Before he could unleash his power, the magical curtain suddenly bulged forward, engulfing him. He felt the sickening sensation of his magic diminishing. His advantage over his enemies disappeared with it.
Dominic knew his doom was imminent. He prayed that Leesa would remain hidden and not sacrifice herself in a vain effort to save him.
45. MISCALCULATIONS
What on earth was Dominic waiting for, Leesa wondered? From her hiding place among the mountain laurels, she had watched the whole thing. The black waziri had seemed powerful and confident as they first approached Dominic’s avatar. Then she had seen the look of uncertainty bloom upon their faces as their magic was suddenly sucked out of them. The uncertainty had been replaced by expressions of fear when Dominic appeared behind them. So why hadn’t he attacked, destroying them with the full force of his magic now that their powers were weakened? She saw no reason he should be hesitating—the black waziri were his sworn enemy. Two quick bolts of yellow-white magic would wipe them from the face of the earth. Whoever the other two were, they could not be nearly as powerful as the black wizards. Dominic could choose to destroy them or not—but destroy the renegade waziri he must.
He was farther from her hiding place than the others, so she had difficulty seeing his face. There was something about his posture, though. He looked deflated, as if he had somehow lost his advantage. That must be it, she thought—unexpectedly, Dominic’s magic had become diminished as well. But how? He had assured her on their last phone call that he could see the magical boundary and would stay safely behind it. So what had happened?
She remembered the sudden, earthquake-like rumblings beneath the ground when she had been with Rave. Had something similar just occurred? Had the fell spirits beneath the volkaane village stirred once again, at the worst possible moment, temporarily expanding the boundary of their power and weakening Dominic’s magic? It wouldn’t have been anything intentional—Dominic had said whatever powers resided deep in the ground were not fully awake and that the victims of their magic were as insignificant as insects—but intent did not matter. It might be just an unlucky whim of fate, but it was one that would seal Dominic’s doom. If his magic had indeed diminished, he was at the mercy of his enemies. Even in their weakened condition, she knew the black waziri possessed the power to kill him. There was no way he could stand against two of them, let alone their two unknown allies.
Her eyes flicked to the avatar. The thing was almost an exact copy of Dominic, except for one important thing—it did not possess any of Dominic’s magical powers. Its sole magic was its very existence, nothing more. The avatar would be of little help against the enemy.
Leesa did not know what to do. Her nascent magic was virtually useless in its present state. Still, she could not let Dominic face his foes alone. They were all looking toward Dominic now. Perhaps from behind, taking them by surprise, she could do something to help him…but what?
Hidden farther back among the trees, Jenna watched with increasing anxiety as the confrontation unfolded. She had hoped to remain an unseen witness to it all, to do what she usually did—observe and learn. But when Dominic’s magic weakened, she knew the wizard’s dangerous plan had failed. Leesa could do nothing to help him, but Jenna knew her friend was going to try. If Leesa and Dominic were to be saved, Jenna knew it was up to her. Well, up to her companions, anyhow.
She wished she had never inserted herself into Leesa’s mind, under the guise of reinforcing Leesa’s magic. She had done it almost instinctively, driven by her insatiable desire to collect knowledge. The chance to be inside the mind of an apprentice wizard had been too tempting to pass up. She hadn’t meant any harm, and she hadn’t intended to do anything with the things she learned. That all changed after she listened to Dominic sharing his risky plan with Leesa. Jenna had still hoped she would not have to get involved, but she had begun putting her own plan into motion, just in case.
She turned and looked at the four vampires behind her. Even asking Kristi for help had been dangerous, because it meant revealing to Marcio exactly how he had come to find Kristi in the first place. Jenna hadn’t been sure what his reaction would be—as Marcio had said, meddling in the affairs of vampires was a dangerous game to play. Fortunately, his gratitude mirrored Kristi’s, and the love the two felt for each other far outweighed the anger he felt at being manipulated. So he had agreed to help. The other two vampires were an unexpected bonus—and as things looked now, a very fortuitous one. Jenna had seen Dara and Genevieve once before. The two women had been with Marcio when he turned Kristi. They were here now, Jenna had learned, because the vampires were forbidden to leave the caverns unless there were at least three of them.
Dominic had told Leesa there would be only two wizards, but there were four. Without Dara and Genevieve, Jenna’s plan would have been useless. She thanked the stars for small favors.
Her plan was a deceptively simple one. Unlike the wizards’ magic, the vampires’ strength and speed were not diminished. With surprise on their side, the vampires should be more than a match for the weakened wizards. Until a moment ago, Jenna had still hoped that she and her vampire companions could remain hidden and apart from the fray, but that all changed when Dominic’s magic weakened.
“The time has come,” she whispered to her vampire companions. “You must kill the wizards.”
Marcio shook his head. Jenna saw regret in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Jenna. We cannot.”
Marcio’s refusal shocked her. “But you agreed,” she said. “You said you were sure you could slay the wizards if their magic was weakened.”
“I know. But you said there would be only two of them. Instead, there are four.”
Jenna still didn’t understand. Surely each vampire could kill a weakened wizard.
“So? There are four of you. One for each wizard.”
“Kristi is too new and inexperienced for this task,” Marcio said. “I had meant for her merely to watch.” He put his arm around Kristi’s waist. “I will not risk her, which means we are one short. So unless you can defeat one of the wizards, there’s nothing we can do. I’m sorry.”
Jenna’s heart sank. There was no way she could possibly defeat one of the wizards with her magic so weakened. All her effort had been for naught. She tried to think of something she could do, but there was nothing. Dominic was done for. And unless Leesa remained hidden, she would die, too. And Jenna was powerless to stop it.
A moment later, Leesa stepped out from her hiding place.
46. A DESPERATE GAMBLE
Lying hidden with her cheek pressed to the ground, Leesa knew she had to do something. And it had to be quickly if she was going to save Dominic. She wracked her brain for an idea.
Her strongest power was telekinesis. It was the one she had used the longest and the most often, and with the most success. But in her weakened state, she didn’t think she could move anything large enough to frighten or even concern the wizards. Her eyes flicked about the woods, searching desperately for something she could use. She saw nothing but dead leaves, broken twigs and one rusty old beer can. Sending a few leaves or twigs flying through the air might surprise the black waziri, but that was about all. It would certainly not threaten them. She needed something different, something much more dangerous.
A sudden inspiration struck her. She looked upward, into the sprawling oak under which the wizards stood. Perhaps she could use gravity to augment her diminished power, she thought. In just a moment, she found what she was looking for. She crossed her fingers that it would work.
The branch was one of the lower ones, an offshoot of a giant limb that extended from the trunk fifteen or twenty feet above the ground. It wasn’t very thick—no more than three inches—but it wasn’t the size that interested Leesa. What drew her to this particular branch was the large crack about four feet from where it grew out from its larger neighbor. Now if she could just exert enough mental force to break the branch completely….
Sucking
in a deep breath, she rose to her feet and stepped out into the open.
The sound of her movement caught the attention of the two wizards nearest her, Tomas and Makenzi. They spun around to assess the new threat.
Despite the pounding of her heart, Leesa tried to keep her face calm. If her plan was to have any chance of success, she needed to appear fearless.
She looked up into the tree, willing the branch to snap. For a long moment, nothing happened, and then with a loud crack, the limb broke free and crashed to the ground just a few feet from where Tomas stood.
Leesa was glad the branch had not struck the wizard. If it had, it might have precipitated an immediate counterattack, which she knew she could not survive. She forced a smile onto her face.
“If you don’t want me to bring that entire tree down on your heads,” she threatened, “I suggest you get back in your car and leave this place.”
Three of the wizards looked reflexively up into the tree, but Tomas kept his eyes fixed on Leesa. She could feel him coldly assessing her. Her heart began to beat even faster than it already was.
“Andre, you and Matthew keep a close eye on Dominic,” Tomas instructed.
He knelt and examined the broken end of the branch at his feet. Even from where she stood, Leesa could see that most of the jagged break was dark with age. Only about an inch of it was fresh, light-colored wood. She knew Tomas would not be fooled.
The black wizard straightened up, a smile on his face.
“This branch was ready to fall,” he said. “I don’t doubt that you somehow hurried it along, but I do not think you have the power to bring an entire tree down upon us. Indeed, I believe you have probably used all the power at your disposal, and that you are not much of a threat at all.” He took a step toward Leesa. “Although I would like to learn more about who and what you are, our orders are clear. We are to take no chances. You will suffer the same fate as Dominic.”
He turned to Andre. “You and Matthew take care of Dominic. Makenzi and I will attend to the girl.”
Leesa saw Dominic lift his hands, ready to do battle, but she knew it was a battle he could not possibly win. She wished she could think of something else to do, some last heroic trick, but she could not. Her gamble had failed. What meager power she retained was next to useless against foes such as these, even in their weakened condition.
When Tomas raised his hand toward her, she knew it was all over. She wondered what kind of magic he would use to kill her—a bolt of black energy like Josef had shot at Dominic, perhaps? Or maybe he would employ black bands like Josef had used to try to squeeze the life out of Rave. Maybe Tomas had some of his own tricks up his sleeve.
Whatever he chose, Leesa hoped it would be quick and painless.
47. ENDGAME
Leesa watched as a cloud of black magic began to form around Tomas’ hand. The energy was more gray than black, and she realized that was probably the result of his magic being weakened. She was certain it was still more than powerful enough to do the job, though.
She took a quick glimpse toward Andre and Dominic. Andre was fashioning some kind of dark web between his two hands, while Dominic was conjuring up what looked like pale yellow shield of some sort. He was looking in her direction as he struggled to cast the spell. Suddenly, he flicked his wrists toward Leesa, and the yellow cloud drifted toward her. He was trying to save her, she realized with a start, leaving himself defenseless. From the flimsiness of the yellow magic, she could see it would not be enough to help her.
She looked back at Tomas. The gray ball of magic enveloped his hand completely now. He reared back and flung it toward Leesa. She heard a hissing sound as it collided with Dominic’s magic. For a moment, the shield slowed the dark globe, but Tomas had both his hands raised in front of him, urging the dark ball forward. Makenzi added a smaller, lighter colored ball to the attack. The yellow shield was rapidly disintegrating.
“Forget about me,” she yelled to Dominic. “Save yourself if you can!”
She wasn’t even sure if Dominic heard her. Andre’s magical web had surrounded Dominic and was slowly closing in on him.
Suddenly, Leesa glimpsed movement back in the trees, behind her foes. Before she could even think what it might be, four shapes flashed out of the trees. Moving with near blinding speed, they fell upon the dark wizards before they even knew they were under attack. Agonized screams echoed through the woods.
Leesa was stunned. Somehow, against all hope and reason, vampires had come to their aid.
In a moment, it was over. Leesa could not believe her eyes when she recognized Stefan detaching himself from Tomas’ lifeless body. The black wizard’s throat had been torn to shreds. Stefan turned his head and spat, then stepped toward Leesa. Three other vampires—a male and two females—stood over the remaining wizards, who were all dead, their throats ripped open. Thick, dark blood oozed from the wounds.
“That is by far the foulest blood I have ever tasted,” Stefan said. He spat again. Leesa thought she heard the spit sizzle when it hit the ground. Stefan wiped his lips with the back of his hand. “We have to stop meeting like this, Leesa.”
“How… what….what are you doing here?” Leesa managed to ask, still shocked by the sudden turn of events.
“You have a friend of yours to thank,” Stefan said, turning and looking behind him.
Leesa followed his eyes and saw Jenna walking slowly toward them, together with a pretty female Leesa did not know. She wondered if the woman was a vampire or another witch.
Leesa rushed forward and enveloped Jenna in a tight hug.
“Thank you,” Leesa said when she finally let go. “How did you know what was happening? And how on earth did you get these vampires to help you?”
Jenna looked a bit uncomfortable, Leesa thought. She wondered why.
“You may not be quite so pleased with me when I tell you how I knew,” Jenna said softly.
“Nonsense. You saved our lives.”
Dominic and Stefan joined Leesa and Jenna. The other vampires hung back.
“Well met, Stefan,” Dominic said. “Thank you. And please give my thanks to your comrades as well.”
“You helped us a while back, wizard,” Stefan said, “with the renegade vampires we could not defeat on our own.” He smiled. “As for Leesa, it seems she cannot stay out of trouble.”
Leesa grinned, thinking how many times Rave had said same thing about her. It wasn’t like she went looking for trouble—at least not too often—but it sure seemed to have a way of finding her.
“Our work is done here,” Stefan said, “so we will take our leave.”
He kissed Leesa lightly on the forehead. A delicious chill shot through her.
“Thank you, Stefan,” she said. “Again.”
Stefan nodded once, then pivoted on his heels and joined the other vampires. In a moment, they were gone. The only evidence they had ever been here were the torn throats of the four wizards.
Leesa turned back to Jenna. “So, tell me how you managed to be traveling with them. You never mentioned you were friends with any vampires.”
Jenna flashed a wry smile. “Nor did you. But you and Stefan seemed well acquainted.”
Leesa grinned. “Yeah, we definitely have a history. I’ll tell you about it some time. But you first.”
Jenna looked from Leesa to Dominic and then back to Leesa.
“How it started is a bit complicated,” she began. “The female who did not take part in the fighting is Kristi. I found her a while back, before she became a vampire. She had been attacked by a vampire and left paralyzed, trapped between death and undeath. Unless I acted, she would have been stuck like that forever. I was able to draw Marcio, one of the other vampires here today, to where Kristi lay. He completed her transformation. Kristi was grateful to me, and since she and Marcio have fallen in love, he was grateful, too. When I told them I might have need of their help, they were happy to oblige.” She paused for a long breath. “The rest was more luck than anything
else. I had thought there would only be two wizards, so Kristi and Marcio should have been enough.”
Dominic raised his eyebrows at the comment, but said nothing.
“Because of Destiratu,” Jenna continued, “the vampires will not travel out in groups smaller than three, so Dara and Genevieve came along. When I saw that you faced four foes, I was glad to have two more vampires here with me. But Marcio refused to let Kristi fight, so I thought we were still not going to be able to help you. Unbeknownst to any of us, though, Stefan had been following his fellow vampires. Why, I’m not sure. He did not reveal himself to us until you stepped out of hiding, and then he quickly took over. He seems to be a leader among the vampires.” She shrugged. “You saw the rest.”
Leesa remained silent for a few moments, digesting everything Jenna had said.
“Yes, we did,” Dominic said, his eyes locked onto Jenna’s. “All of which begs the question of how you knew what we were doing. And how you knew there were only supposed to be two waziri here.”
Leesa watched Jenna expectantly. She seemed to shrink a little under Dominic’s gaze. Her eyes dropped downward.
“I, uh, inserted a bit of my magic into Leesa’s mind,” she said quietly, not meeting either of their eyes, “while I was helping her practice her magic. When I choose to, I can see what she sees, hear what she hears, even feel what she feels.” She looked up at Leesa. “I’m so sorry I betrayed your trust like that. I wasn’t really thinking when I did it. I just like to know things. Sometimes my thirst for knowledge gets the best of me. I know that’s no excuse, but it’s the truth.” She sighed. “Anyhow, that’s how I knew about today.”
Fearless (The Blue Fire Saga) Page 23