off toward the creek, carrying the pillowcase. The rest of us hurried to follow him. Merlin lagged behind, escorting Granny. The naiad greeted us, not sounding too thrilled to see us. “I said we were coming. Keep your shorts on.”

“I have a gift for you,” Owen said, upending the pillowcase on the water’s edge. “These will draw power to you and your people. I ask you not to use them too much tonight because the rest of us will need resources, but in the future, they should allow your people to control the magical elements in this area. You shouldn’t face more problems with outsiders draining the power lines.”

She pulled herself halfway out of the water and picked up one of the necklaces. Her eyes went wide as she held it. “This is a generous gift,” she said. “We are in your debt.” She turned her head and made a high-pitched sound that reminded me of dolphins. Soon, we were surrounded by pinpricks of light as all the magical creatures converged. “We will fight at your side tonight.” Then she batted her eyes at Owen and lifted her seaweedy hair off her neck, completely baring her torso. “Now, if you’d be so kind as to help me put one on…”

He obliged, blushing slightly and avoiding looking at me. He needn’t have been embarrassed on my account. I didn’t feel particularly threatened by a chick who lived in the water, unless she pulled some Little Mermaid stunt to be with him. The cheap metal Lone Star necklace looked out of place on her unearthly form, and I tried not to wish that it turned her skin green.

Sam swooped in then and said, “Looks like the party’s about to begin over at the courthouse. And funny, the gang’s a lot smaller than it was.” If he’d had feathers, he would have preened, he looked so proud.

“I guess I’ll go be the bait,” Owen said. “I’ll need Katie with me. The rest of you, stand by.”

Merlin stepped up in front of Owen, staring him in the eye. Most of the time, Merlin seemed like a kindly, cheerful older gentleman, the sort you could imagine playing Santa at the children’s hospital every Christmas. But every so often, without saying or doing anything in particular, there was something about him that made you well aware that he was a legendary sorcerer from more than a thousand years ago. This was one of those times, and I could tell from the way Owen stood that he sensed that, too. “I will be able to rely on you in this?” Merlin asked him.

“Yes, sir.”

“You remember what your priority is, and that your personal concerns have to be secondary?”

Owen glanced ever so slightly at me, then said, “Yes, I do.” I couldn’t help but gulp. Merlin was basically reminding him that he was supposed to catch the bad guy instead of rescuing me, and while I was in favor of that in theory, it made it kind of suck to be me.

“Very well, then.” Merlin then stepped aside, and Owen moved to catch up with me.

When we reached the courthouse square, he took my hand. “Do you see anything?”