as to keep from going back to shovelling.
She turned to him, her blue eyes wide. “You must know the Sparrow. He
comes from your world.”
“The only Sparrow I know is an air-to-air missile.”
“This Sparrow is a mighty wizard. Near four years ago he broke the entire
Dark League of the South in a great battle of magics. Since then his new
magic has spread across the land, driving back the dark.”
“From my world, you say? Do you know where?”
” ‘Tis said from a place called the Valley of Quartz.”
“Silicon Valley? Yeah, I suppose if we had wizards that’s where they’d be.
Have you ever met this guy?”
Karin shook her head. “I am not stationed at the Capital. I have seen him
once, though. He and his fellow wizards, Jerry and Danny.” She stopped.
“Are those more of your air-to-air missiles?”
He smiled. “If they are I never heard of them.”
“Well, no matter,” the dragon rider said with a glance at the horizon. “It
grows late. If we do not finish soon we will have to bathe in the dark.”
Gilligan stood up. “I guess you’re right.” He reached down to help her up
and when she stood up they were almost nose to nose. He held on and their
eyes locked. Then Karin dropped her hands and broke away.
“Quickly,” she said with a breathless little laugh. “We would not want to
have to finish on the morrow.”
Even working at their best pace, it was still nearly dark when they got
back to their camp. Karin went to the stream to bathe first and Mick
stayed behind to build the fire and start dinner. Once the fire was going
and the stew was bubbling in its pot, he had nothing to do but stare into
the flames and think.
Karin came back from the stream with her clothes over her arm and her
blanket wrapped around her.
“I feel cleaner without them,” she explained. “They need to be washed.”
“I wish to God you’d put them on,” Gilligan said tightly, keeping his
attention riveted on the fire.
“Why?”
“It’s easier to take.” He looked up at her. “Dammit, lady! Do you have any
idea how hard it is on me to keep my hands off you anyway?”
“Then why try?” Karin asked softly, letting the blanket drop.
The flames traced out the curve of her hip and the swell of her breast and
the light put a ruddy glow in her cheek and highlighted the pale strands
of her hair.
Mick sucked in his breath at the firelit vision before him. Then he
stepped forward and clasped her to him.
“I never did get my bath, you know.”
Karin giggled and nuzzled the pit of his shoulder. “You smell all right.”
“And if you keep that up, I’m not going to get any sleep either.”
“Are you complaining?”
Gilligan leaned over and kissed her. “Hell no. Just observing.”
The fire had long since died and the only light came from the stars that
powdered the sky. There was not enough light to see, but that didn’t
matter and hadn’t mattered for hours. Being shot down, the dragon, none of
it mattered. He hadn’t felt this good since Sandi . . . well, not in a
long time. And maybe not even then, come to think of it.
As he bent to her again he noticed that Stigi had very ostentatiously
turned his back on them.
At last they both relaxed, soft and sleepy and warm in each other’s arms.
“What is it?” Karin said, feeling Mick tense suddenly.
“I’ve got to go back, you know,” Mick said softly. “If I can find a way
out, I’ve got to go back.”
Karin shifted and snuggled more closely to him. “I understand. I too have
my duty.”
“So where does that leave us?”
“It leaves us with meanwhile,” Karin told him. “We have meanwhile.”
“Yeah,” Mick said, reaching out to caress her. “We have meanwhile.”
Karin giggled. “Remember today is a hunting day. We will be walking and
away from camp almost the whole day.”
“So?”
“So you said you needed sleep.”
“Right now,” Gilligan said into her ear, “there are things I need more.”