“Hatching season. The little ones are being born. They are at their most vulnerable for the next few weeks. The primordials stay close as an extra layer of protection.”
“Do you think Padraig knows this?” Dwight asked.
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Tek said. “If he was meant to be high ranking with the elementalists, he could have learned about this information. Pterippi are pure magic when they are born. Their innocence gives them an extra boost of magic. If he purposely targeted their hatching season, then he couldn’t have planned it better.”
“But he has to know about the primordials,” Shanton said.
“Which would explain why he collected all the magic he could beforehand at Springer City. He’s going to use it to combat them if he needs to.” Hale looked worried. His eyes met mine. “I don’t know how this is going to play out. Neither does Kokumthena.”
“I’m starting to feel sick.” I groaned and held onto my stomach. “This is too much.”
Rhett rubbed my back. “You can do this. We have almost caught up with him. Then we can tear his head off and be done with this.”
“I want to throw up.”
“Think about Henzie,” Dwight said. “About his senseless death. Think about those at the park. Think about the chaos Padraig has created. Keep that in mind and it’ll be easier to move forward.”
I straightened and glared at Dwight. “I kind of hate you right now.”
“No, you don’t. You hate Padraig.”
“Dammit. Why do you have to be right?”
“We need to move,” Hale said. “He’s close, and I have a feeling he’s going to want to do it tonight. Pterippi don’t have the best eyesight at night, and they tire easily. They’ll be sluggish and too slow to react if he manages to get through.
That shut us up as we followed them, still circling around the barrier. I still felt primordial eyes on me as we moved, but they stayed out of sight, waiting. That was far scarier than if they were tangible and breathing down our necks.
I was ready to crack when we came across a campsite that had been recently snuffed out. The burned wood was still warm to the touch. They dumped just enough dirt to put it out before taking off.
“They’re close,” Tek said. “Maybe another hour.”
“Let’s pick up our speed,” Hale said.
We took off at a light jog, barely avoiding branches that wanted to knock us out as we ducked underneath them. I was beginning to get winded when Hale stopped us. I was surprised I hadn’t started breathing heavily until then. We went at that speed for almost an hour. While I’d recently taken up running, I wasn’t much of a runner yet. Was it just another change that I had undergone because of the awakening?
Hale lifted his finger to his lips, telling us to stay quiet. He moved over to me and whispered softly. “Make a ward around us to keep us hidden.”
I nodded and did as he said, picturing the ward keeping us hidden from eyes and senses. Tek nodded his approval and then we stepped around the massive tree. The tree trunk would need twenty of us to surround it completely. When we got to the other side, I took in a sharp breath.
He was there.
Padraig. And right by his side was Jaylam, the shadowsmith. Both of them had managed to get away during the break-in.
I ignored Jaylam. The others would be able to easily handle him. Padraig would be the challenge, and I could feel it. He didn’t just have energy now, he had magic too, no doubt from the device he’d been using to steal it.
The rogue elementalist was my height, and looked to be in his late forties, but a very healthy forties. He’d be the type who attracted young females who liked an older man. His piercing dark eyes were focused on a duffle bag at his feet.
“Are you sure this will work?” Jaylam asked him.
“Yes. The pterippi will give us all the magic we need to get through the wards around the elementalists. I don’t know what tipped them off, but they managed to strengthen their wards and they changed up their guard routine.”
“We tipped them off when we killed the two guards.”
“Didn’t have the choice. Besides, thanks to that little boost by those two, we won’t have any problems breaking through to get to those horses.”
The only person who seemed to be worried was Jaylam. At least he was smart. Padraig ignored the shadowsmith’s worry as he pulled out a device.
“Shit.” I swore under my breath. I was seeing the device they’d been using for the first time. It looked like a canister, about a foot tall, with a funnel on top. Padraig strapped something to his wrist, it looked similar to a watch. That had to be how he was filtering the magic out of the device without releasing it dangerously.
“Come on, get this set up, while I get the ward set up. Once their ward is down, they’ll be on us. We need to stall them enough to drain them.” Padraig handed the device over to Jaylam.
“We can’t let them turn that on,” Hale said.
“We won’t. Two of them, ten of us. It’s a no brainer,” Davies said.
I sighed and shook my head. “Don’t get too cocky. That device has the magic of at least thirty beings according to the reports from Springer City, plus the two elementalists. There’s also no telling what else they collected on the way here. I have no idea what he will do with it. He could wipe us out with a thought if we aren’t fast enough.”
“Laila, you retrieve the device. Don’t let them set it off. We’ll handle the others.”
“I’ll cover Laila,” Elliot said.
I blew out a breath, trying to control all the fear and anger inside of me. I wanted to pull Padraig apart at the molecular level, giving him no chance of ever finding a way back to life.
“We cannot fight,” Hale said. “We have to keep Kokumthena calm. If she reacts, she will wipe us all out in her anger right now. It will take everything we have to keep her from intervening.”
“Okay, six of us against those two. Easy,” Davies said with a nod.
“Right easy,” I replied.
“You guys are stalling.” Alijah didn’t wait before he turned into his tiger.
Venni followed his lead and before I could stop either of them, they both took off.
“Wait,” I cried out, but it was too late, they jumped through the ward hiding us and attacked.
“Shit,” Dwight said before turning into Black Dog in an explosion of energy and taking off with Siitha at his side. Now the two of them worked together?
I charged after all of them, choking on my fear, and praying to Goddess Hekate that we were going to make it out of this alive.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Not getting distracted by the battle proved impossible. Elliot stayed with me as we made a run toward the device. The problem was Jaylam still had it when the attack started, and when Alijah went after him, he dropped it to defend himself. I was going to have to get dangerously close to them to get that device.
The second problem was that Padraig had absorbed magic already, and he had the watch on his wrist that I had no doubt was allowing him to continue to absorb more. I could see the connection between the device and his watch once I focused enough to see the tendrils of magic. The magic itself was dark and angry, furious with how it was being utilized, but it couldn’t do anything about it as Padraig drank it up.
He used that magic when Venni made it to him and threw a shimmering ball at my wolf. It smashed into him and Venni flew backward until he disappeared into a bush.
The others snarled and distracted Padraig while Siitha joined Alijah in fighting Jaylam.
“Come on,” Elliot said. “We’ll circle around to get closer. Don’t watch them. They’ll be okay. Just focus on what you need to do.”
I nodded as he led us around the fight. It put us dangerously close to the ward, making my skin tighten and itch.
Doing my best to not think about how easily Padraig fought them off, I kept my eyes on the device. I couldn’t be distracted with how he blinked around the small f
ield to avoid attacks, or backhanded Shanton to avoid his claws, or how he smirked when a ward popped up just as Rhett tried to take him on. My heart jumped when Davies landed a blow, but it cost him a kick to his abdomen. Padraig was well practiced in using power and that made him dangerously powerful now that he had both sources to protect himself.
Alijah and Siitha managed to push Jaylam away from the device.
“Now, Laila,” Elliot said, urging me forward. With shaking legs, I sprinted forward with Elliot at my back. We only made it a short distance when Jaylam appeared in front of me and threw energy at us. I tossed up a quick shield to block it and grunted as his energy smashed into it. He tried to charge at me, but Alijah smashed into him and they rolled away.
“Now.” Elliot pushed me forward. I dropped the shield, eyes on the device and sprinted again.
Dirt kicked up at my side, spraying me in the face, and I almost lost my footing. Elliot kept me on my feet as we moved away from the attack. Even with the six attacking Padraig, he still managed to find time to shoot power at us.
The second attack was too close, and I barely erected a ward when the third smashed into it. I stumbled back from the impact against the ward, and my head pounded hard. If my shield shattered, I was going to be in a world of pain.
I tossed my own power at Padraig, but I used too much. “Watch out!” I yelled.
Shanton and Dwight nearly got hit, but they managed to move away.
“Leave the offense to them,” Elliot hissed.
I nodded. I nearly took out my guys with that attack. I needed more practice and control before I could think about fighting back. Hating myself for almost getting them killed, I dove for the device with Elliot close behind. We were almost in arm’s reach when things really went to shit. There was an explosion centering from Padraig. Everyone was flung back, and that meant we went toward the ward.
Pain from the impact flowed through me as I screamed. Magic zapped me with a vengeance and once it was done punishing me and because the ward knew how to kick ass, it shoved me away from it. I fell to the ground with my limbs twitching. I could barely sit up, and when I did, I wanted to cry. Elliot was by me, unconscious, but the others were flung back too, far out of reach, and Padraig had the device in his hands. Jaylam’s body was a couple of feet away, his head had been twisted and nearly removed from his body.
That didn’t matter though. Not when Padraig grin wickedly. Blood ran from a cut along his forehead and his nose. One eye looked ready to swell shut, and he breathed heavily. His eyes were wide, wild, unable to focus on one thing, and I recognized it for what it was: desperation. We had put Padraig into a corner and he looked to be taking one last stand against us.
His answer to our attack was to lift the device and smash it hard on the ground. I had no clue what he was aiming to do or what his motivation was for it. Part of it had to be that he knew it was the end. With Black Dog, a dragon, and Siitha ready to tear him apart, he had no chance. Eventually their tenacity would have won out against his reserve of magic, and they’d over run him. So he did his last ditch move to make sure he took as many of us out as he could, and he didn’t give a fuck about the damage he did.
It didn’t take long for the volatile magic to respond. I had moments to react because Padraig had just released a homemade atomic bomb and there was no doubt that a huge chunk of the lands would be devastated. While the elementalists were half a day’s journey away, the blast would easily reach them as the free magic in the air reacted with the released magic and fed it. Padraig was going for ultimate devastation.
The magic was going to destroy any living thing it touched with its fury. It was on par with a child acting out in a tantrum. I’d be pissed too if I’d been kidnapped and then forced to do what I didn’t want to. That was what happened to the magic and now it was out for blood and didn’t care who got caught up in its revenge.
I raised my hand and imagined a ward. Unfortunately, my lack of control made it too big and Elliot and I were inside the ward.
“No!” I cried as I raised my other hand, barely getting a second ward up in desperation. It was smaller this time, wrapped around Elliot and me. Another moment and we would have been consumed. My skin felt hot from the close call, ready to fall apart from the onslaught.
The magic slammed into my wards and I screamed, expecting my end.
I squeezed my eyes shut, throwing everything I had out into the wards, expecting it to fall. When nothing happened, I opened my eyes.
Holy fuck. My chest tightened at the close call. I blinked back tears, completely terrified. I was stuck inside the magic bomb with Elliot.
How much of a fucking idiot was I?
The magic wasn’t going to give me time to adjust as it relentlessly pushed against my barriers. I pushed back, refusing to let it free. My arms shook as if I was physically trying to push a massive boulder up a hill. Any moment now, my strength was going to wane, and I was going to be crushed. Elliot too.
But it wouldn’t end there. Too many people would perish. Everyone I loved would die. That wasn’t allowed to happen. I used that determination to feed the two wards my power. I felt stretched out trying to contain the magic and to protect Elliot and me. If this lasted too long, I was going to wear down. I blinked past burning tears to see exactly what the magic could do.
Padraig stared at me, still smiling triumphantly as the magic peeled away at his skin. He flaked away before my eyes. His body turned into ash and then even those disappeared. The same happened to Jaylam’s body.
I screamed as I felt the big ward around the magic waver. It was going to cave. Desperation pushed me to work harder. I quickly raised another ward half a foot away from the first one and when it shattered, the magic smashed into the next ward. I grunted, feeling something warm drip down my face as pain slashed at my brain, trying to claw at my skull.
“I can do this. I can do this.” Grabbing onto more power, I pushed and pushed, feeding the ward, imaging an impenetrable bubble around us. My skin prickled, the small hairs on my body dancing with the straining of power flowing through me. I kept expecting to run out at any moment, but it truly felt like an abyss of resources was inside of me.
I’d need to outlast the blast. I had no choice.
“What the fuck?” Elliot swore as he jumped to his feet and came to my side. “Laila?”
I shook my head. I was beyond words right now. I closed my eyes again, just focusing on feeding the wards, keeping us safe. Outside our bubble was a dark force of magic swirling around, smashing, trying to get out. It screamed its fury. I screamed my fear.
Elliot’s body heat did nothing to comfort me as he pressed against my back. His breathing was haggard.
That was when I felt it, the strain lessening, the magic’s onslaught slowing. I opened my eyes and glanced around. I could barely make out two shadowy figures through the magic, they were just outside the ward, kneeling on the ground.
“Blackfoot brothers,” Elliot said, sounding hopeful.
As if in response, the ground rumbled and the fight in the magic lessened. That continued as I fought to keep the two wards up. The magic fought, the ground rumbled, I pushed more power out, and the magic’s fight slowed down.
My breathing was labored, sweat drenching my clothes, my arms shaking as I held them up. Did I need my arms up? I didn’t know, but I wasn’t willing to lower them in case I did. Slowly, the magic started to disappear in the dome and the shadowy figures became easier to see through the dark haze. It was Tek and Hale. They kneeled with their hands on the ground, heads bent to hide their faces.
Elliot rubbed my back. “Almost there. It’s almost over, Laila.” He kept whispering words of encouragement.
The moment the magic was nearly dispersed, I caved and the wards fell. All that escaped was a small wind of magic as it shot out into the forest, and it was quickly eaten up by Nature.
I turned and slammed into Elliot, hugging him close. “I’m so fucking sorry,” I said into his neck and
kept apologizing.
“It’s okay,” he whispered, kissing my temple. “You did good, Laila. You did good.”
I sniffed, trying my best not to bawl my eyes out. “I almost got you killed.”
“No, you kept me safe.”
“We didn’t need to be in the ward.”
“You did great. You kept us safe. I’m okay. You’re okay too.”
I felt the others approach.
“Laila,” Dwight said and something in his voice had me looking up at him. His expression was grim.
Pulling away from Elliot, I glanced at everyone, taking in all their scrapes and cuts. Someone was missing though.
I leaned around Shanton’s expansive body hoping to see him, but he wasn’t there.
“Where is Venni?” I asked.
“You need to come,” Dwight said. He reached down and helped me to my feet.
Fear seized my lungs at the pain in Dwight’s words. I tried to step forward, to follow, to find what put such a dark look on everyone’s expression, but my legs refused to hold me up. I staggered and would have fallen if Dwight hadn’t lifted me up into his arms.
He moved fast, and before I could draw my next breath, we stopped.
The sight in front of me sent me into a tailspin of horror. “Venni!” I scrambled out of Dwight’s arms and flung myself at my wolf. He was naked, in human shape, while Tek and Hale hovered over him, but they looked as grim as everyone else.
A keening noise escaped me as I hovered, unsure of what to do.
“I-I…” I sobbed. A thick branch had stabbed through his chest, going right through. From the location, it had to be inches from his heart, if it hadn’t touched it. His lower face was covered in blood from coughing it up. His lungs were hit.
I found his hand and gripped it tight.
“There has to be something. I don’t know. I don’t know. There has to be something.”
No one said anything. No one here was a healer.
“We are making him comfortable, but we can’t do much else,” Tek said with a soft voice.
“No.” I shook my head, staring at Venni’s dark eyes. “No. No. No! I-I can fix this. Somehow. I can do this.”
Magical Redemption Page 27