Storm Born Page 0,114

whispering that spring would yield to summer soon. The breeze carried all the delicious smells of the desert, and I caught the sweet scent of mesquite - not the barbecue kind but the delicate perfume emitted by its fuzzy yellow blooms. Above me, the sun beat down without remorse, warning the weak to get the hell out. The tourist season tended to drop off with the sharp increase in temperatures, but I loved this time of year.

And all around me, in this dry and unforgiving heat, I could feel the unseen water. It was in the saguaros and the cactus wrens and the mesquite trees' tap roots. There were even tiny bits in the air, despite the ostensible aridness. Everywhere there was life, there was water. Sensing it was second nature to me now. Calling it still remained a challenge.

Closing my eyes, I let my mind reach through the boundaries and send me into the Otherworld. Practice really did make perfect with these transitions; they were effortless now, just like sensing water. My body slipped through, pulled toward the corresponding thin spot near Dorian's home. Before I could arrive there, however, I reached out toward the Slinky, using my stored essence as a magnet to pull me there instead of the road. Moments later, I appeared on Dorian's bed.

"Presumptuous," I muttered, swinging off of it and standing up. I picked up the Slinky and tossed it around, watching its rings arch and fall.

"Is that you, my lady?" I heard a tentative voice call. Seconds later, Nia's young face peeked in from the other room. "His majesty is in the conservatory. If you'll follow me?"

Wow. I'd never heard of anyone actually having a conservatory, outside of the game Clue. When Nia led me inside, I found Dorian standing in front of a canvas with a painter's palette and brush in his hands. Dorian, in the conservatory, with the candlestick, I thought. Er, paintbrush.

He smiled when he saw me. "Lady Markham, you're just in time. Perhaps you can amuse Rurik. He's become terribly unreasonable."

I glanced over to the side of the room where Rurik, the massive warrior with platinum blond hair, sat on a delicate chaise lounge upholstered in lavender velvet. He wore full leather and copper armor, and the entire juxtaposition made me wince.

"I don't mean to be unreasonable, your majesty." He spoke through gritted teeth. "But sitting here and not moving - while in armor - isn't all that easy."

"Bah, you're whining. Most unseemly for a man of your station. Why, Lady Markham can stay still for hours - and in far more uncomfortable circumstances too, I might add."

Rurik glanced at me, both startled and pleasantly intrigued.

"Don't move! Look back here."

Rurik's leer faded as he turned back toward his king. Dorian's canvas faced away from me, so I had no idea what his masterpiece looked like. I started to walk around and check it out, but he waved me off with the brush.

"No, no. Not until I'm finished."

Shrugging, I pulled up another lavender chair - the entire room was that color, actually - and slouched into it. Dorian spoke without looking up from his work.

"So what have you done today, my dear? Anything entertaining?"

"Not really. Slept in. Banished a shade. I actually read for most of the day. Kind of lame."

"What are you reading? I really enjoy that one human's works...oh, I forget his name. He was very popular for a while. Shakemore?"

"Shakespeare?"

"Yes, that's the one. Has he written anything new?"

"Um, not in, like, four or five centuries."

"Ah, pity. So what did you read about instead?"

"The weather."

He paused midstroke. "And what did you learn?"

"Storm-formation stuff. How water molecules build up and condense, how charged particles discharge to form lightning. Oh, and there was something else about high and low pressure, but I've got to go back and reread that. Kind of confusing."

Both men treated me to brief, blank looks, and then Dorian returned to his work. "I see. And do you think this will facilitate your learning?"

"Not sure. But I kind of like knowing what the end result is supposed to be."

Silence fell as Dorian continued painting. Rurik persisted in looking miserable, occasionally sighing loudly to express his discontent. I'd never entirely forgiven him for the ice elemental thing, so seeing him suffer had its perks. Unfortunately, it grew boring after a while. I crossed my arms and slumped farther into the chair, catching his notice.

"Sire, your lady's restless. I'm sure you have more interesting things to do with her.