Magical Midlife Love: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Leveling Up Book 4)

by K. F. Breene

  A roar came from the other side of the attack, but not from a creature. From a Jeep.

  Rubber screeched and the back end of the Jeep slid around as it stopped. The door opened and Austin jumped out, naked one minute and a flash of light the next. When it faded, he stood on his hind legs in polar bear form. His roar shook the earth. Shook my bones. Made the wolves in the cage cower and the phoenix and thunderbird shut down their magic (if only for a moment) and turn around.

  The basajaun stepped forward now, opening his arms wide. He added his own bellow, the urge to fight singing through me, too.

  A neigh from Niamh in the sky and then the roars of gargoyles added to the chorus, the Ivy House team ready to fight. Ready to die, if need be. Kingsley lifted his roar to the heavens last, a great cat ready to support his brother’s bad decisions.

  “You have earned the trust of those sworn to you,” Ivy House said as Austin lowered back down and rushed forward, “and your allies. They will protect you with their lives. Will you do the same for them?”

  I neared the sidewalk, but Kingsley leapt forward, knocking me out of the way. Cheryl flew. He didn’t want me in the fight, probably because he thought I was useless in combat. Or else he thought Austin wouldn’t want me in danger. But Austin knew better.

  The phoenix sprayed Austin with fire, a preliminary blast, like she’d first tried with us. The basajaun ran at her and swiped, but the moment his palm touched her skin, it burst into flame. He howled, shrinking back. The thunderbird flapped its great wings and lightning flickered. Edgar jolted, on its back. I hadn’t realized he’d jumped up there, but he didn’t stay there for long. He convulsed and fell, cracking his head on the ground.

  The thunderbird launched into the air, each movement showcasing its incredible strength. The gargoyles rolled out of its way, but they immediately turned around and flew after it. Its lightning crawled out around it, giving it a natural shield. Niamh rammed it with her horn, showing no fear. The thunderbird roared as the crystalline horn pierced its side, the sound turning to thunder. Niamh convulsed and fell.

  “No!” I threw out a net to catch her, suspending her in the air.

  “Will you protect them with your life? Will you end this?”

  “Of course I will end this,” I mentally shouted. “Send the others away. Let me handle this myself.”

  “Will you protect your team with your life? Decide now. It will be your lifelong duty.”

  It was already my lifelong duty. We’d become a unit in that first battle, and every battle thereafter had drawn us closer together. There was no way I would walk away when my friends were in danger. There was no way I wouldn’t sacrifice myself if it saved all of them, just as they would do for me.

  “Take the oath,” Ivy House said. “Take the oath and I can help you save them.”

  A roar of anguish froze my blood. I spun. Austin was on the ground, struggling with the phoenix, everywhere she touched burning.

  I crawled through the grass for Cheryl, desperate, hearing another howl of pain from the basajaun, who was probably trying to help Austin. He couldn’t handle the burns, though. Another cry from above.

  I looked up as Sebastian caught Mr. Tom in a magical net, suspending his fall.

  I curled my fingers around Cheryl’s hilt.

  “What do I say?” I yelled, tears in my eyes. Austin’s agonized howls tormented me. I doubted anyone in the world had ever heard them before. He never admitted to being in pain. A grunt was all he’d vocalize, even when a normal person would black out. He was beyond agony right now. Probably beyond what most could tolerate. And still he fought.

  I couldn’t bear to peek through the link.

  “What do I say?”

  “‘I swear to protect Ivy House and my circle until the day I die. I will uphold the honor that is due my role and the legacy that is Ivy House.’”

  I repeated the words quickly, with trembling lips.

  “Shed blood onto the soil.”

  Sebastian put up another net to catch Ulric.

  Austin ripped the petite woman off him and sent her flying. He struggled to stand, burned and bloodied and shaky. I’d never seen him like this. His rage pushed through the muted link, hotter and fiercer than the pain. He was bringing forth the beast. He was shrouding himself in darkness so he could give everything to this fight. I doubted he’d regret it.

  “Shed blood onto the soil,” Ivy House repeated.

  With shaking hands, I sliced my finger; deep crimson welled up. I shoved it into the ground, wincing at the searing pain.

  Thunder rolled above. Great wings beat. Our other friend was back. I’d have to beat that bastard in the sky. But first I needed to take out the phoenix.

  “With great power comes great responsibility,” Ivy House said.

  The petite woman pushed up from the ground, facing Austin. She knew which of us was her greatest competition.

  Kingsley paced in front of me, watching his brother, keeping me from the fight.

  Austin stood on his hind legs, bent over a little toward her, and roared.

  They ran at each other.

  “With great responsibility, you must have great courage. The courage to do what is right, and not what is easy. The courage to protect those sworn to you. The courage to wield the power without blinking.”

  Before the woman could reach Austin, he swiped, his great paw hitting her shoulder. I could hear the crack from here. She rolled across the ground like a tumbleweed. Down on all fours, he ran after her, but this time he knew better than to pounce. She was good on the ground. Her body was a weapon, and she used it to her advantage.

  “Use it wisely.”

  A tidal wave of power welled up inside me, pumping through my blood. Stretching my skin to cracking. Dizzying my mind.

  Through it, I could see the woman charging Austin, her injured arm tucked close to her body, flames rising from her skin. Austin swiped again, but she ducked under the strike and kept going. He lowered quickly, mouth open, and clamped on to her other shoulder, ignoring the pain I could feel blistering through the link. He wrapped his arms around her, a bear hug, the pain now agonizing, tearing him apart, no beginning and no end.

  He tore with his teeth, ripping out her shoulder. Still squeezing, ignoring the misery it was causing him. Ignoring her screams. Trapped, she had one power, the pain she bestowed, but he was pushing past it. He opened his great jaw wide and clamped down on her head, his teeth digging into bone, and then he wrenched. The victor.

  I turned from the grisly aftermath and magically cut off his pain. He didn’t need it anymore. He didn’t need to know when he was nearing the edge of never coming back. Now he just needed to heal. Something I would help him with after I dealt with the thunderbird.

  He’d taken down one of the pair, and I fully intended to handle the other. But I’d have to fly to do it.

  I shed my clothes and shifted, wasting no time. Color swirled from my tiny little wings, nothing compared to that mammoth in the sky.

  Sebastian jogged toward me, looking up as I thrummed my wings, calling to me. I didn’t know what he was saying.

  That big beast soared above the woods effortlessly, born to fly.

  I labored after it, definitely not.

  Frustration and fear bled through the now unmuted link. Austin didn’t want me to go. He’d done his part, though, and Ivy House had given me the power to do mine.

  Jasper still flew around the thunderbird, and as I neared, I could see him dipping in and coming away, making small attacks. He was still getting shocked, but not badly enough for it to take him down. He couldn’t hope to take this creature on his own, but he hadn’t given up. He hadn’t relented.

  My heart surged. He’d been a good choice.

  Another shape caught my notice. Another gargoyle flew toward us, moonlight shimmering off its silvery hide.

  The last part of the summons. Just one gargoyle this time. No team to sort through or try out. One gargoyle to help me do the impossi
ble.

  Nearer still, he carved through the sky with a dexterity that not even Damarion had been able to achieve. The thunderbird rolled, tucking in its wings and diving, nearly smashing Jasper out of the sky. But Jasper pulled back at the last moment, careening and then correcting his course.

  The newcomer moved with great speed, silvery light slicing through the dark night. When he neared, he snapped his wings out, the effect thunderous, and hung stationary in the sky. His wings thrummed like a hummingbird’s, although the motion was barely noticeable, creating a low-pitched sound that pulled at the center of me.

  Jasper rose higher. Then, across the town, I saw other fliers lift above the trees and buildings, rising like balloons after a parade. Most of the gargoyles that hadn’t made the cut at Ivy House had stayed in the area, and I knew—without quite understanding how I knew—that they’d heard this newcomer’s call to arms. Heard the distinct sound that brought their kind together.

  Mr. Tom and Ulric tried to rise as well, clearly knowing what it meant.

  Without specifically knowing how, but feeling the rightness in my blood, I cut out the sound to them. Just to them. Like snipping the strings of an instrument.

  The thunderbird regained height and then banked lazily, heading back in my direction.

  “Here we go,” I said, the actual sound like a jumbled mess around my enlarged teeth.

  The lesser-statured gargoyles filed in, flocking to this newcomer like they had Damarion back in the day. This time, Austin could pull rank if he needed to. I wouldn’t stand in his way. The newcomer had a good trick, and I wanted it at my disposal.

  The newcomer darted forward, flying toward me. I gestured like an idiot, not sure how to communicate. It turned out I didn’t need to.

  Jasper soared to my left and flew at my speed. The larger new guy took my right. All the others spread out around us, some above, some below, some behind.

  The thunderbird shot straight for us. To touch it in any meaningful way would send a shock of electricity through us.

  Think it through.

  I had to cut out that electricity. Or shield the gargoyles from it.

  The gargoyles flew steadily around me. The one at my side thrummed and then snapped his wings, like a battle commander barking commands.

  Think it through.

  It occurred to me that I really didn’t know what that meant, and repeating it over and over wouldn’t help anything.

  Charge that sonuvabitch and think on the fly.

  That had always been more my speed, anyway.

  The speed with which the thunderbird flew frazzled my brain, though, and it wasn’t even trying! It was just gliding, as handy as it liked.

  The gargoyles around me shot upward, and New Guy dove in to attack just behind the thunderbird’s head. I slapped up a protective barrier for him, and the lightning zipped around him, leaving him unharmed. Another went in, following New Guy’s lead. And another. I covered for them, fast as I could, missing one and throwing up a net to catch him down toward the trees.

  The thunderbird was right on me.

  I flapped harder to dart upward, but it was coming too fast for me to gain enough altitude. I thought about dropping, but it pumped its wings and shot forward. I wrapped myself in an energy-absorbing shield as the newcomer rose and turned my way. He would never get there in time.

  The lightning hit my shield first, soaking in. The beak hit next, trying to pierce me through the middle. It hit off my shield, and the shock turned to a violent explosive. The great bird’s head shot backward and its wings pumped helplessly at the sky, offering me a killing shot.

  But I was sailing away end over end, rocketed just as hard by the blast but much, much lighter.

  I was spinning so fast that I couldn’t even figure out where I should throw a net. I flared my wings, but the wind caught them and tweaked one, wrenching it painfully. I cried out, pulling it in, spinning. The trees reached up to break my fall and probably crack my limbs.

  A body hit me from the side. Strong arms wrapped around me and held me close while large wings snapped open and stopped our fall. The newcomer grunted as he took to the sky.

  The thunderbird had regained control, and it was flying faster now, angry. It went after the other gargoyles, trying to peck at their wings, beating its hind wings quickly to send out flurries of electricity. A great, thunderous roar scattered everyone close to it.

  I pointed. Get me closer.

  New Guy flew at incredible speed, pulling up behind it. Apparently he thought I was going to do something.

  He was right.

  That thing wasn’t impervious to blasts, and I was really good at blowing things up.

  Right on its tail, I sent off an explosive spell. I immediately pointed away, and New Guy banked, so smooth and natural, so much less jarring than flying with Damarion had been. Or maybe I was just used to it, although I could never fly like this on my own. My wings simply weren’t made for it.

  The explosive hit and the bird squealed, flapping and trying to turn. Its wings weren’t as dexterous as gargoyle’s, though. We banked and dove, getting under it.

  “Waaai-t,” the new guy said in my ear.

  A gargoyle dove in from the side, and I threw up a barrier for him. It occurred to me that the blows they were landing probably wouldn’t even leave bruises. They certainly weren’t doing any real damage. I had to cut out that electricity or they could just go home.

  What was the nemesis of electricity?

  “No-ow,” the gargoyle said, the word surprisingly clear. Male gargoyles had bigger fangs than I did and struggled more to communicate in their shifted forms.

  I blasted the thunderbird in the neck this time. It squawked, knocked off-kilter, flapping its wings.

  Ground. Lightning was extinguished when it hit the ground.

  The next time New Guy swooped around, I hit the bird with a different spell, covering it with a fine layer of rock. Skin like a gargoyle’s.

  The bird’s flapping increased, laborious now. Thunder still rolled from each of its wingbeats, but no one was in front of it to get hit by the sonic waves. Gargoyles dove in, punching at it like they’d been doing, then realized they could dig in.

  New Guy tossed me up into the air and banked, heading for the bird.

  “Oh shii—” I flapped my arms for some insane reason, caught off guard.

  A moment later, coming to my senses, I switched to flapping my wings and quickly climbed in altitude. Turning, I found two gargoyles had stationed themselves between me and the thunderbird, clearly guarding me in case it managed to shake off the stone skin. But the thunderbird flailed, one set of wings wounded, the gargoyles working on the other. In a matter of moments, the bird tucked its wings in and fell like a stone, crashing through the trees and into the ground.

  I followed it down, the others allowing me to go first. I stuck my landing, meaning that I hit it wrong, staggered, and then fell flat on my face. The snap of wings announced the arrival of New Guy, who held out a firm but gentle helping hand. Lord only knew what he thought of the illustrious female gargoyle.

  Pushing that thought aside, I stepped forward and found a tall, well-muscled man lying on his stomach in his birthday suit, his dark skin glistening with sweat and his head turned to the side. Both arms were tucked under him in a defensive position and his back rose and fell with breath. Not dead.

  I changed into my skin, trying not to show how uncomfortable I was being naked in front of a stranger.

  “Hey.” I wrapped bands of magic around him to keep him put before edging closer. “Do you die and come back? Should I kill you to win, like the phoenix? I don’t know anything about thunderbirds.”

  “All you had to do was kill the phoenix. I wasn’t part of the trial. I left that battle out front to get out of the way. I’m just the other guy.”

  I lifted my eyebrows as I felt Austin draw closer. “Oh? But you were just…attacking us.”

  “Are you stupid or something?” He tr
ied to reposition and groaned. “You all attacked me first! What am I supposed to do, just take it? The phoenix is more dominant. Like I said, I’m just the other guy. I got the summons. I met her along the way.”

  I grimaced as Austin ran into the trees, his fur restored to snowy white, the burned patches gone. He changed into his skin, his gaze devouring every inch of me, making sure I was all right.

  “This guy says he’s not part of the trial?” I said to Austin.

  Kingsley paced within the trees, still in his tiger form, his eyes on the new gargoyle standing just beside me. Austin didn’t pay him any notice.

  “The phoenix was the more dominant of the pair,” he said, turning to look at the downed man now that my safety was accounted for. “Is he bound?”

  “Yeah. Should I undo that?” I asked hesitantly.

  “What kind of clown show is this?” said the man on the ground.

  “She’s new to magic,” Austin said.

  “So…we didn’t have to go after him?” I asked hesitantly.

  “No…” the man on the ground said, and it sounded more like a long groan. “Why did you call us if you didn’t know what you were doing?”

  “I didn’t call you specifically,” I said, kneeling beside him, hunching so most of my body was covered. His face was angled in the opposite direction. “I basically made a list and called whoever fit it.”

  “Some list,” he murmured. “Did he say you’re new to magic?”

  “Yeah.”

  He flinched when I laid my palm on his back, closing my eyes and feeling around his body, like a magical X-ray. Austin stood beside me, probably in case this guy tried to pull a fast one.

  “Broken arms, bruised ribs, and your neck hurts,” I said, leaving my hand where it was. “It must hurt to lie on them.”

  “It does.”

  “O-kay. Well, I can heal you if you’re telling the truth about your role here.”

  “I hate my life,” he muttered.

  “Go ahead,” Austin said.

  I started the process and then stood. I didn’t need to keep touching him for it to work.