by Riley Storm
“Shit,” the two of them muttered as one.
“Mage up!” came the cry. “Mage up!”
“That’s my cue,” Jennifer said, gripping his arm tight. “I’ve gotta go.”
Liam shook his head, stepping up, pulling out his dagger. “No, that’s our cue.”
It was time to find and kill the Magi, the only one who could still defeat them. Taking her hand, together they plunged into the black smoke billowing out of Moonshadow Manor.
36
The hallways were dark and filled with black smoke. The walls were scorched and everywhere she could hear cries for help or shouting of orders. The fighting was fierce as defenders poured out from side passageways to try and throw the invaders back.
But the rebels fought on, and the two of them weren’t the only ones to run back into the Manor. Many more rebel attackers came with them, fighting off the loyalists, keeping her path open as she ran onward.
Magic shimmered and she thrust her staff forward, a shield of red absorbing a bolt of green heading straight for one of the unsuspecting rebels.
“He’s up ahead,” she said, stating the obvious.
Her mind was somewhat distracted as they ran. Not just by the sounds of battle, the viciousness of what she was seeing, but also by what Liam had told her outside. The feelings he’d confessed for her.
She wanted to stop and speak to him now, to tell him how she felt about it all, what her thoughts were, but there was no time. Right then it was a case of life or death. And she wanted to keep as many shifters alive as she possibly could. Including Liam. Which meant acting quickly. The Magi had to die.
“Where?” Liam shouted, pausing to help a rebel embroiled in hand-to-hand combat with a loyalist.
Jennifer winced and looked away as his dagger whipped out, sinking deep into the loyalist’s neck. Blood fountained everywhere as he pulled it free. The rebel nodded thanks and said something she missed.
Another magic bolt came sizzling in against her shield. “Still straight ahead,” she muttered, moving forward as Liam came up on her right, dagger pointing down, droplets of blood trailing after them.
“Liam,” she said, pausing to strengthen her shield. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Tell me after,” he growled, his voice so deep it sounded nearly inhuman.
Glancing over at him, she saw his head swinging left and right. His eyes were wide, and there was a tinge of yellow to them. His nose flared repeatedly as he tested the air.
His wolf side was near the surface.
Jennifer held her words, not wanting to distract him. Not right now. He needed to focus as they pushed through the fighting, trying to get toward the Magi, who was somewhere ahead of them, obscured by the thick smog clogging the hallway.
“Get down!”
She dropped like a rock as a shape sailed out of the darkness, massive paws reaching for where her head had been.
Liam roared and slammed his body into the wolf, boring the canine to the floor. Spinning to face the combatants, she pooled energy in her right palm, staff in her left still projecting a shield in front of them.
“No!” Liam roared from under the wolf.
The animal jerked violently and howled. A moment later, the howl became a yelp as Liam jerked upward. Roaring, he lifted the wolf clear of the floor as he got to his feet, arm outstretched, blade buried deep in the beast. He jerked his arm once, and the wolf went abruptly still as the radiation blade pierced its heart.
“Keep your energy,” Liam growled as the corpse slid free of his arm, leaving him coated in red. “You’re going to need it.”
She nodded jerkily, looking down at the dead wolf. It wasn’t the first body she’d seen today, but something about the brutal way Liam had dispatched her would-be killer resonated. This was why the fighting needed to stop. Until months ago, these men had been friends. Family.
But all because of the greed of one man, they had been torn apart.
“Come on,” she snarled, her shield flaring brighter as her anger fueled its energy. “Let’s go find this sonofabitch.”
Liam gave her a toothy smile, and together they went hunting. “Together,” he growled. “A team. I’ll do the physical fighting. You take down this Magi sonofabitch. Got it?”
“Got it,” she said, her voice dropping as well.
God, he’s just so amazing. I just have to make sure we both make it out alive. Then…
Why did she have to wait? Liam hadn’t. He’d told her just before they’d run into this hellhole, ensuring she knew how he felt before anything bad happened. He’d demonstrated courage in speaking his heart, in sharing with her something that left him vulnerable.
Could she do the same? Did she have that same strength of person? Were her feelings as strong as his?
Yes. I do. I am. Liam is the one for me.
The knowledge came out of nowhere, but it sank home with a finality she couldn’t ignore. This man, the one at her side, who would do anything for her, he was the one she wanted.
“Liam,” she said as soft as she could yet still being heard. “I want you to know I—”
Magic snaked out of the darkness ahead, impacting on her shield with enough force to drive her back a step. Without thinking, she reacted, levelling her staff down the hallway and triggering a spell.
The shield hardened into something more opaque and rushed down the hallway, a counterspell she’d cast without thinking.
Liam just smiled at her, noticing the same thing about her reaction as she called up another shield. Just in time, as more magic came blasting down the hallway, shattering the shield-strike and impacting upon her renewed shield. This time, it didn’t stop. The caster behind the spell was right there.
They had found the Magi.
37
Hunkering down behind her shield, Jennifer tried to wait it out. But the spell seemed never-ending, shattering against her shield.
“What’s the plan?” Liam asked from next to her. He was constantly surveying the hallway, seeing things she likely could not. “I’ve got your back. You take this asshole out.”
But she hesitated. It was one thing to talk about taking the fight to the Magi. It was quite another to do so. When they fought, one of them would have to die. She was going to have to kill. Was that something she could handle?
“You’ve got this,” Liam said, squeezing her shoulder. “I believe in you.”
Yes. Yes, it is.
The energy started sparking off her shield, reaching out and slashing into the walls around her. Shifters went diving for cover as the rogue tendrils of magic found anything they could and attacked. One loyalist wasn’t quick enough and a spear of red pierced his stomach.
Jennifer watched in horror as the man shriveled from the inside out, until he was little more than a husk that slipped free of the spell as it went in search of another victim. It lit a wounded rebel and reached out for him.
Without thinking, she poured magic into her free hand and attacked the living spell. Green magic lined with yellow found the red and dug in deep, attacking it. Jennifer smiled with sudden inspiration as she poured more energy into her spell, using it like a variation of the one she’d brought the dome down with. Her magic reached out like a parasite, infecting the attackers’ magic and following it back to the source.
A dozen seconds later, there was a howl of pain from farther up the hallway and the spell disappeared as the Magi was forced to defend himself.
“Nice jo—” Liam started to say.
He didn’t finish, because a torrent of green energy came rushing down the hallway toward them. Jennifer shouted and jumped in front of Liam. Standing tall, she pushed energy into her staff, the magic aid focusing it into a shield in front of her.
The magic whipped at the edges of her robe and her fiery red hair flew out behind her as she stood alone against the mighty torrent, a rock before the river, blocking its path. It flowed around her, keeping her and Liam safe.
But not t
he other rebels.
Howls of pain came from behind her. Risking a quick glance, she saw a group of rebels trapped behind a fallen statue, clutching burnt or severed limbs as they hunkered down.
Jennifer snarled as she realized her hesitation had cost some of the rebels dearly. Once again, she reached out for the magic Liam’s love had shown her, and the shield in front of her went from red to yellow-green in the blink of an eye.
“ENOUGH!” she bellowed, and took a step forward, fighting back the torrent. Her shield widened, and she took another step.
And another.
With each step forward against the Magi’s relentless attack her shield grew wider, until it was blocking the entire hallway. His magic broke against her defenses, but still Jennifer went on. The closer she got, the stronger the Magi. Bowing her head, she went forward some more, fighting against it like it were a hurricane force wind.
“This is finished!” she shouted once the smoke finally cleared and she could see the Magi, an older shifter with gray hair. He stood off to one side, a rod as thick around as his wrist in one hand. From it poured his energy.
“Nobody else will die because of you!” she shrieked and brought both hands together on her staff.
Her yellow-green magic billowed forth. It struck the Magi and exploded, flinging the shifter back through the thick metal doors and into the Throne Room, where he bounced and rolled several times, coming to rest at the foot of the throne.
The empty throne, she noted. Meaning the Tyrant King wasn’t there. He was already defeated then, or in hiding.
Jennifer strode confidently through the doors into the Throne Room, meaning to finish the fight once and for all.
“Jennifer!”
She barely had time to hear the voice before powerful arms wrapped around her and tackled her. As she fell, a silver blade sliced through the air where her head had been, the edge catching her hair before it caught up and severing the last few inches so smoothly it could have been cutting a piece of paper.
Liam absorbed the impact of hitting the ground, then casually took her by the robe and flung her across the floor, sliding her like she was a curling stone. It was demeaning and slightly humiliating, but she couldn’t argue with the effectiveness as it got her free of the combat zone.
But now Liam was face to face with someone with a sword, and all he had was his dagger.
“Liam, catch!” she shouted, and flung her staff at him.
He snatched it mid-flight and brought it up in a two-handed grip just in time to block a downward strike. The blade was stopped cold by the staff, and she grinned. The blade wouldn’t even nick the staff. Not with all the magic she’d imbued it with.
But her sense of success was short-lived, because all around her the walls of the Throne Room began to glow blue. Turning her gaze to the thrones themselves, she saw the Magi standing up, both hands full of swirling deadly blue magic.
“I told you to stay down,” she said, getting to her feet, summoning her own magic.
“Enough talk,” the older Magi said, and flung a lance of blue death right at her head.
Jennifer simply dodged the spear, using her new-found magic to enhance her reflexes.
“So be it,” she said quietly, magic filling her body as she went to meet him.
38
Liam didn’t have time to look over his shoulder, but the wild lightshow reflecting off the walls told him Jennifer was in the fight of her life.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only one.
“Layton,” he snapped, ducking a slicing sword, sending Jennifer’s staff arcing up toward his former best friend’s crotch. “It doesn’t have to end like this.”
“End?” Layton laughed, pivoting away on one foot to avoid the strike. “End? God, Liam, this is why I stayed. You can’t see it, can you? This isn’t the end of anything. This is just the beginning. Once Laurien has crushed your pathetic little resistance, he will reunite the House, and set us on the track to greatness.”
“The resistance outside is almost finished,” Liam spat back. “The rebels will be here shortly, and you and Laurien will be history.”
Layton laughed as he finished his spin. “Laurien isn’t here, now is he?”
Liam didn’t have time to process that statement, snapping the staff up parallel to his body, grunting as the sword slammed home into it once again. He’d trained with his former friend for years. It had been a simple matter of rote practice to understand Layton would use the spin to impart power into a strike with the sword.
Predictably so, Layton had done just that. Now Liam went on the offensive, pushing Layton back, throwing his sword arm out of position. He slammed the butt-end of the staff into the loyalist’s chest once-twice in quick succession then flipped it around in a vicious overhand designed to crack Layton across the head and knock him unconscious.
Layton was no slouch, however, and it seemed he’d been training since Liam had last seen him. The sword came up, the tip of it catching the staff just enough to deflect it to the side where it connected with his off-sword shoulder.
The arm went limp, and Layton snarled in fury, counter-striking with a direct thrust of his sword. Liam smiled, easily dodged the blow and batted the sword out wide, leaving Layton wide open for—
A boot slammed into his face and Liam went flying backward, blood streaming from a cut the sole of Layton’s boot had opened on his face.
“Didn’t see that one coming, did you?” Layton crowed, dancing forward like they were in the midst of a dual.
Liam spat to the side, clearing his mouth of blood, and maybe a tooth. He wasn’t sure, nor did he care. The blow had been well timed, and he hadn’t seen it coming, because he wasn’t aware Layton had it in him.
No more mistakes. I can’t afford them.
The momentary distance between them allowed him time to look over to see where Jessica was battling the Magi. He desperately wanted to help, and knew she could use her staff, but if he tossed it to her, then Liam would have no defense against Layton and that sword. He needed to end this fight. And now.
39
Blue magic met yellow-green in a violent cackle of energy so brilliant it turned a pure white.
Jennifer leaned into it and took a step forward. The power of the blue energy was immense. She could feel it in every fiber of her body as she worked to stop the Magi’s attack. The only thing keeping her alive was the fact she had more raw power than him.
Which was great, because without her staff, all she had available to her was raw power. There was no way for her to refine it, to focus it. Instead, she poured energy into the Magi’s attack at an alarming rate.
“You can’t defeat me!” he crowed, briefly motioning with his free hand.
Jennifer watched a red serpent of energy curl out and around their ongoing battle, and then dive back in for her.
“Shit,” she snapped, and dove to the side, turning her magic on the red spell as soon as she was out of the path of the deadly blue beam of energy. Her power met the serpent and shattered it from the inside.
Getting to her feet, she sent a flurry of sparks and spells at the Magi, pausing only to call up a spell to defend herself from another red strike. The battle was intense. She cast and defended with a rapidity she hadn’t known she possessed. There was no time to think, only to react and act. Spells left her hand and magic filled the Throne Room.
Debris filtered down from the roof and the walls as energy was deflected away from the dueling mages, striking the room around them, gouging holes in the stone.
“The other defenders will be here soon,” she shouted, wishing there would be a pause, a break long enough for her to help Liam. All she needed was a split second to cast a spell. Just one.
“It won’t matter!” the Magi cackled. “I’ll bring the whole place down upon you and them. None of you are getting out of here alive.”
Fear slithered up from deep within Jennifer at that. What kind of booby trap did he have set up if he died? The
re was no time for her to cast out her magic and find it. Any distraction right then would result in her death.
A beam of purest azure flared and raced across the almost empty Throne Room, aiming straight for her head.
Angry at the impertinence of such a strike, Jennifer slashed her hand across the air in front of her, opening a rent. At the same time, her left hand came up and motioned at a space across the room. The Magi had a split second to realize her plan and he ducked out of the way as his strike entered the one portal and emerged from the other, aimed directly at his head.
Jennifer sprinted across the floor. She needed to end this fight. To finish it. There was so much she’d left undone. Left unsaid. She couldn’t lose, not now. Not when Liam needed to hear what she had to say. To hear how she felt.
He needs to know I love him.
Power swelled in her anew and she pushed it down and out her hands, striking at the Magi.
It was time to end this.
40
There was no hope for saving Layton.
Somewhere deep down, Liam had known as soon as his friend had betrayed him. He’d known it, but avoided actually thinking it over, so he wasn’t forced to deal with the consequences, of what it meant for him personally.
If Layton had simply chosen to stay at the Manor and remain loyal, then maybe, maybe he could have been brought back into the fold. But he hadn’t done just that. Instead, he’d betrayed his best friend, sold him out to the Tyrant King in some sort of warped attempt to show his true fealty.
“Your little bitch is going to lose,” Layton growled as the two stalked each other, walking in a circle, waiting for the other to make a move.
“Clearly, you’ve never met her,” Liam replied dryly. “She’s not real big on losing. Nor is she big on being called a bitch. But feel free to try.”
Layton grinned. “Maybe after I’m done with you, I’ll go slice her throat. Send the two of you off together. It’s the least I could do.”