The fae didn't drop the invisibility shield until we were all in the room.
By then, it was too late.
Someone- or something- stood by the window. The shape moved aside, and a corner of a curtain fell back into place, covering the storm.
"You did an excellent job," Dorian said.
"Reginald," I said, jumped onto the bed, and leaped closer to my spirit animal. "I should have realized that you had powerful magic."
"Friends," he said and blinked as the light came on. He looked ruffled and unsteady. "I wish I'd had a chance to talk to you about it first."
"You did the right thing. None of us could have used magic against her," Dorian replied. He went to the window and stared out between the curtains. "We are lucky in our choice of refuge. I see several restaurants within a few blocks."
"Luck?" Colin asked. "When Luna made the choice of where we stay?"
"I did foresee food," Luna admitted with a laugh.
Luna and Dorian went out to find food and other supplies. Neko tried not to worry. He paced for a little while, then curled up on one bed and slept.
Neko ignored that there had only been one bed and the room had been smaller when they arrived. No one had used strong magic to make the changes, but he still worried that Maude would sense it. Was the storm worse?
Shosha climbed up on the bed and snuggled in next to Neko as though she'd always slept that way. Neko almost protested, but she was warm and soft.
The food arrived somewhat later. They had managed a good selection of types, including sushi for Reginald.
"I hope it is suitable for you, Reggie," Dorian said. "Can I call you that?"
"The food is quite wonderful. You must ask Neko about the name, though."
Neko swallowed a bite of baked fish. He shook his head. "You can decide-"
"Actually, I can't. Once we meet, everything that affects your impression of me has to be your choice. That includes name, voice --"
"Shape?" Neko asked.
"Oh yes. I am a penguin because I assumed such a creature wouldn't be out of place on a beach. I have learned quite a bit about penguins since I arrived. Luna has been considerable help."
"So you could be anything I want?"
"There might be limitations, but I don't know them," he said. "What is your preference?"
"Let me consider it. Since others can't see you, it won't matter if you are unusual."
"Humans don't see me under most circumstances. I don't know if I would take a chance at being a dragon, though it might be interesting."
I saw Colin looking at me with a shake of his head. "Don't get into trouble."
Neko shook his head. He would have thought Colin would know better by now. A line like that was a challenge to a cat. Although thinking about it, he got along so well with Colin because of the fae's cat-like attitude toward life.
They ate almost everything, and even the fae, who rarely slept, settled on their beds to rest. Neko woke often expecting disaster, but they made it through the night with no trouble. The storm faded away before midnight, and it looked like a calm, normal day by dawn.
None of them trusted it.
"We can't stay here any longer," Colin admitted with a sigh. "She is bound to be looking for us, and we'll be easy to find if our magic accumulates anymore."
"We would get bored anyway," Neko offered, though he burrowed farther into the blankets.
Shosha, who had been under the covers, peeked her head out. "Maude tried to find us through my dreams," she said. Don't worry. Dorian kept by me the whole time, and together, we sent the witch into the Amazon basin. She'll be lost for a while."
"What can we do with this time?" Luna asked.
"Go for a ride," Colin answered. "We still don't want to stay too long."
"I am going to Faeland and see what I can learn," Dorian added. "She has been kicking up too much trouble and using too much magic to go unnoticed, but we've had remarkably little help from there."
"Move carefully," Colin advised. "It is hard to guess what they might be thinking there. Fae can be remarkably blind to human trouble. We might get lucky, though. They were already interested in Maude."
Dorian nodded. "All of you, be careful. I still have a thread linked to the group, so I should know if you run into trouble."
He turned and walked toward the door but disappeared before he got that far. The others were already packing up and preparing to leave. They said very little. The morning had brought the reality that nothing had changed.
Neko, Luna, and Shosha went out the side door and waited for Colin. He arrived in a fancy sports car, which cheered Neko, especially when Colin arranged the front seat so that Neko could stand and work the steering wheel while Colin took care of the gas and brake pedals.
Neko had never had so much fun. He swerved in and out of traffic on the freeway while the others talked around him.
"Why are we heading back into the desert again?" Neko finally asked.
"Maude had more power here than she should have held," Colin explained. He slowed the car as they started around a semi. "Our job is to find places she's linked to and cut the threads. It is not going to be easy. Besides, the desert is between us and getting home. We'd have to face it sometime."
"From what I could feel," Reginald began, "I thought I could sense an ancient force that was feeding the storm. It felt like something akin to the land, a power that belonged here -- and was not happy about waking up."
"Wonderful," Colin said.
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