Magic, New Mexico: Tangling With Topper (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read online

  Text copyright ©2016 by the Author.

  This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by S.E. Smith. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original Magic, New Mexico remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of S.E. Smith, or their affiliates or licensors.

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  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Acknowledgements

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Note From the Author

  Other Books By This Author

  About The Author

  TANGLING WITH TOPPER

  By

  Donna McDonald

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Thanks to Melody Simmons for the great cover.

  Thanks to my partner in crime, Robyn Peterman, for her willingness to read anything I write. This writing journey would not be the same without you.

  Thanks to my husband, Bruce. You are every hero to me.

  DEDICATION

  For SE Smith.

  Thank you for inviting me into your magical world.

  CHAPTER 1

  On the planet of Glacier…

  “Thank you for coming, General. I am very honored by your presence in my home.”

  “It is I who am honored. My work has made it difficult to find as much time to visit friends as I would like. I treasure this rare opportunity.”

  Polar felt pleased when his distinguished guest bowed his head politely. The giant male looked out of his element in the domestic scene of his home’s library, but manners went a long way to smoothing the awkwardness of the situation. He really hadn’t thought the General had meant it when he said he wanted to take care of the dakkari problem personally.

  “You are looking as well as ever, General.”

  “Polar—please. I haven’t served in the Star Rangers for a couple of centuries now. That old title sounds strange to me. Why don’t you just address me by my given name? We’ve come far now through our life stages to get there, yes?”

  Polar smiled slightly as he shook his head. “Regretfully—I will not be able to do that in the entirety of my lifetime, sir. You will always be the General to me.”

  A heavy sigh of resignation from his superior signaled a potential end to their easy accord, so Polar changed the subject. He didn’t want to genuinely embarrass his former leader and Frost’s trainer. His son’s deadly reputation in the Star Rangers had come from the training given to him by this male. Polar was forever grateful. It had kept Frost safe and allowed him to find his Goddess given mate.

  “Out in the ice fields, titles don’t matter much. It is the one thing I have enjoyed about the work I do now. I come to the city, but I always want to return. Somehow I always knew living here was not to be my fate. And the politics of the Directors… Goddess save me.”

  Polar nodded, glad there had been no one else around to hear the General’s thoughts. “You don’t have to go to Earth yourself, General. Retirement is supposed to free you from direct service. With only a century left to work myself, Goddess knows I have to practice, but even I am learning to delegate. It is painful, but it does allow me to see to other things.”

  A shrug and snort were his first answers from the male. A low, throaty growl was his second.

  “All the ice on Glacier will melt the day I can’t capture a few rogue dakkari on my own. Earth is the primitive planet of Frost’s soul mate. I wish to meet this special female and see the connection for myself. Not that I’m still looking for my chosen one at my age. Goddess knows I was not successful in my two choices of life companions. Thankfully, they both moved on to more suitable pairings without too much drama.”

  Polar nodded. “Yes. That is fortunate for you, sir. I am sure it has always been a trial for an adventurous man like yourself to adapt to the sort of domestic life most females prefer.” He felt his face flush when the General laughed. This was definitely the most personal conversation of their long acquaintance, but he didn’t want his superior to go to Earth unprepared. He didn’t know what to think when the male looked at him directly and laughed even harder.

  “What strange ideas you must have about me, Polar. It’s not like I don’t appreciate female company around a fire as much as the next male. I just don’t feel inclined to put out the effort to woo them these days.”

  Polar shook his head. “I was not judging, sir.”

  The General waved away his apology. He watched him study the glass of ale Polar had given him earlier. He waited patiently this time, no matter what his superior felt he needed to say.

  “I stopped caring about finding a soul mate the first time I realized I could find physical satisfaction with any female. It’s really all a matter of biology. I willingly studied it and spent the necessary time perfecting my techniques. I will be the first to say it paid off well over my lifetime. Females still line up for their turn at entertaining me, but I’m… Well, I’m bored, Polar. They’re all so Glacieran. They want things I cannot give them. I may have to give up all mating if I get any more jaded.”

  Polar swallowed around the knot of discomfort in this throat. The General’s prowess with females was legendary and he knew the male didn’t exaggerate his talents. His mate, Sella, had many friends who had taken their turn entertaining the General. Sella had not done so and he wanted to keep it that way. It was mostly why he found critical tasks for his mate to do on the occasions where the General met with him.

  Polar sighed quietly at his unworthy thoughts and made himself say what needed to be said. “I feel I must warn you that Frost’s mate and her people are not typical among Earth’s vast variety of humanoid species. Some residents of their locality are nearly as powerful as you… no offense, Sir.”

  Only someone who knew the general well would have caught the flash of excitement lighting those goddess-blessed, strange eyes of his. Polar fought the urge to smile over the fact he had even noticed the shift in the male’s demeanor. Perhaps he had retained his warrior skills more than he’d realized. The only visible sign the General gave of his enthusiasm was in draining the rest of his glass of ale in one final swallow.

  “Indeed. If true, I look forward to discovering their level of power for myself. Perhaps I will write about my discoveries after my return.” When Polar started to caution him, the General held up a hand. “No, no… all writings will go only in my private collection. I’m well aware of the need for discretion. Eons from now when the planet has come of age, those writings about Earth can be thawed from my private holdings and wondered over.”

  Polar bowed his head. “Of course, General. I never doubted your discretion. And how do you feel about making the trip to Earth via portal travel?”

  “I look forward to it. Portal travel may just be the most interesting form of travel in the universe. Too bad I will have to leave my uniform behind. Just recently I had recorders installed in all the fasteners. Some probably think I look strange talking to my clothes when I’m working, but I don’t give an icy fruck about their opinions. The ability to save information so readily comes in very handy out in the frozen fields.”
r />   Polar felt his eyebrows go up, but did not immediately jump to correct the male he revered, not even when he saw him start to remove his clothing.

  “General… Sir…” Polar drifted off, unsure of how to handle the situation.

  “Speak quickly, Polar. My travel time draws close.”

  Polar winced when the General’s trousers hit the floor. For a moment, speech was impossible. It was partly shock and partly envy of the male’s preservation of his masculine form. The General’s body rivaled his son’s and made him instantly regret his own lack of physical training. He was also doubly glad Sella had missed this particular show.

  Still staring at his former superior in stunned silence, Polar watched confusion cross the General’s face before the older male looked down at his now dangling parts. He sought for words, but then the General raised his gaze back to his and shrugged off the oddness.

  “Frost’s report said there was no ice where he dwells and I can’t stand the heat. From what I read they do cover themselves somewhat, but Frost said he still had to wear next to no clothing to avoid heat sickness. Young males have a greater tolerance for such suffering, especially when mating is involved. I can’t imagine the primitives on Earth will be put off by the sight of an old man walking around as the Goddess made him. At least I will be comfortable while I work.”

  Polar cleared his throat. “Yes, Sir. But… about your clothes.” He had to stop again when the General raised a hand and waved away his concerns.

  “Trust me, Polar. Everything will be fine. And I really appreciate you sending the request directly to me. This was just the sort of adventure I needed to relieve my boredom. Last week I captured another gallota of hellican bipeds. They spat ice balls nearly as large as my fist the whole time I was tagging them with transmitters. Can Earth humans be any more dangerous than that? I do not fear dealing with a few most friendly humanoid creatures. Besides—the Goddess will protect me.”

  “Of course she will, but… Sir…”

  Polar felt a crushing grip on his shoulder. The force of it stopped his speech altogether. The General was the largest Glacier male he knew or had ever known. And probably the most intimidating one when naked, even though the General didn’t seem to have any sense of his commanding presence. He just hoped Frost would be around to help the general blend in on Earth—if that was even possible for a Glacieran male of his age who was set in mind about how things worked.

  “Stop worrying, Polar. Everything will be fine. You’ll see.”

  Polar released a long breath, hoping the General didn’t recognize it as a sigh of resignation. “Of course. Whatever you say, sir. The portal should be opening in a few more seconds.”

  “Mind my clothes for me, will you? I’ll need them when I return. They don’t call where I work the frozen fields for nothing.”

  Polar nodded. What else could he do? When the swirling silver oval appeared in his office, the general lifted a hand in salute and stepped into it without hesitation.

  Goddess… there was no braver male on any world.

  CHAPTER 2

  Meanwhile on Earth in the town of Magic, New Mexico…

  At the back of the crowd, Topper stood restlessly scanning the gathering of most of Magic’s best witches around the town’s sacred circle. Instead of praying like so many others were doing, her arms were crossed while her right leg and foot furiously stomped against the hard New Mexico dirt. Waiting had never been her best thing. She preferred action of any sort and was comfortable with the adventure it typically brought.

  For reasons she hadn’t been able to take seriously at the time or now, Frost had been insistent about only opening the portal at the appointed time. She wanted to shout “Screw Glacier schedules!” to the four winds and order it done immediately. She was used to being the one who made those decisions, not the one being forced to follow intergalactic protocol.

  At her age—a number that was no one’s business but hers—she and time were adversaries, not good friends. Thank the Fates she had a lot of living left to do, and it didn’t include wasting a single moment coddling some Glacier animal control officer.

  A blizzard would blanket the entire state of New Mexico the day she couldn’t catch a few alien critters without any interfering help.

  This situation was all Frost’s fault and she didn’t need the headache. He’d been the one who’d contacted his home planet, not her. But now he and Lacey were too busy guarding the animal shelter to come greet the alien animal wrangler.

  At least the male coming hadn’t been afraid of portal travel. She remembered Frost’s guttural swearing as he’d made the trip back with them. The memory still made her laugh… as did Frost’s heaving at the end when they’d finally materialized in Magic once more.

  Honestly… how much harder could it be to dimensionally travel through a magically created worm hole than to fly one of their tiny, claustrophobic Glacier spaceships to get to Earth? The time savings alone was worth a bit of nausea, if you asked her.

  Aliens were such big babies about magic, except Frost, of course. He’d come to terms with Lacey’s magic pretty fast. But great sex had a way of smoothing lots of daily life things over. Or at least she had once thought it did… back when she still believed in love and sex and romance.

  It had been so long for her now that she felt silly even thinking about such things. No one her age was out looking for romance anymore. When the urge for sex hit, you found someone for a tussle between the sheets, and then got on with the rest your business the next day.

  “I’m older than dirt and my memory isn’t what it used to be, but I haven’t lost all my faculties yet, Topper. Wasn’t your hair purple yesterday? You love purple. With those curly blonde tresses you’re sporting, you look like an angry Madonna impersonator. All you need is a pointy bra and one of those ear piece thingies. Good thing your boobs are still perky. Nipple hard-ons encased in metal wouldn’t look so great pointed at the ground.”

  Topper snorted before turning a smile in her friend’s direction. Agatha Moonbeam was one of the few beings in Magic who really was older than her… and one of the few she ever spoke her genuine thoughts to.

  Moonie’s labored breathing from just standing caused the same rush of concern it always did. Time and age eventually caught up even with magic wielders. True—Moonie’s power push might only last for thirty seconds these days, but it was certainly a powerful thirty seconds there for the calling. Thank the Fates for that because without Moonie, she couldn’t have created the portal between Earth and Glacier in the first place.

  It’s a serious drain on everyone, even with all of them contributing. But the bigger problem was keeping the rest of Earth from discovering what was going on while it was happening. Opening the portal again so soon would just increase the risk of it being spotted. In the west, there was always some science geek with nothing better to do but look for strange phenomena popping up in the desert.

  Topper fought back a sigh and barely won. She hated being frustrated and she almost never was. But today… today she was on edge. Her instincts were singing. Worse, she had looked at her anxiety and saw nothing dire. She shook her head as she turned to Moonie again.

  “Frost said the animal control guy from his planet had a stick up his butt about females. Apparently the guy tried out a couple mates after he retired from being a Star Ranger, but neither relationship worked out. The reason I look like this is that I thought I’d present the most benign Earth female example to him while he’s here. I thought he would feel less threatened when he finds out the residents of Magic are not typical humans.”

  “Benign Earth female?” Moonie snorted at the term and rolled her eyes. “That would be a first, especially for you, Topper. You are many things, but non-threatening is not one of them. You’ve had a permanent glare on your face for the last forty years. One look at the lines around your mouth ought to tell any seasoned warrior that he needs to tread carefully. How you manage to look so young and perky despite all th
at is a mystery to me.”

  “You make me sound cold and that’s simply not the case, Moonie… at least not with this anyway. I’m planning on being supportive even though I still think I could do this on my own. But I know Frost’s family has enough political stuff to deal with on Glacier. For Lacey’s sake, I don’t want this new alien to feel like Frost acted too rashly.”

  Moonie huffed. “Still doesn’t explain your blonde hair. It goes nicely with your awesome girls though, and that back-me-up booty you somehow manage to maintain.”

  Topper snickered over the description of her figure. “Maybe I wanted to prove I can craft a common human appearance just as well as anyone else in town.”

  She crossed her arms again when Moonie chuckled after hearing her statement.

  “Stop that, Moonie. I was being serious. Who do you think dropped a senior citizen glamour over Magic when those stupid men in black came calling the first time? Me. That’s who. Hell, we didn’t even have to use glamour back in the sixties and seventies. It was my idea to make tie-dye shirts and wear sunglasses. We fit right in as hippies, even with the freaking Vampires. I’ve protected this damn town all my life.”

  “Yep. Got to say the best glamours were all you, Topper. All you,” Moonie agreed as she fought her widening smile. “Change of subject… did you find any more of those little green devils yet?”

  Topper sighed. It had been nearly a week now and the last ones still eluded her.

  “No—but I can feel them watching me sometimes. The little buggers are hiding and waiting. I just don’t know for what.”

  They had learned the hard way that the portal wasn’t discerning about who or what used it. It had opened on the edge of Frost’s town and on the way back, some hitchhiking—and apparently body-snatching—little green critters had come through with them. Luckily, most of them were caught immediately. The twins had helped and it had been a perfect chance for the boys to practice their shrinking spells.