Spectrum of Magic Complete Series - Spell Breaker - Fate Shifter - Cursed Stone - Magic Unborn - Libra

by D. N. Leo

  “Where is the key, exactly?” Orla asked.

  “In a temple on top of the hill. I have guard foxes permanently placed there, but I’m not sure how many men or creatures the Yakuz have brought with them, or what kind of weapons they have.”

  “We were chased out of the house. We’ve got nothing to fight with. Even Roy doesn’t have his gun now,” Lorcan said.

  Orla and Lorcan looked toward the interior of the island. In front of them was a gigantic hill of sand. The coastline curved away, and they couldn’t see the other end unless they went around the hill. Bleached white sand carpeted the entire area, black rocks hopping up here and there. Sand as far as the eye could see.

  “What are the Yakuz anyway? Mysterious creatures? Criminals? We’ve run into all forms on them since we came, and everyone has referred to them with fear, and with one word—Yakuz,” Lorcan muttered.

  “They majority of them are human outlaws. But they have a lot of money, so they hire creatures with magical talents and abilities, including were-creatures, witches, wizards, sorcerers, you name it. If any magical forces have reached the high ranks of the Yakuz, I don’t know about it. And whether any other groups have enough power to hire the Yakuz to do their bidding, I have no clue,” Roy said.

  The four of them walked slowly around the sand dune. Mori signaled everyone to hide in the shadow of a large rock. Via a gap, they could see large groups of furry black wolves pacing.

  “Werewolves?” Lorcan asked.

  “Too far away to tell, and too many of them to go ahead on,” Roy said.

  “Werewolves or not, let’s see how they do against hard shells.” Orla rushed back to the water, Lorcan at her heel. A slow smile curved her luscious lips as she dipped her hands into the water.

  “What’s your plan, Orla? I don’t like surprises.”

  “They have their minions, and we should have ours.” She stretched her hand out into the water. Small jolts of purple lightning danced from her fingertips out into the waves. Small granules of sand began to swirl around her fingers.

  She was forming crabs out of sand. They began to scuttle around on the bottom of the sea. She made their color more substantial, bright red, and then sent small bolts of lightning into them, forcing them away from the island to grow rapidly to roughly the size of a man before coming back.

  Mori and Roy approached, and Orla grinned as she gestured toward the sea. The red claws of an army of crabs slowly crept out of the water and headed up the hill to where the wolves kept watch. It was show time. From behind the rock, they soon heard the howls of wounded wolves echoing out from the other end of the sand hills. Peeking through the gap again, they saw the bodies of wolves scattering the sand field and the red-claw army retreating back to the sea.

  “The entrance of the temple is right on top of the hill, facing east. Once inside, I can show you where the key is. My foxes should be guarding all the way up to the entrance of the temple,” Mori said.

  “It’s more than a hundred yards from here to the bottom of the hill. And then we have to fight our way up. Do you have any idea how many there are on the other side of the hill?” Lorcan asked.

  “I’ll go and take a look,” Roy said.

  “No, Roy. You’re not going in by yourself.”

  There was a low growl behind them, and they slowly turned around. Six wolves approached the, teeth bared. Roy, Mori, and Lorcan immediately shifted into their fox forms. The trio was magnificent in blue, black, and red. The fight broke out and soon became a flurry of flying sand. Lorcan took on as many as he could to keep wolves from attacking Orla.

  In this world of were-animals, Orla felt a bit out of place. She looked over to the rock, strategizing a way to approach the temple gate.

  Chapter 36

  The trio had knocked down the attack wolves with ease, but the noise they’d made may have alerted the Yakuz at the top of the hill. There was no way they could make it to the sand hill and then fight their way up. Orla tried to recall all the lessons and practice she had received during her short training in Ireland.

  She closed her eyes and willed herself to summon the dark force. She knew Lorcan wouldn’t approve of this, but she had no other option. She crouched and braced her hands on the cold sand. Power, she needed the dark power. She started chanting. Gradually, she could feel it rising inside her. Waves of fire energy stormed into her like a tsunami. She felt as if she could move mountains, drain oceans, and draw up wild storms.

  Orla stood, her eyes blank, her body and hands glowing with magical light. The foxes had won their battle and shifted back to human form. Lorcan saw Orla, and it instantly registered what she had done. He ran to her, and she stared right through him. She raised her arms, sending lightning bolts streaking across the blackened sky and smashing into the entrance of the temple. Thousands of bolts struck all the way down the hill. The trees on the hillside caught fire, and Yakuz bodies and body parts flew into the air.

  Orla heard Lorcan call out to her from somewhere amid the noise and destruction, but she couldn’t stop. Nature’s attack kept crashing into the hillside until not a sign or sound of live creatures echoed their way. Orla’s eyes were completely blank, and her long black hair trailed in the wind, the air whirling into eddies of freezing air when she lifted her arms.

  “Shall we go!” she whispered into the wind and raised her arms, palms up, singing a strange chant. The ground underneath their feet rolled in waves, curved up and surged into a gigantic sand wave, carrying the four of them right to the shattered entrance of the temple.

  Once on the ground again, Orla’s arms flopped down to her sides as if the power was exiting her body. Her eyes came back to normal. Lorcan knew too well what would happen next, and he dashed toward her to catch her before she fell head first onto the stone floor.

  “Orla, Orla, honey, come back to me, please.” He had seen her use magic, he had seen her sending people—including himself—to Hell and back, but he had never seen her work with such magnitude. He wasn’t sure she could come back from this at all. If he lost her here and now, the whole ordeal wouldn’t mean a damn thing to him. But shortly, she stirred and opened her eyes. Lorcan squeezed her into his arms. “Oh God. Please don’t do that to me, ever again. Promise me? Please?”

  She smiled groggily and nodded.

  Roy and Mori came back after a quick search around the outside of the temple. “They killed all of my guard foxes.” Tears swam in Mori eyes, and Roy hugged her tightly.

  “You couldn’t have known. If anything, I bet this is Sai’s doing,” he said.

  Lorcan helped Orla up. “Can you walk?” She nodded.

  They cautiously pushed what was left of the temple door open. The last piece of wood crumbed as Roy touched it. The temple was eerily quiet.

  “The key is at the far end.” Mori entered through the doorway, intending to lead the group, but Roy pushed her behind him. They had only gone a few yards when a string of men cut off the corridor. Lorcan swore under his breath and stood in front of Orla.

  She rolled her eyes. “I can fight, Lorcan. At least this is men on men. We’re a level playing field now.”

  Lorcan glanced at Roy, who was ready for a fight. “You take the back row, I’ll take the front row, and we’ll meet in the middle when we’re done.” Lorcan’s voice was casual, and he didn’t seem worried at all.

  Roy gave him a curt nod, then began walking toward his appointed gaggle of goons, trying to draw them out one at a time. Orla turned and sauntered toward the other end of the corridor where she found a few men lurking. She kept one hand behind her back as she walked toward them, carefully and stealthily building a ball of purple lightning in her palm. She paused in front of the middle person and smiled. Six feet still separated them, but she was close enough.

  “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that there’s no way that we can work this out civilly?” she asked sweetly. Silence met her question, and she could feel herself getting more irritated. Finally, in answer, th
e line of warriors took on a fighting pose, ready to attack. She refused to be intimidated. Sneaking her other hand behind her back to make a second ball of energy, she watched and waited. The first attack came from the far left. There were five of them, but the one on the end leapt into action, spinning a katana above his head as he began a complicated dance to move closer to her. Orla threw a ball of energy at him, and he was engulfed and lifted into the air until he hung about fifty feet above the ground. Even as the panic showed in his face, he didn’t make a sound. The bubble disappeared, dropping him back to the hard-packed earth of the floor. Orla waited with baited breath, but he didn’t move again.

  The second ball of energy easily dispatched the next attacker in the same manner as the first, and she turned to the three that were left. All three of them were advancing on her, weapons out. That put her at a distinct disadvantage. The first guy lunged at her with a katana, and she managed to squeak by without harm. The second one had nun chucks, and he was moving quickly toward her, swinging them in an impressive pattern. Orla reached her hand out, lightning fast, trying to grab one of them to wrest it away from him, but she only succeeded in getting a wallop on her hand that made her think she’d gotten a broken bone in return.

  “Okay, Little Miss Nice Girl is gone.” Her snarl came out of nowhere, and it was enough to make the third one hesitate a bit. He had a crude bow and arrow that she thought wasn’t going to do him any good fighting in such close quarters. She sent a bolt of energy at it and watched as the weapon disintegrated in his hands. He looked up at her incredulously, and she pretended to blow smoke off her fingers like she’d just fired a gun. They stared at each other for a while, but then the enemy turned and ran.

  Chapter 37

  Orla came back to the main entrance and saw that everyone had gathered there. Lorcan glared at her and said nothing. She knew he was mad because she’d sneaked behind his back and went in for a fight. But it was done now. She merely smiled in response to his scowl.

  Seeing the tension between them, Mori smiled. “Glad to see you came back to join the party.”

  Orla sneered. “Not much of a party for the goons.”

  Roy chuckled and pushed at Lorcan’s elbow. “Come on, we have a key to fetch. Cheer up!” Lorcan mumbled something and shuffled along the corridor.

  “Lorcan, do you know where you’re going?” Mori asked.

  He shook his head, then stopped and waited for the group to catch up with him. “I’m sorry about your foxes,” Lorcan said to Mori.

  “Don’t worry. It couldn’t be helped. If we can just get the key and put it in a safe place, perhaps that will give these foxes peace—and justice.”

  “Then who will give you justice, Mori?” Sai’s voice exploded from the right corridor. They turned and looked down the hall but found no sign of him. Lorcan had thought the voice and the echo were a bit odd, so instead of looking toward the right, he looked to the left, thinking the sound had perhaps bounced from the left in the opposite direction. He was right. From the left corridor, Sai charged out with a gun in his hand, aiming straight at Mori. Lorcan had enough time to push her aside, but he took the bullet in his shoulder.

  Without losing a second, Roy charged at Sai, grabbing a metal candleholder on his way. Before Sai could register Roy’s movement, Roy had whacked the gun out of his hand. Roy pounded on Sai, who was at a great disadvantage in size, strength, intelligence, and willpower. After a good pummeling to his attacker, Roy let Sai flop to the floor, but as soon as Roy turned his back, Sai surged up, knife in hand. Mori yelped. Quick as lightning, Roy turned back, landed a final blow on Sai’s face, grabbed his hand, and turned his own knife on him. In a flash, the knife sank up to the hilt into Sai’s chest.

  Lorcan was on his knees now, and Orla was holding him. The pain was bad, but he said nothing and willed himself not to pass out. He grabbed at the floor for purchase and breathed heavily. Roy crouched. “You have to let go. You have to pass out or your body won’t start healing. I told you, Lorcan. Our healing processes are all different. That’s how your body works. Just lie down, right here. We’ll guard you.”

  Lorcan’s eyes were blurry. He flopped to the floor, but pushed up again. “There’s no time for it. We’re in the middle of this. I can’t lie down. We don’t know what else might be coming.” He stood. And then they heard a muffled cry for help. The sound was very familiar.

  “Chiyo,” Orla said. They searched the area and found Chiyo tied up and blindfolded in a dark room at the end of the corridor. When they entered the room, Chiyo withdrew, “Who are you? Don’t touch me. Please don’t beat me. I don’t know anything.”

  “It’s us. We’ll get you out of here.” Orla took the blindfold off. As soon as Chiyo saw Lorcan and Orla, tears streamed down her face. Orla untied Chiyo. She wore the same clothes she had worn when they captured her at the warehouse. Her wrists were marked with bruises and dried blood. Her hair was tousled. Lorcan helped her up and let her cling onto him, although he could barely stand by himself.

  “We should go get the key and find a safe place to stay tonight,” Roy said.

  Mori nodded in agreement and led the way. They wound their way along another long corridor that ended at a double door leading to the main part of the temple. As Mori opened it, a beautiful woman stood in front of them, smiling. Mori moved back and hissed. Roy muttered loud enough for everyone to hear, “Hina, the virgin princess of the Yakuz.”

  The woman was nearly naked, wearing only the sheerest of long, gossamer robes. She looked more like a sex symbol than a virgin, Orla thought.

  “Welcome to my temple,” she said. “You must be Roy, the mixed-blood hero. And you two are the travelers from a faraway land.” She nodded at Lorcan and Orla. Her voice was as clear as a bell.

  “This is not your temple,” Mori growled.

  The woman smiled. “You must be Mori.”

  Hina had advanced slightly toward Mori when Roy snarled, “One more step, and I will cut your throat out.”

  Hina stopped and withdrew. “You need not fear me . . .” But before she had finished the sentence, her right arm shot out like a snake, flew over the thirty feet of distance between her and Mori, and grabbed Mori’s neck, pulling her over like a rag doll. She pulled Mori close against her body, her fingers at Mori’s neck now morphed into five sharp steel blades.

  “I’m going to have to borrow her for a bit. Please excuse us.” She pulled Mori out the door and into another corridor.

  Chapter 38

  The group followed to the other room. Roy’s eyes were bloodshot. Hina didn’t stop them from following.

  “She needs Mori to pull the key. She’s the chosen one,” Roy growled as he followed Hina and Mori. He picked up a knife lying on the floor next to a dead body.

  Hina’s eyes glowed with insanity the closer they got to the key. They entered the main chamber. At the far end of the room was a raised platform which looked like some kind of monument. There was a golden padlock on it, and a gigantic golden key fixed inside. Hina dragged Mori toward the platform. She pushed her face at the key.

  “Draw the key out and give it to me.”

  Her fingers cut into Mori’s neck, and streams of blood flowed out, but Mori stood still.

  “Pull the key!” the princess roared.

  At her back, Orla’s hands curved into fists as she began to form fireballs. But reading her thoughts, Lorcan grabbed at her hands and shook his head.

  “Give me the key.” Hina tightened her grip. More rivulets of blood ran down Mori’s neck.

  “Give it to her, Mori, please,” Roy begged.

  Mori nodded slightly and raised her right hand slowly, and as soon as she touched the key, it glowed in recognition. She turned the key three times until it clicked and pulled the key out of the lock. As soon as she had removed it, she used her left hand to grab Hina’s right wrist so she couldn’t swing and slice through her throat with her blade fingers. Still holding the key in her right hand, she shoved it into Hina’s
eyes. Hina roared, staggered back, and loosened her grip on Mori’s neck. Seizing the opportunity, Mori freed herself.

  Seeing Mori was out of the danger zone, Roy charged at Hina. Before he could reach her, Orla had sent a fireball right at her. She fell but managed to throw her snake arm out, slashing at Roy. He fell to the floor. Mori was furious. She picked up Roy’s knife, threw the key toward Lorcan, and flew at Hina. Dazed by the strike from Orla’s fire, Hina didn’t react quickly enough to avoid Mori’s knife. It pierced the woman’s heart, and she dropped dead before she could speak another word.

  Mori rushed over to Roy. “Roy, talk to me.” Roy moaned and got up. “I’ll heal.” Mori wrapped her arms around his waist to help him up. Orla checked on Hina to ensure that she really was dead. They heard Lorcan grunt, and he rolled back into the room, lying on the floor with a fresh gash on his arm. Outside the door, Chiyo stood with the key in her hand. She punched a button at the door, and the steel bar doors fell down, blocking ways out to all corridors.

  “Why, Chiyo?” Lorcan asked.

  The woman smiled. “Chiyo was sacrificed for my God a long time ago. I have lived in her skin and have been waiting for this for a long time. I’d almost lost hope before you two came along.” She looked at Lorcan and Orla. “I haven’t thanked you yet for that. If you hadn’t stirred this up, I wouldn’t have gotten this far, and the Yakuz would have gotten the key by now. We deserve the key much more than the Yakuz.”

  “We? Who are we?” Mori was furious. She grabbed the barred door and shook it fiercely, but it wouldn’t budge.

  “I’m sorry but your Fire Fox clan is doomed and gone,” the woman said and turned on her heel, disappearing down the end of the hallway.