Waking Her Tiger Read Free Page B

the noise of a predator nearby. Her heart ached at the reflex, and she nodded. When he freed her hands, she pulled out the card.
    Maddy ran her thumb over the embossing of the name Mary Alice. Light swirled in the room, and the elf in question was standing there, but this time, she was wearing a tanned blue skin instead of her mahogany colouring.
    She smiled. “Are you ready, Madeline?”
    Maddy’s father nodded. “I will get the bags. Maddy, go out and say your goodbyes; I think it best if you remain in here, madam.”
    Maddy stood and Mary Alice took her seat. It was set, she was going to hug her family farewell and head off into a swirl of magic to take her chances with creatures she had only ever seen on the news and once in person.
    What fun.
     
    “Put this charm around your neck. You haven’t been blended with fey magic yet, so your body won’t take kindly to my energy around you. The charm acts as a sort of cling film that will keep the energies from touching directly.”
    Maddy took the object designed with swirling, fanciful creatures and the unmistakable hum of power. She slipped the chain over her head and picked up her bags. “Ready when you are.”
    Mary Alice chuckled. “I admire how politic you are, not commenting on my appearance.”
    Maddy shrugged. “You look good in blue, and my kind are used to changes in the skin.”
    The woman laughed. “Very true. Here we go.”
    The light started from a dozen points around her feet and swirled around her in a growing column until she was engulfed in the woven energy. Maddy could breathe in her column, which was good as she watched her home whisked away, and then, she was between worlds.
    She had no idea how long she was held neither here nor there, but when the light faded, she fell to her knees.
    Hands helped her up while she fought for air. What had been in the column had been burned off minutes earlier. Her vision was blurred and someone lifted her, another person said they would bring her bags. She was carried from the spot she had landed, and after a short journey, she was tucked into bed.
     
    A woman with a perky smile was sitting at her bedside. “Glad to see you are up and around. Your transporter was a bit of a moron. She tried to double up on your transport by setting you into place under the connection and then up the conduit to the Crossroads. She got you there early but left you in the space between dimensions. She is getting a reprimand by the Transporter Guild Master as we speak.”
    Maddy scooted up against the headboard and took in the comfortable, if slightly Victorian, room. “How long have I been out?”
    “Seven hours. You have regained your colour and are looking much better. My name is Spike, and I am your local medic and bartender.”
    “Maddy. What the hell is this?” she held up her wrist and took in the charm with the gleaming stone in it.
    Spike laughed. “It is a charm bracelet that will shift with you. We ask that you don’t eat any of the locals, but you are welcome to chase them around if they are amenable. The small gemstone lets the fey know that you are up for their attentions if you two have a mutual attraction. I have to say that the new program is doing fairly well. Soon, they are going to allow variations on the theme.”
    “This is all new to me. I learned of it for the first time when Mary Alice arrived and tried to explain it.”
    Spike cocked her head and smiled. “I will explain it then.”
    She did. She poured Maddy a cup of tea and explained the problem that the fey were having with losing population and magic all at once. Maddy listened with rapt attention. She was pretty sure that shifters had never thought to pay seers to make a love connection.
    When the tea was gone and her vision was clear again, she sat up and swung her legs off the bed.
    “What am I supposed to do now?”
    Spike let out a sharp laugh. “You get changed into something you would use on a date, and you either go for dinner or head