A Centaur for Libby Read online

  This is what I get for being with a strange man and on an empty stomach, she thought. When was the last time I ate? Not counting the granola bar I wolfed down before court this afternoon?

  Yes, those were definitely mountains, Libby decided with amazing calm considering she was heading straight toward them.

  Wonderful, I’m going to die in a dream. And it’s not even mine. Won’t Aggy find this hysterical.

  One of the mountain peaks was directly underneath. She was going to land on it headfirst. Her hair was fluttering wildly, she heard the roar of the wind. Warmth on her skin, a cool heat that didn’t quite feel like the sun. She thought of the strange sky, the daylight stars and wished she had had time to look at them more.

  She wished she had time for everything. So much yet to do. Funny, she didn’t think of her job. That would go on. If there was one regret she had it was that she didn’t get to see where things might have gone with Markos.

  Libby was a heartbeat away from the precipice, beautiful and deadly when something, someone, swooped out of the air and grabbed hold of her.

  Familiar arms, holding her tight, muscular arms, smooth and powerful but entirely loving. She breathed deeply of the scent. Markos’ scent. Like a forest, damp with dew, rich and pungent, mysterious and dark and deep and utterly masculine.

  She clung to him tightly, smiling. She could picture her smile as she closed her eyes. If there was a model of her own happiness, if it could be captured in one image, this would be it.

  At last a dream really worth repeating.

  “It’s all right, Libby,” he said. “You’re just adjusting to the flow between our minds. You are inside of mine. We will be on the ground again, but you must prepare for what you will see.”

  She wanted to tell him it didn’t matter, so long as they were together. She didn’t have the time, though, for at that instant, they touched down, heavily on the ground. It was a noisy landing, small booming sounds, though he did not drop her or even jostle her.

  “We’re here,” she heard him say. “We are on Constellia.”

  Libby opened her eyes, expecting to be back in the bed in their room. Her head was nestled against his chest. She kissed the fine layer of hair. “You should turn the air off,” she mumbled. “It’s cold.”

  “Air cannot be turned,” he told her. “At least not here.”

  She felt the breeze in her hair. She blinked once or twice allowing in the light, subtly pink. “I think I’m still dreaming, Markos, pinch me.”

  “It’s not a dream.”

  “Put me down,” she said, still cold. “I’ll take care of the air conditioner.”

  Markos set her feet on a smooth surface, like glass. “Watch your step.” He clung to her hand. “It’s a little slippery when you’re not used to it.”

  “Where’s the carpet?” She wriggled her toes.

  Markos laughed. “It’s on Earth, where do you think?”

  She looked him in the eye. “This is silly, Markos, you know we are still on—”

  The words caught in her throat. She was looking at him below the waist. His legs were gone. Or rather they were…replaced.

  “I know, it’s unbelievable, but this is my true form,” he told her.

  Libby didn’t know what else to do but laugh. “You’re a…a centaur?”

  His brow furrowed. He obviously was not expecting this reaction.

  “I’m…sorry,” she sputtered. “I don’t mean to offend you…it’s just, oh god, it’s just too funny.”

  Markos straightened his back. “It is a shock, I imagine.” He tapped his left front hoof. “Although I’ll admit, I had not expected this.”

  She took his hand. “Oh, Markos, I’m not making fun of you, I promise.”

  “The centaurs are a noble race,” he said. “I will admit, laughter is nothing I have before engendered.”

  “It’s just that I’ve had this dream and it’s been about you. And now here you are. Apparently I’ve resolved it and now we don’t need to have sex anymore. I’ll wake up in the morning and…and I’ll never see you.” Tears were filling her eyes as she continued to laugh. She was sounding hysterical. Just how much of this was a dream? Had she fallen asleep at her desk this afternoon? Was that where the man who talked to horses had come from?

  He frowned. “I will still be there. We will still be in bed. On Earth, I bear the disguise of a human.”

  “Sure you will,” she humored. “Or maybe we’ll be in bed here and I will be a centaur. They do have girl ones, don’t they?”

  “Actually no. All centaurs are formed male from the womb of the sun.”

  “Please.” She held her stomach. “No more.”

  “Libby, you must get hold of yourself. You must focus. Stay in control.”

  “In control? That’s a good one. I just spent a hundred fifty bucks for an imaginary hotel room to have sex with an imaginary creature. What about my credit card statement next month? Is that going to be imaginary, too?”

  Markos moved to hold her, but Libby resisted. He muttered a curse and looked to the sky. “Argos,” he called out to the empty air. “This is your doing. Where in the House of Aquarius are you?!”

  “You don’t need to yell.”

  Libby turned to see a crustacean, bright blue with silver stripes, with claws, a foot long each. The crab had green eyes, quite intelligent-looking. “I am Argos.” He extended a claw. “Doctor of Metaphysical Arts, Philosopher Extraordinaire to the court of Her Majesty, Queen Aquaria.”

  “How nice to meet you, I’m Libby, soon to be patient of County General for hallucinating talking animals.”

  “I assure you, we are quite real,” said the crab. “Though at the moment we are all of us meeting in mere spirit only. I regret the choice of locations. Even to imagine a place closer to the centers of power would risk detection by our enemies.”

  “You regret it?” said Markos. “A fine understatement for sending this poor girl here to the Mountains of Tragedy.”

  The crab clicked his left claw open and shut, producing from thin air a cloak of royal purple. “Do stop complaining and cover your latest conquest, will you?”

  Markos took the cloak and put it about Libby’s shoulders. “She isn’t a conquest,” he said with surprising force.

  A new voice chuckled. “You hit a nerve, Argie. I think the boy’s in love.”

  “Centaurs don’t fall in love,” said Argos to the talking ram.

  The ram, tall and golden-fleeced with silver horns, laughed, the sound echoing through the bright mountains. “No, not at all. Only a dozen times a week.”

  “Libby, this is Dalion,” Markos introduced. “Everything he says is a lie.”

  “It’s true, I’m lying right now.”

  “Which means he’s telling the truth,” said Argos. “Which means…?”

  “It can’t be true that everything I say is a lie,” Dalion completed with a twinkle in his eye.

  They both laughed. Dalion tapped his beautiful horns against the claws of Argos in a kind of astrological high five.

  Astrology…was that the common denominator. “The crab.” She pointed, one by one. “And the ram and the centaur. You’re all zodiacal signs.”

  Markos and Dalion appeared not to comprehend. Argos nodded his large, plate-like body. “Indeed, on your world, that is how we are known. The same set of stars governs us all.”

  Libby clutched the cloak about her body. “So what else will I be meeting?” she wondered. “I hope not any bulls or scorpions.”

  They looked at each other.

  “What did I say?”

  “Don’t mention scorpions,” said Markos. “They are a sore point.”

  “One in particular,” said Dalion. “He is a bastard among bastards. It’s his doing that Markos is on trial for his life.”

  “What do you mean for his life?” asked Libby, unable to keep the worry from her voice even in a dream.

  “Don’t trouble her with details right now,” said Markos. “
I don’t want her overwhelmed. We are here to try and prove to her we exist, that’s all.”

  “I certainly exist,” spoke up Dalion. “Although I’m not sure you could call what Argos does existing.”

  “It beats banging my head against walls,” said Argos.

  “I wouldn’t count on it.”

  “Both of you, enough,” said Markos. “Can’t you see she’s upset?”

  “See, Argos?” Dalion teased. “You’re upsetting Markos’ sweetheart.”

  Libby flushed at the label. “I’m not upset. I would, however like the answer to a few questions.”

  “Uh-oh,” groaned the red-eyed ram. “Interrogation time.”

  “We will tell you what we can,” said Argos. “Just ignore him, his bark is worse than his bite.”

  “First I want to know if this is a dream, a hallucination or what. I must be asleep, but this feels way too real.”

  “Consider it something in between,” said Argos. “Our bodies are where we left them, but our minds have connected. As the host, I have chosen this place, on the frontier of Constellia.”

  Libby reacted, hearing the name from the lips of someone other than Markos. “So there is such a world.”

  “There had better be,” said Dalion. “Or there won’t be much point to my harassing Markos any longer.”

  “Constellia is certainly real,” said Argos. “Though I doubt you humans will ever find it by normal means. It is not a place in space and time as you know it.”

  Convenient, she thought, for hallucinations.

  “Okay, leave the physics aside. Tell me how Markos got to my world. And why did he look human if he’s a centaur?”

  The crab’s antennae shook in a gesture that reminded Libby of a Cancerian version of a shrug. “Magic, my dear, I have no other word for it. I sent Markos to you in a form you would find normal.”

  Recognition began to dawn. “You intended to for him to find me in particular. Those dreams, were they from you?”

  “Very perceptive, young lady. I was trying to accustom you to the idea of a creature such as Markos.”

  “So you already knew me?” She turned to Markos. “You knew me from the dreams.”

  “No, Libby,” he said somberly. “I had no dreams of you. Though I sincerely wish I had.”

  “You will have them,” said Argos. “They belong to your future.”

  “That makes no sense,” said Libby.

  “You’re catching on. That’s how Argos operates,” quipped Dalion.

  Libby shook her head. “I think I would like to go back to dreaming about screwing assistant district attorneys.”

  “You may go back at any time,” said Argos. “We cannot compel you, either to stay with us now or to come to Constellia in the flesh.”

  Libby decided to review just for the hell of it. “So let me get this straight, we are here now, just our minds, and I’m still a person talking to a crab and a ram. Markos is here, and he’s a centaur. But his real body, or rather his magically transformed body, is human and it’s lying in a bed with me in a hotel.”

  “Basically, yes,” Argos concurred.

  “I think she’s catching on,” said Dalion.

  “Catching on? I don’t have a clue what I just said.”

  Dalion walked up to her. He stood as high as her chest. “It doesn’t matter if you do or not,” he said, his voice full of fierce intensity. “What matters is Markos is going to be put on trial for a murder he didn’t commit. And he is going to be found guilty unless you help him.”

  Libby felt raw fear for Markos, still she could not comprehend it all. “What can I do,” she exclaimed. “I’m hardly qualified to practice law among your kind. I doubt I would be ready to pass a Constellian bar exam.”

  “When were you born?” asked Dalion.

  “October sixteenth,” she said. “Why?”

  “There you have it,” said Dalion.

  “Have what?” asked Libby.

  “You are a Libra,” said Argos. “That gives you the right to stand for justice in the court of Constellia.”

  “Libby, you don’t have to do this,” said Markos. “I can find another way.”

  “No, Markos,” said Dalion. “You haven’t any more time. Scorpos has announced that you will be tried tomorrow in absentia. You’ll be found guilty and you will never be able to return home.”

  “Scorpos will have won,” said Argos. “We will have helped you escape in vain. You will live in exile, knowing your people are under the claw of a tyrant.”

  “No pressure,” muttered Libby.

  Markos frowned. “I am breaking the link, Argos. Libby needs to rest. This is too much for her.”

  “Markos, I’ll decide for myself,” she said, though she was secretly touched at his deep concern for her.

  “No argument,” said Markos. He lifted his hand. He was holding the same amulet of silver. It reflected in the pinkish light, off his smooth chest. He began to recite the words, the very ones he had used before.

  Realizing she would be seeing him as human again, she did her best to memorize his centaur form. The tawny hide of his horse body, the hair healthy and shiny. His tail was slightly darker, long and bushy. It flicked back and forth when he talked. His hooves were strong and they clacked on the ground here and there as he talked.

  It made sense now, much of her observations before, about his long torso and his strong thighs. He really was made to be a horse. His independent spirit, too, his adventurous, bubbly, seductive nature. That was pure Sagittarian.

  How did Sagittarians fit with Libras?

  A lot better if the Sagittarian wasn’t a literal horse, she thought glumly. Although she had been plenty turned on in her fantasies. She was tempted to ask him to take her for a ride. Bareback.

  “Give me your hand, Libby, don’t let go,” he said, his voice brooking no opposition.

  She moved to his side, almost shyly. She felt strangely subdued standing next to him. Her body felt warm and sexual. She wanted to rub herself, she wanted him to bend down and nuzzle her neck.

  Markos did something even better, he lifted her onto his back.

  She was thankful for the cloak to cover her bare body. Her legs were split as she settled her body into place. The surprisingly fine coat of hair on his back lightly brushed her pussy lips. Libby sighed, moving forward to wrap her arms around his chest.

  “Farewell,” said Markos to Argos and Dalion. “You are the best friends a centaur could ask for.”

  “Which just goes to show you,” said Dalion. “That centaurs are not a very intelligent race.”

  “You will return soon?” asked Argos.

  Markos did not reply. “Hold on tight,” he said to Libby.

  With that they were off, Markos’ legs springing forward into a quick gallop. Libby gripped his back, delighting in the feel of him. She had no fear, even as Markos reared back, preparing to leap off the edge of a very sheer cliff made of green and black diamonds.

  She had to remind herself this wasn’t real, just a space of the mind. He was getting them home and this must be the route.

  Markos took off straight up. Libby closed her eyes tight, feeling the ground give way beneath her. Her stomach dropped out somewhere beneath her and her head was vanishing into the air. She felt the cool brush of air, opening her mouth she tasted something fluffy and sweet.

  They were flying through something semisolid, not much thicker than foam. An edible cloud? Like cotton candy only infinitely finer. It was a treat for her empty stomach. Libby only managed two bites before it started to rain. She put out her tongue, tasting. It was a bit like lemonade, with some other fruits she couldn’t identify.

  Wanting to feel it on her body, she released her arms to shake off the cloak. It was at this point she lost her grip and began to plunge downward. Straight into the mountains.

  She tried to reach for Markos, but he was being sucked upward.

  He was looking down, but she did not think he was hearing her final word
s, the last thing she wanted to say before her death.

  I love you, Markos, even if I don’t know who you are.

  * * * * *

  Libby was falling.

  Markos had to reach her before she hit the ground. But in the shock of having her fall off his back he had let go of the amulet. Stupid fool! Now he had no way to bring them out of the mind link. If she reached the mountains below, her spirit would be shattered. She had be left in a million pieces, scattered across the realm of magic.

  He had to get the amulet and her both. Otherwise he could not return her spirit safely to her body. The first priority was Libby. Taking just a moment to fix the trajectory of the amulet in his mind, he dove after her. He had his arms in front of him, his legs tucked back, his tail whipping in the wind. While centaurs could not actually fly, they were capable of graceful movements in air.

  Especially in matters of life and death.

  Libby was below him, flailing her arms. Her nude body looked so frail and yet so very beautiful. Her dark hair floated above her in the void. He could hear the faint sounds of her voice, calling out for help.

  This was all his fault. He should never have allowed her to enter into this trance. He should have let her be. Surely he could have found some other lawyer to represent him. The truth was, he had been biased from the start. Yes, he had looked in good faith for a suitable personification of Libra, but the moment he laid eyes on Libby he had decided she would be the one, whether or not she was right for the task.

  He wasn’t seducing her in order to get her help, he was seducing her because he wanted her to care for him. A dangerous game for a Sagittarian. Centaurs did not settle down. They loved freely with abandon, one conquest after another.

  Conquest. Such a coarse word. He wished Dalion had not used it.

  Libby was only a few yards beneath him. He was going to catch her in the nick of time. Grabbing her around the waist he braced himself for impact. He took the brunt of it with his back legs, brutal compression against unforgiving stone. He winced as his front hooves touched down next. His whole body quivered, but he stayed upright.

  Though his muscles screamed out he couldn’t rest. Taking a deep breath, he was off again, running to get a good flying start. He headed straight for the nearest cliff side. They were miles below where they had started. He hoped the timing was right.