Familiar!

She shook her head negative. "I'm just a Kitty. So is Esmie."

I looked down at Kathleen's mother, a command in my eyes. She dropped her eyes yet nodded in acquiescence. She would shield them all even though she too was exhausted magically. We both knew whatever shields she had wouldn't hold for long even if she'd been fresh. Now, after wasting her magic on uselessly trying to breach Kathleen's shield, her powers wouldn't stop a flea. She knew it. I knew it too. If there was any hope of getting the two girls back, I could not fail. With that on my conscience I directed my vision inward and then flung it outward.

"FABIAN!"

I poured power into the cry then waiting for a response. I faintly felt shields spring up and turned slightly so they were in front of me and added more power to the seeking energy I'd sent out, I needed a direction to focus on. As I added a touch more power, the shields I'd felt tightened and strengthened. I followed the feeling of the shields, seeking the Mage and his location. I needed to know where he was exactly. The feel of the direction and the distance between us told me he was southwest of me, somewhere near Santa Monica. Maybe Bel Aire or Brentwood. Maybe.

< Daniel McAllister.> My name came from whoever hid behind the shields I'd found. <Come to me.>

I laughed at the unintended confirmation of finding the one I sought in the first place I'd looked while his compulsion slid off without any effect. Twice more he tried to force me to go to him before the air in front of me vibrated and split. Brilliant light poured out of the line hanging in mid-air and expanded. A hole, edged in flaming gold, opened. Mr. Espinoza stepped back with a gasp, Nazaa reaching and holding his hand in hers as she kept him from falling down in shock.

"Don't worry. Don't worry. Don't worry." She repeated the mantra to him several times. "Daniel is here, don't worry. He'll protect us. Our Master is good at protecting us. Don't worry, Master is here."

I had no idea if I could live up to her confidence in me but I was going to try. Through the hole in space I could see a stranger, mouth set in concentration, centered in the opening. Fabian, judging by Nazaa's reaction when his face appeared.

Tall with short, well-groomed, black hair and a goatee, he was wearing white robes and standing in an all white room. White marble tile, white wood and leather furniture, white walls. It was all white on white on white as if he was making some sort of statement about his purity and cleanliness. I might have believed it if it hadn't been for the fact he'd kidnaped my neighbor's daughters and tried to abduct Nazaa and Esmie as well. The fact I could see both Katrina and Katya confirmed what he'd done.

The two girls were held by crude looking chains fastened to metal collars around their necks with common padlocks. The other ends of the chains were connected to a ring set into the floor in front of a huge white leather chair set centered along one wall like a throne. They were prizes and he'd put them there to admire them, probably after terrorizing them to get information about me. He probably also did it to taunt me into trying something stupid the moment I saw them chained to the floor like animals.

"So, Mage. You believe yourself to be powerful enough to challenge me?" His voice was smooth and polished as he effected a bored tone.

"I don't want to challenge anyone. I want the two girls back. That's all." I nodded toward them.

He turned to look at Katrina and Katya, his voice nothing but false innocence. "But, they are merely strays and I found them. They're mine and I think I'll keep them."

"They are not yours. They belong to their mother."

He laughed and the vocal affectation dropped away. "Their mother will belong to me too. As will their sister and the two Kitties I can see behind you."

"Thief!" Mrs. Black hissed at him from where she crouched next to Kathleen. "Give me back my Kits."

"However," completely ignoring her demand, he held up a finger. "I'm feeling generous today and I propose a trade; you give me what I want, the two Kitties behind you, and I'll give you one of these back. I'll keep the other as compensation for the trouble you've caused. You can even pick which one you want."

His deal was nothing of the sort. He'd kidnaped two girls and tried to make it seem as if he was being magnanimous in only giving one back. And then only if I gave him two other people in exchange. People I had no desire, or power, to give to him. Nor would I make myself an accomplis to his crimes by doing so.

Without bothering to consider his proposal, I stepped forward. In a single pace, from my living room to the other side of the glowing gold-edged hole in time and space, I moved from my house to his.

Katrina shouted as I appeared in the white room on the other side of the hole. "Look out!"

Chapter 23

"DANIEL!"

Kathleen's scream followed me through the hole in space just before a bolt of power slammed into me from behind. The unexpected impact knocked me across the slick white tiles on the floor, sliding until I hit the base of the white throne chair and stopped. A laugh made me look up through the stars in my eyes. The Mage who'd challenged me once before, and whose magic I'd given to Katrina, stood next to the portal I'd just come through. He grinned as he saw I recognized him.

"Yes, the magic you stole from me is mine again. And now I'm going to use it to kill you."

I looked at Katrina.

"He took it." She flicked a glance at Fabian to tell me whom she meant.

Another burst of power slammed into me as the other Mage raised his hands in a familiar gesture. I extended my own hands as a shield, channeling the power Kathleen had given me through them to ward off the strike. I could feel the energy draining away as the Mage continued to hammer at me.

What was I thinking by coming here? I didn't even know how to make a shield to protect myself, let alone get into a magic duel with someone who obviously knew what he was doing.

"Stop toying with him." Fabian told the other Mage.

"Yes Master." The Mage raised his hands again.

I had almost no magic left. If he hit me hard enough, I'd be unable to stop him. Desperately I reached for Kathleen, for magic, and found nothing. I clicked the binary switch in my head to call the orb. Nothing still. She was either too drained, or too far away. Like the last time, I couldn't reach her.

<Here.>

The voice was unfamiliar. Tenuously a small thread of magic wound its way to me. I batted it away not knowing who it was from and not wanting it to be another trap.

<Take it.>

The magic thread returned just as the other Mage slammed another bolt of lightening at me. My remaining magic slipped away and I could feel the heat and energy of the bolt which was going to hit me if I didn't do something quick. I scrambled to put the white throne between me and him.

<Hurry!>

There was no other choice. Latching onto the magic thread I pulled as hard as I could. Katrina's body jerked and she cried out in pain, her voice quickly rising into a long scream. I nearly slapped my head for my stupidity. She might be a Familiar but she was still only a little girl and, without the magic seed, she didn't have much magic she could give to me. Immediately I eased back on the amount I was getting from her and she stopped screaming to fall onto her side and whimper in relief. Katya scrunched closer to her sister and looked at me with terror clearly visible in her eyes.

I didn't have enough magic. If the Mage hit me with enough power, he'd get through and incinerate me. And the tiny thread of power from Katrina wasn't going to be enough to prevent it. Through the magic window I saw Kathleen stand and step toward me.

"Kathleen! NO!"

I kicked the throne at the Mage as Kathleen tumbled through the hole in space. She looked awful, her face was drawn and tired looking and she moved like one of the zombies on the TV. I knew she didn't have anything left so why was she here?

Fabian flipped a tiny bolt at her, knocking her rolling before she could respond. My head exploded in renewed anger as he laughed in glee. He was getting exactly what he wanted. That he only used a tiny drop of magic on her told me he wanted her alive. He wanted her powers for his own.

"Finally, the real prize will be mine." He chortled to himself as he smiled and laughed some more.

<Take this. Heal yourself.> I sent the magic thread from Katrina to her as the second Mage dodged the sliding chair and readied himself again.

<Daniel . . . > She sounded weak.

<HEAL YOURSELF!> I mentally shouted at her.

Kathleen took the magic thread and I could feel her use it to replenish her magic reserve. She still felt weak and drained to me and the tiny trickle of magic from Katrina wasn't going to do much in that regard. She had nothing extra to give to me. But then, I didn't need her to give me power, I just needed her there so the pathway was open.

Clicking the mental binary switch, I called the orb. As it appeared overhead I started filling it with power. Tapping deep into the center of the orb's source, I could feel the magic sizzling through me as I packed more and more of it into the ball. I didn't have a lot of time, if Fabian or the other Mage realized what I was doing they'd hit Kathleen with everything they had. She'd have no choice but to shield and cut me off from the magic stream.

I scooped as deeply as I could, the magic raw and pulsing while the orb increased in size and density with each bit of power I packed into it. It burned angrily as it hung in mid air, changing from gold to red to white as the magical power it contained increased beyond anything the world had seen before. I had enough energy in the orb to annihilate the entire universe if it got away from me. And it wasn't just dangerous. This time it was angry. It didn't feel angry, it was angry. Very angry.

"What? STOP HIM! Kill the Familiar!"

Fabian yelled at the second Mage as he hurled a huge bolt at Kathleen forcing her to raise her shield. The air shimmered with silver rainbows as Kathleen held up a single hand an instant before the magic shattered against her shield, sending flames flying outward in every direction as she flinched away from the impact.

The second Mage turned toward the girls, mirroring Fabian's raised hands. With the power of the orb, I spun him around and sent him reeling into Fabian who was readying for another blast against Kathleen's shields. They collided and stumbled, clutching each other for balance as the magic they'd called dissipated into the air when they lost their concentration.

Before they could gather themselves I encased them inside the ball of magic and released my control over it.

"KATHLEEN, CONTAIN THE ORB!"

I screamed as loud as I could and ducked as the flaming ball burst open, the power inside of it expanding and consuming everything it touched. If she couldn't hold it, everyone on the planet was doomed, I'd stuffed a lot of raw untamed magic in there before I let it go.

I could feel Fabian try to seize and control the wild magic in the orb. He stretched out his arms, making a grabbing motion with his hands and tensed. He held on for only a moment before flames ignited everywhere on his body. His clothes turned to ash as he became a pillar of brilliant golden flames, frozen in a position of agony as his eyes flared wide while he screamed soundlessly. Both mages were incinerated as the magic consumed them. Their charred bodies, one standing, one huddled at his feet, were outlined for a moment before whirling away like dust in a storm as the magic engulfed them. The orb pulsed with the increase in power and expanded again, even more out of control.

Once more silver rainbows refracted everywhere, stronger than even the intense golden light filling the room, as Kathleen's shield surrounded the orb. The magic raged inside the circular sphere as her impenetrable shields glittered and held the end of the world in check.

"Atta girl." I slumped exhausted to the floor while Kathleen extended one arm, palm out, toward the orb. Her eyes were fixed and unblinking as she concentrated. I could feel the magic flowing from Katrina to her sister as Kathleen used it to power her shield. Katrina's face paled and her pulse sped up but the magic kept coursing smoothly between them. The shield never wavered.

"Let the power escape into space. Just channel it out of the atmosphere and let it go."

With a gesture, Kathleen pushed her shields upward. A torrent of golden fire erupted, climbing as the flaming pillar grew to immense proportions. The roar made everything shake and it was impossible to hear anything as it shot skyward. I hoped there were no airplanes overhead, LAX wasn't far away and I had no idea if the magic would consume them the same way it had swallowed Fabian and his pet Mage.

It took awhile before the power ran out and the flaming pillar shrank until only two shining seeds of magic remained, floating in the center of Kathleen's shielding. One from Fabian, the other from the Mage whose magic I'd given to Katrina once before. Kathleen dropped her shield while I concentrated and returned one of the seeds to its nesting place inside the spark of Katrina's soul, leaving it unlocked this time so neither she, nor Katya, would ever have to go through this again.

The other seed I kept by tethering it to my own glowing spark. I'd find a place to put it some day but, until then, I wanted it where I could keep an eye on it.

"Ask your mother to teach you how to shield like Kathleen can. Then you can teach me." I dropped flat on my back and closed my eyes in relief. It was over.

"Sit up." Kathleen's quiet whisper came from mere inches away.

I shook my head no without bothering to open my eyes. I just wanted to lie here and hope the world forgot about me for awhile.

"Sit up." Kathleen repeated her request, closer this time.

She wasn't going to give in until I opened my eyes and sat up. With a sigh, I did as she asked, propping my body up with my arms extended out behind me.

"Kathleen . . ."

"Shh." She held a finger over my lips and slipped sideways to straddle my legs while facing me. Her arms went around my neck, drawing me closer yet. "No."

"No?" I was confused. What had I done for her to tell me no?

"Yes, no. I've decided."

"Huh?" She wasn't making things any clearer.

"Not Kathleen. Kitty."

"Kitty?" More confusion on my part. She wasn't a Kitty. She constantly said so. And she most especially wasn't my Kitty.

"Yes." Closing her eyes she kissed me. GOLD! sizzled along my nerves. Little weak sparks which told me she still didn't have any magic left.

<Your Kitty.>

I pushed the magic away and concentrated on kissing her back. Eventually we stopped so I could release the girls, calling a tiny orb and erasing the chains holding them. Kathleen hissed in surprise when it appeared, surrounding the orb with a small shield. I kissed her once more and told her everything was okay. Reluctantly she released the orb.

We could hear sirens in the distance. The explosion and pillar of fire from the orb being released by Kathleen had been thunderously loud. No one could have missed it and 911 had probably received several very worried calls from Fabian's neighbors. So, either fire or police or both were headed our way and we needed to be gone when they got there. I shepherded the three of them through the rip in space before following them to emerge back into my living room.

"Get ready," I told Kathleen as I examined the edges of the glowing hole. I could see how it was done, but I had no idea how to undo it. Worse, I didn't have a lot of time to figure it out, I could still hear the sirens getting closer to Fabian's mansion. If I couldn't close the portal, and the police found the magical tunnel into my living room, we'd be pulled into the investigation whether we wanted to be part of it or not.

"For what?" Kathleen asked carefully.

"Maybe the end of the universe." I reached and called another orb. I gathered more magic and made the orb bigger. I only had one shot at closing the hole. To be sure I could do it I needed more power.

"Daniel." Kathleen's voice was tense as she immediately linked with her little sister, the magic thread from Katrina stronger now that she had the Mage seed again. Like I'd done when saving Esmie, Kathleen pulled magic through the link. I could feel her use it to refresh and replenish her energy as well as ready herself to shield the orb.

"I got it. It shouldn't be a problem, but be ready if it gets loose." I reassured her.

Concentrating on the hole, I held my hands out, magically grasping the edges of the rift. Folding my hands into fists, and twisting them in opposite directions as if I was wringing a wet towel, I spoke a single word command to the orb.

"Close."

The hole resisted until I added more power. Slowly at first, then faster the hole zipped itself back up until it was a single glowing line. I opened my fists and held my hands flat, moving them closer together and compressing the line until it was a small brightly burning dot. A moment passed as I added even more magic to what I wanted, then the dot disappeared with a clap and a spray of black sand.

"Still you use too much power."

The low admonishment came from the corner of my dining room where Kathleen's mother held a very weak version of her shields in front of everyone else who was crowded into the corner behind her. I let my hands fall to my sides and turned in her direction.

"If you think you can do better, next time you go fight the bad guys while Kathleen and I stay home."

I didn't even get a response. Mrs. Black just dropped her eyes to the floor and dismissed the shielding she was holding. Not that it mattered, I could actually see where it had gaps and holes in it and how it was fluttering on the edge of failure as her remaining magic quickly dwindled away.

After the protective shield disappeared, Mr. Espinoza stood up from where he'd been crouching in the corner to look at Nazaa with confusion clear in his eyes. It was obvious that he had no idea what he'd just witnessed and wasn't sure it was real. Nazaa smiled at him and touched his face with her fingertips.

"Our Master is a good Master. He will protect us and care for us like a good Master should."

"I am not your Master." I almost scolded her. "And you know you shouldn't be talking about this."

"You are my Master." Nazaa's return look was defiant. "You will always be my Master, even without you binding me. I am a Kitty. You are my Master. That is the way it should be. That is the way I want it to be."

"But, I don't want you as my Kitty." I protested while Kathleen reached out to grip my hand tightly.

"Tough." She shrugged at me, dismissing what I wanted in favor of what she needed. "Master."

There wasn't much I could say at that point. Plus, anything I did try to say would only hurt her. Nor would it change anything. So I let it go. Once she saw I wasn't going to argue with her about it any longer, Nazaa leaned over to whisper to Mr. Espinoza. I caught the word coffee but nothing else. Mr. Espinoza gave her a long look before he nodded and they headed for the door. Apparently Nazaa had invited him for coffee. I was fairly certain the subject he and Nazaa were going to talk about over coffee was going to be magic and Mages. And me. Or, more likely, just me.

"No gossiping." I tried to limit that whole topic of discussion.

"Yes, Master." Nazaa looked over her shoulder as she walked out my front door. "No gossip, just the truth."