by Martha Carr
Leira countered as much magic as she possibly could and took in whatever energy she could catch before the magic spun out of control. Louie used his sword, listening to the voice in his head. He was faster than anyone Leira had ever seen with the sword, but she couldn’t take the time to blow up his ego. They were being demolished.
The magic began coming at them faster and faster, almost too quickly for Leira to fight off. A shot skimmed past Louie’s shoulder, cutting into his flesh. He winced but didn’t drop the sword, though he did slow down a bit. Leira knew she had to do something or they were both going to die.
“On the count of three, I want you to drop to the ground,” Leira told Louie.
Louie nodded. “Count of three.”
Leira pulled all the energy she could into her body and let it trickle down her arms into her palms. The ball of energy in her hands got larger until finally, she could barely hold onto it.
“One… Two… Three!”
Louie dropped to the ground as Leira raised the ball high above her head and slammed it straight down. The orb hit the ground and sprang up like a fountain, creating a dome over them. The magic from the wizards and witches smashed into it, but it held strong and resolute.
Louie looked at it wildly. “That is some sweet magic.”
Leira chuckled and used a portion of her shirt to bandage Louie’s shoulder. “Thanks. It’s not gonna hold forever, though. This is what I can do…”
Leira gave Louie the rundown on what would happen next so he could prepare himself. Leira looked at the others through the haze of her protection dome and began to pull magic from the ground. She took her bracelet off, holding it tightly in her hand as the energy filled her with calm and peace. Louie was counting in his head to one hundred, watching nervously as Leira sank into her energy and magic.
“Ninety-eight, Ninety-nine, one hundred!” Lou grabbed Leira’s wrist, pulling the bracelet from her hand and slipped it back on her.
Leira gasped as she felt the grounding power of the bracelet and Louie’s hand on her, yanking her back from the edge of pure bliss and white light. Once she regained her senses, still holding onto as much energy as she possibly could, she nodded in thanks and backed away from him to the edge of the dome. Their attackers watched from the outside, wondering what she was doing as she spread her arms wide and turned toward the man with the black eyes.
“Not today, Satan. Not today…” she yelled as she slapped her hands together, sending out the largest wave of energy she had ever produced.
It rolled out like a tidal wave, taking down everybody in its path. The dome vanished and she grabbed Louie’s hand, pulling him toward an opening where the wizards had fallen away. As they made their way toward the path, Leira spotted an Earth informant making a run for it in the opposite direction.
She gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes, wanting to catch up with him, wanting to take him down, but she knew she didn’t have any time for that. “I’ll catch up with you later, asshole.”
Louie was still reeling from the burst of energy that had flowed through him. He wobbled slightly as they ran down the gravel path, trying to reach the Dark Forest as fast as they could. Leira knew she’d only bought them a little head start, but hopefully, they’d be able to get back to her father’s cabin.
Louie laughed as he ran. “I have to say, being friends with you is definitely an adventure. I thought your father topped the list of people it was most exciting to hang out with, but I think you’ve outdone him. I’m assuming I won’t have a table in the dark market anymore.”
Leira patted his shoulder. “It’s probably for the best.”
14
As they turned the corner to head down the straightaway toward the Dark Forest, Leira threw a shield that covered the house where the mother and children were playing. The mother screamed and grabbed her children, running for the door of her home as the thugs pelted down the path after them.
“Jesus, they’re fucking organized as hell. They’re like a militia,” Leira wheezed.
“I told you they don’t play around here. Things have changed.”
Leira now understood what the queen had been talking about. It was no longer a couple of rogue dark wizards hiding in the shadows and making trouble here and there. They’d formed a kind of militia, and Leira had walked right into the middle of it. She was learning things about her new opponent, but given that she was running and fighting at the same time, not as much as she wanted to.
Leira stopped for a moment and sent out a streak of blue light that twisted and turned as it whipped through the air. Right before it hit the man with the black eyes, he laughed loudly and threw his hands to the sides sending the magic off in every direction except toward his men. Shards of energy crashed into the cottages on the side of the road.
Leira ducked, her own magic almost slamming back into her. She looked at the cottages, which were now engulfed in flames. “I really hope those were the vacant ones.”
Louie grabbed her arm and pulled her along. “We don’t have time to figure it out.”
They raced down the path, throwing magic behind them as often as they could. Leira turned and moved backward quickly as she swished her hands, sending fireballs blazing out all over the place. All she could do at this point was attempt to overwhelm them with energy, because the single strands of magic she’d sent were quickly broken up by the dark mist.
“Can you feel the darkness this time?” Louie asked as he returned the sword to its sheath.
Leira nodded. “I can feel it, yes, but not like I did before. I don’t know if that means it’s weaker or I’m stronger. Either way, it’s not drawing me in like it used to.”
“Good, because I don’t think I can fight them off and pull you away from the dark mist at the same time.”
Leira turned back around, and they sprinted, seeing the Dark Forest straight ahead. “They may be well organized, and they may have built some sort of infrastructure here, but they have something to lose. They have to have a weak point. The only question is whether I can figure out what it is.”
Louie looked at her as they jumped over a ditch into the Dark Forest. “You’ll find it. I know you will. You don’t stop until you’ve figured out the situation. That’s just how you’ve always been.”
Leira and Louie raced through the forest, leaping over fallen trees and sliding down embankments as they tried to get as far away from their pursuers as they could. When they reached the clearing in the woods that Leira had passed through earlier they slowed to a stop, listening behind them. They could hear the wizards, but they were far enough back and obviously not used to battling in the Dark Forest.
Louie looked at Leira. “Might be a good time for a portal.”
Leira shook her head. “No, we fight them here.”
Louie sighed and pulled his sword from its sheath, readying himself for battle. “I had a feeling you’d say that. I’m right here by your side.”
They crouched in the brush on the other side of the clearing and waited for the wizards to arrive. Finally, they ran through. The lead guy stopped them and looked from side to side, obviously tracking her. She could feel his magic searching throughout the forest for her. He was strong, but not stronger than her. The only thing he had on her was numbers.
Leira looked at Louie and nodded, not needing to say a word. Together, they walked out of the brush, facing the wizards head on. There was a moment of stillness before the battle erupted. Louie swung his sword, ricocheting the magic off the blade.
Leira had gone down on one knee and was sending out spiraling disks of magic that cut several of the wizards in the legs and shins. As they fell she followed up with fireballs, knocking most of them unconscious or at least disabling them.
The leader was angry as hell. Leira saw the muscles in his arms tense as he huffed and puffed. He clutched his fists at his sides and lifted his shoulders, and the dark mist started seeping out. Leira slowly stood up and glanced at Louie. “This doesn’t lo
ok good.”
Louie’s eyes bugged out as he shook his head back and forth. “Nope. In fact, I wish I was anywhere but here right now.”
The dark mist shuddered beneath his feet. The leader raised his arms high in the air before smashing his fist into the dirt. A blast of energy surged through the soil, creating a wall of mud and dirt that swept across the clearing. Before Leira could try to counter the magic, it reached them and slammed them into the trees.
Both Leira and Louie groaned, their bodies aching from the impact. Slowly, they picked themselves up and prepared to run back in. Before Leira could move, though, something stirred among the trees near her. She whipped her head around.
“Perrom!”
He had returned.
“Nice to see you again after all this time,” Leira said, staring at the Wood Elf when he stepped into the light.
His skin was like scales, flipping over wildly as he unblended from the tree where he’d sat. He smiled and nodded at Leira. “Maybe we can catch up later, but I think you have someone waiting for you right now.”
Leira looked at the clearing where the dark wizard stood with the black mist swirling around him. Behind him, several of his troops were laid out, either too injured to get up or completely unconscious. Leira sighed and drew the energy into her chest again, knowing that the fight wasn’t finished.
Walking side by side, Louie, Leira, and Perrom stepped into the clearing and glared at the dark wizard. He cracked his neck and smirked at Leira, seeing the dust and dirt covering her body. From the right-hand side of the clearing, Ronnie emerged and stood next to Louie. Louie raised his eyebrow, trying to hold back a smile.
Ronnie tugged his coat down and shrugged. “I figure we’ve been friends for a pretty long time, and I probably shouldn’t just leave you to deal with this on your own.”
Louie slapped him on the shoulder and smirked. “Appreciate your friendship. I really do.”
Fireballs whizzed through the air. Louie darted forward and used the sword to attack the troops, listening to everything it told him. He swung right and left, then spun in a circle and took down three of the men with one slash. Ronnie ran alongside him, backing him up whenever he needed it. He used his own magic coupled with his dagger to drop the soldiers.
Leira stood in the center, exchanging spiraling blasts of magic with the dark wizard. Perrom added in his own mix of magic and wits, doubling her attack efforts. Leira glanced at him for a moment and smiled, just glad to see him back again and happy to see that he had learned how to live after the beating he had taken the last time she saw him. He was tough, and exactly the kind of ally she needed.
Before she could look back at the dark wizard, he had thrown a fireball at her. Perrom pushed her out of the way, but the fireball raced after her. She centered her energy and deflected the fireball from her chest, but it still grazed her collarbone with enough force to knock her to the ground.
“You okay?” Perrom asked as he bombarded the wizard with magic.
Leira pulled herself to her feet and brushed the fire off her arm. “Besides being madder than hell? I’m fine.”
“Good! Use that anger,” Perrom yelled.
That was exactly what Leira did, and so did the rest of the group fighting with her. They pummeled the others with as much magic as they could. The lead dark wizard snarled loudly, not noticing that seventy-five percent of his men were laid out on the ground.
Turn right and strike the main guy. Louie paused for just a second, shocked at what the sword was telling him. It had never steered him wrong, though, and he knew that hesitating could mean the difference between life and death. He turned to his right and yelled as he swung the sword, catching the dark wizard in the back. Leira saw what Louis had planned and sent a fireball at the same time.
The fireball nailed the wizard in the chest and knocked him to the ground. He shrieked in anger and jumped to his feet, acting as if he wasn’t injured at all even though blood dripped down his back. Before Leira or anyone else could make another move, he ripped open a portal and jumped through. Those who could still walk followed him, leaping through before the portal snapped shut.
The tide had finally turned; they had beaten the wizards back until they retreated. No one said a word. They kicked their opponents’ wands into the edges of the Dark Forest. Leira’s shoulder was smoking from the fireball that had grazed her, and Louie was patting out embers as he put away his sword.
Ronnie walked over, rubbing an egg-sized welt on his forehead. Louie clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks for that.”
Ronnie grumbled. “How do you always get in so much trouble?”
Leira walked over to Perrom, who was leaning against a tree looking absolutely exhausted. His mechanical arm hung by his side, and Leira realized that he hadn’t used it at all during the fight. “Thank you for that. I can see now that you just fought with one arm. That’s some seriously badass shit.”
Perrom struggled off the tree and stood up straight. “I do what I can. It’s getting stronger by the day, but in battles like this it’s utterly useless.”
Leira smiled kindly. “Well, even with one arm, you’re a fiercer warrior than most people I know.”
Perrom finally smirked. “Thank you. We should move quickly through the Dark Forest. There are a lot of prying eyes here, and that’s exactly what we don’t need.”
Leira waved the others over. “You’re right. Let’s get moving.”
Ronnie and Louie took the lead, Louie pulling his sword back out in case they found more trouble. Leira and Perrom walked for quite a while in complete silence, Leira unsure what to say, and Perrom taking the time to think about what was next.
After they had gone deep enough into the Dark Forest for Perrom to feel comfortable enough to stop, he grasped Leira by the arm. She looked at him for a second and then at the others, but she could tell that Perrom had something important to say.
“What’s going on?”
Perrom took a deep breath then looked Leira straight in the eyes. “I want you to help me get Ossonia out of the World in Between. I know that was hard on everyone, but you know it was extra hard on me, and I think you know why.”
Leira shifted her eyes away from Perrom, remembering the pain and agony she had gone through after losing her. She had sacrificed herself to save Leira, and she was still hovering in the World in Between. Leira took a deep breath and nodded.
“You have any idea of where she is, and where there’s a thin place that we might be able to rip open?”
Perrom shook his head. “I don’t know any of that. I don’t know a lot about the World in Between, or how to get people out. What I do know is that I can’t leave her there to suffer like she is. We both know she didn’t move on to the next place. She was taken by the dark mist to save your life, and she’s still in there.”
Leira put her hand gently on his shoulder. “Are you sure she hasn’t moved on?”
Perrom pulled away and rubbed his good hand over his face. “I’m sure. I’ve caught a glimpse of her twice since Paris, and I know from the look on her face that we need to help her. I can’t do it on my own, so I need you and even Correk to help me.”
“I understand,” Leira said softly.
Perrom locked eyes with Leira again. “I know that both you and Correk have successfully done this before, because your grandmother is still alive and living on Earth.”
Leira knew she had no choice. “I’ll do it. And even though we don’t know exactly where she is or where there’s a thin place to rip open, I’m sure I’ll think of something. It’s my fault she’s in there, so it’s my responsibility to get her out.”
Perrom smiled and began to walk with Leira. “I appreciate this a lot.”
Leira took a deep breath and looked at the canopy of trees above her. “You know, Correk really misses you.”
Perrom chuckled. “I miss the hell out of him too. I think it’s the perfect time for me to come back.”
15
“I always win this game,” Yumfuck trilled, slapping his cards down on the table.
Jackson wrinkled his nose. “I don’t understand how you do it. I swear to God, one day I’m going to catch you cheating. You rotten little trolls are sneaky.”
Yumfuck put his furry feet up on the table and crossed one ankle over the other. “It’s not my fault that you don’t have the skill to play this game. I’m a master at this, and there’s no cheating involved. You can look from here to Oriceran and you’ll never find me cheating.”
Jackson took a sip of his drink, wincing at the burn. “Well, either you have an ace up your fur, or you’re the luckiest sonofabitch I’ve ever met.”
Yumfuck shrugged and chuckled. “You really need to learn how to be a better loser. Buddha says, “You only lose what you cling to.’”
Jackson lifted an eyebrow. “I’m not sure what the hell that has to do with Oriceran poker, Enlightened One, but I’ll show you something to cling to if you don’t stop being a smartass.”
Jackson laughed and stood up, ruffling Yumfuck’s hair. He loved having the little guy around, and he loved messing with him. But he still couldn’t figure out how he’d won so many times.
Jackson walked over to the minibar and poured himself another glass of whiskey. When he turned around, he was hit with a whoosh of air as a portal tore open in the middle of his room. Leira and Louie stepped through, and the distinct odor of burning hair lingered around them. Jackson froze for a moment, unsure what to do or say. The last thing he’d expected was for Leira to show up in his boardinghouse room, especially looking like she had been through World War III.
Yumfuck jumped onto his chair, growing larger as his fur began to ruffle. He growled loudly, ready to pounce on anyone else who came through the portal, but no one came. The portal slammed shut behind them, sending sparks onto the carpet. Jackson eyed them and reached for Leira’s shoulder. It looked pretty bad. The sleeve of her shirt had been burnt completely off, and the skin was raw and red.