Chapter 1

The following characters appear in the first chapters:

Conrad Turner

Prime of the Plains Magic Council, 6'-6" tall, 250 pounds, 38 years old, broad shoulders, black hair, green eyes

Lesia

Laura's twin, 5'-4" tall, 120 pounds, 36C-23-34, 19 years old, dark blond hair, gray eyes, very cute

Laura

Lesia's twin, 5'-4" tall, 120 pounds, 36C-23-34, 19 years old, dark blond hair, gray eyes, very cute

I moved easily along the ridge through the brush and the few trees just below the crest, as I had no desire to be seen outlined against the sky at the top of the ridge should anyone be in the area. It was fall and I had been out for a few days on a hunting trip and had detected the coming changes in the weather this morning. It was now late afternoon, and I was nearly back to the cabin that I had here in the western mountains of Wyoming.

Being close to my destination now, I was particularly watchful for anyone who might be in the area, as I had no desire to be seen in my present form near the cabin. It would raise too many questions that I didn't want to answer.

Thus alert, I detected the two girls moving along the floor of the valley below me. I actually detected their scents on the breeze before I saw them moving along a trail that followed the stream running down the valley.

"A tasty treat!" I thought to myself before examining their scent in more detail and realizing just what they were. "There would be no tasty treat, but what are they doing out here by themselves?" I asked myself. I stopped then and allowed them to move farther up the valley, so I could scent the breeze following them. It required several minutes before I picked up the scent of three males following them but at a considerable distance.

"What is going on here?" I wondered before moving swiftly in the direction that the women had taken. It was also the direction to where I had hidden my normal clothing. It wasn't difficult to get ahead of the women who were proceeding rather slowly. I also picked up the scent of rising panic and fear coming from them as the afternoon was drawing to a close.

I easily reached the boulders where I had left my backpack with my clothes and quickly changed into them. I would need to be more careful now that my senses were reduced, but they were still better than those of normal people.

After dressing, I transferred down to the floor of the valley to intercept the two women. They were easy to locate, as they had continued to follow the path along the stream. I could soon hear their voices even with my diminished human hearing. I stopped beside a large tree and waited for them to appear. This close, I could smell their panic and fear as they blundered along the animal track that followed the stream. They soon came into view.

It was instantly apparent that they were twins. They appeared to be about 5'-4" tall and maybe around 120 pounds with 36C-23-34 figures. Their hair was a dark blond, but I couldn't make out the color of their eyes yet. They appeared to be around nineteen years old and were very cute. Their clothing appeared to be a bit light for the current weather and would be inadequate for what my senses had indicated was coming. Their clothing was also torn and muddy from their passage through the thick brush, trees, and the stream in the valley. That passage was about as quiet as a startled herd of wild pigs would have been, at least to my ears. Additionally, they appeared to be quite upset. I waited until they were nearly to where I waited before speaking to them.

"Are you ladies lost?" I inquired. The pair jumped in shock at the sound of my voice and a look of panic appeared on their already frightened faces, as they grabbed a hold of each other. I stepped away from the tree where I had waited for them in the lengthening afternoon shadows.

"I didn't mean to startle you," I told them. "Do you need help?" I added.

"Yes!" the one answered on recovering, as her Sister clung to her in fear. "We're lost and have no idea of how to get back to civilization. We thought this stream would lead out of the valley."

"You are traveling in the wrong direction for this particular stream to take you out of the valley. I have a cabin near here. I was out hunting and heard you. There is a storm coming, and you will never be out of the area before it arrives. I will be glad to take you in until the storm has passed, and the weather is better," I told them. Now that they had stopped their panicked flight, they began cooling down and noticed how much the temperature had dropped in the last few hours. They began to shiver as the cold penetrated their awareness.

"Who ... who are you? How do we know that we can trust you?" the first girl asked. Her Sister hadn't said anything yet and appeared quite frightened.

"I'm Conrad Turner. I have a cabin near here where you are welcome to sit out the storm," I told them again before asking, "Who are you?"

"I'm Laura and my Sister is Lesia," the first girl told me. "What kind of storm is coming?" she asked fearfully.

"A snow storm with strong winds and dropping temperatures," I informed them. "You are not dressed to survive it," I added.

"Can ... can we trust you? Where is this cabin?" Lesia asked timidly.

"Do you have a choice?" I demanded. "Would you rather be found by those pursuing you or freeze to death in the storm?" Panic returned to their faces when I mentioned that they were being pursued.

"How do you know that we are being followed?" Lesia squeaked in terror.

"I saw them from up on the ridge shortly after I spotted the two of you," I told her.

"The ... the ridge?" she asked in fright, turning to look at the side of the mountain on the other side of the valley. She looked up and up until she could see the ridge in the gathering clouds.

"All of the way up there?" she asked in a whisper.

"Just below the crest," I told her.

"But ... but how could you get down here so quickly?" she asked in confusion.

"I am used to traveling in this country and can move quite quickly in it," I told her without actually explaining how I had done it. That could come later, if I decided to keep them that is. They certainly were cute enough.

"We will go with you for now. Will you tell us how to get back to civilization when the storm has passed?" Laura asked quietly.

"Yes, I will take you to the closest town after the storm. My hunting trip was supposed to be over this weekend, but the storm may prevent that for several days," I told them.

"Where is the cabin? Will the others be able to find it?" she asked.

"It's a mile or so from here near another stream," I told them. "Those following you will not be able to find it."

"Will it take long to reach it?" she asked as she began to shiver.

"No, not long. I have a blanket with me, and you two are welcome to use it to keep warm on the way there," I told them, as I removed the backpack and took the blanket out of it. I folded it the long way so it would reach around both young women. I moved over behind them to drape it over their shoulders. Lesia shrank away from me in fear.

"Is your Sister all right?" I asked.

"Yes, but she is very fearful," Laura answered before turning to her Sister. "It's all right, Lesia. The blanket will keep us warm. Don't be afraid." Lesia didn't answer but drew in a frightened breath as I placed the blanket around the shoulders of both of them. It was long enough to cover both easily, and Laura grasped the ends in her hands to keep it closed.

"We will need to move through the brush and the trees to reach the cabin. Move over behind that tree and wait while I erase your footprints," I told them. They moved to the indicated tree, and I removed all traces of their passage for a short distance down the path to an area where it would have been easy for them to have crossed the stream or walked down it. I made sure that I left no evidence of my own passage also.

On reaching the tree and the women again, I made sure there were no footprints left there either before we moved out toward the cabin. I stopped them every so often to ensure that there was no trace of our passage through the area. It required some little time to move the mile or so to the cabin in this way. We finally reached the area where the cabin was.

"When will we be there?" Laura asked anxiously when we stopped again while I checked our back trail.

"We are here," I told her.

"There is no cabin here!!" she squealed in distress looking around for a cabin. Lesia, who had said very little on the way here, began to sob and moan.

"You just can't see it," I told her. "Take my hand and I will lead you to it." She switched both ends of the blanket to her left hand and extended her right hand. I took it and got a pleasant surprise. It was the first time that I had actually touched either of them.

"Right this way," I told them and started forward.

"But ... but those are large sticker bushes!" Laura objected in fear.

"They only look like large dense bramble bushes," I told her. "Trust me," I asked and started forward again, stepping through the glamour that surrounded the area of the cabin. Laura was shocked by the sudden transition as she moved through the glamour.

"How?" she asked in amazement on looking around at the cabin, the equipment shed, the well and the large supply of firewood stacked near the cabin.

"The bramble bushes are just a minor spell that I use to keep strangers away," I told her. The cabin was a log structure of twenty-four by thirty feet. It was not your old fashioned log house however. It was made of the latest in milled log construction with tight joints, and tight fitting modern windows and doors. I lowered my wards around it before we reached the door so that the women could enter.

I opened the door and allowed the women to enter first. They seemed very tentative as they approached the doorway and held firmly to each other under the blanket. The thirty-six inch wide door was easy for them to negotiate together, and they stared around them for a short time once over the threshold.

"It's ... it's almost like a regular house!" Laura said in surprise on seeing the interior of the cabin.

"Yes! What were you expecting?" I asked.

"Something more ... more primitive," Laura answered, but she appeared to be extremely tired.

"Why don't you ladies sit on the sofa while I start a fire in the wood stove to warm the cabin up some," I told them. I had been gone for over three days and the cabin had cooled down over that time, though it was still warmer than it was presently outside. They sat together on the sofa along the south wall of the cabin and spread the blanket I had given them around their fronts and legs with their backs against the sofa pillows.

I cleaned out the ashes from the previous fire and placed seasoned wood on the grate in the stove before using a fire spell to start it burning. When I turned around, both women were leaning against each other under the blanket and nearly asleep.

Chapter 2 »