Guardians Of Magic: The Revelations of Oriceran (The Leira Chronicles Book 8)

by Martha Carr

  A padlock on the door. Seems old school.

  Sirius appeared out of the shadows and waved his wand knocking the wind out of Leira sending her into the air, rolling like a barrel before dropping her hard to the ground. Instincts took over and she rolled to her feet, crouched low. The troll growled in anger and took a long swipe at Emerick, nicking the skin along his face and drawing a thin line of blood. Emerick raised his wand as the troll swiped again, snapping the maple wood easily in two, leaving a gash across Emerick’s hand.

  Lois raised her wand and sent Emerick flying, slamming him into a far wall and knocking him out. “For his own good.”

  Louie rushed forward, the sword directing him to swing wide as the tip cut a gash in a witch’s arm causing her to cry out and drop her wand. Leira saw Sirius smile and Leira realized they were being baited with the younger set, drawn further into the building.

  That’s okay, motherfuckers. I see it coming.

  Leira heard the howling and grunting as the ground thundered beneath them. Sirius suddenly turned and pointed his wand at the padlock, easily unlocking it with a simple spell. The door burst open, pushing off its hinges as the shifters finally got their first full taste of freedom, starved for days. They were hungry for any kind of meat they could find and weren’t in a picky mood.

  “Shit just got very deep in here.” Louie swung his sword at the beasts as it sang out a metallic note in the air. Leira volleyed fireballs, breaking apart into small pea-sized scattershot, keeping them at bay, but just barely. She kept an eye on Sirius off to the side who was hungrily watching his experiment, hoping for a bloody success story.

  “You’re still just as annoying as ever, brother.” Lois waved her wand in a circle over her head and sent out a lasso of light encircling Sirius, binding his arms to his side. He easily broke through it, a guttural laugh escaping his lips as he held onto one end of the lasso, snapping it back at Lois, whipping her across the chest.

  “You’ve always underestimated me, sister. By the way, it was me who broke your favorite figurine when you were ten.”

  “Fuck me, they’re having a reunion,” yelled Louie as he raised the sword over his head, ready to make his first kill of the night. “One beastie down, 99 left to go. Might make a nifty drinking song.”

  “No!” yelled Leira, as she eyed the bracelet on her wrist. Last measures, it comes off. She scanned the group, looking for the man she had seen earlier but there was no human among them. They were all transformed into beasts. This may not work. The horde of claws and fangs approached, slashing the air in front of them.

  “Leira, you’re gonna have to get over this and let me take out a few or we’re dinner. There’s not much choice here.”

  Leira glanced over to make sure Lois was keeping Sirius busy as she sent out waves of energy shoving the beasts back just enough to buy time. “He’s in here… I know it. Show yourself!” Her chest heaved up and down from breathing so hard to contain the energy it took to push them back inches, their claws waving just in front of her face. She wasn’t going to be able to do it for much longer unless the bracelet came off. I’m risking Louie and Yumfuck. The troll sensed her reluctance to kill and stood by her side, towering over her, howling at the shifters.

  Leira pushed the thread of energy into the mass of twisting bodies. Trust the magic.

  A howl erupted from the center, loud and angry, echoing off the tin ceiling. The mass of fur fell back, still growling as they moved away from Leira, crouching down just enough for the beast who had let out the howl to do it again.

  “Thank God, the alpha. I was right.”

  “You were gambling?”

  “Louie, in case you haven’t noticed the fucking world has changed and everything is pretty much a gamble from here on out. Get used to it.” Leira kept her eyes on the silverback as he reared his head back and howled again. He lowered his chin and stared into Leira’s eyes. A cold, hungry glare with his teeth bared.

  “Just because we found the alpha doesn’t mean he’s up for bargaining.”

  “Attack!” Sirius sent out sparks from his wand, sending small currents of pain into the crowd of shifters.

  Leira saw her chance and turned on Sirius directing everything at him and removing her energy from the pack of human wolves hungry to eat something. She wrapped Sirius as tightly as she could in waves of energy, squeezing tight as the air rushed out of his lungs.

  The pack inched closer to her, glancing back toward the alpha. Leira’s arms were straining as she pressed Sirius’ ribs in on his heart. The muscles along her neck stood out against the symbols as Yumfuck moved to be right by her side.

  Leira looked directly at the alpha and yelled, “Run! Run motherfuckers, run!”

  The alpha growled and dropped to all fours running, right at Leira, as Louie raised his sword to defend her.

  “No! We stand our ground.”

  Louie kept the sword raised, ready to strike if he had to, but the alpha veered at the last moment, brushing against Leira, running toward the path that led between the trellises, swiping at the tender vines as he went. Leira felt the wiry hair brush against her arm, close enough to feel the warmth and the coiled muscle. The pack all dropped to the ground, quickly following their new leader, streaming around Louie, Lois and Leira, brushing against them as they ran past. Yumfuck growled as the moved around him, staying close to Leira. A writhing, steady stream of beasts, some still emerging from the depths below.

  “It’s a fucking muscular fur blanket,” Louie whispered in awe, as he held perfectly still, letting them pass. A sea of shifters that could tear them apart and stretched out as far as they could see till most of the beasts passed them by and ran into the dimming light of the day.

  Leira still held on to Sirius, letting the magic pulse toward him as her lip curled. She felt the bile rise in her throat as she bore down on Sirius till she heard the inevitable crack of his ribs.

  “Stop! You’re not a killer. Not like this!” Lois yelled out but made no attempt to stop Leira. She was pretty sure she couldn’t even if she wanted to. In all her years in the Silver Griffins, Lois had never seen a power surge like she was witnessing build in Leira.

  Leira swallowed hard and let him drop to the ground, not moving. “He’s still alive. That may prove to be a mistake. Louie, circle around the back of the house, make sure nothing else is coming.”

  ***

  Louie doubled back, keeping his eyes on the different Witches and Wizards until he was able to clear the far side of the wide opening, large enough to drive trucks in side by side. He ran as fast as he could around the back, leaping over a pile of hoses, carefully wound and crossing over a small courtyard.

  Turn and swing the sword at an angle to the right holding your arm close to your body.

  He did as he was told and swung hard, cutting off the tip of a Wizard’s wand just as he was about to finish the spell that came out in a quickly fading mumble. Louie curled his lip and realized the sword had gotten him to hold back from wounding the Wizard. He thought about taking out just one of these dark pawns but the sounds of howling and barking from the distant vineyards and shouting from the other side of the building stopped him.

  “Another time,” he said, menacingly and pushed the tip into the ribs of the Wizard, nicking his shirt and easily tearing a gaping hole. The Wizard turned and ran, looking back over his shoulder as Louie got to the back of the main house and ran inside, quickly covering the first floor. He saw the back of Juliana standing at the front door but left her alone. “Best not poke that dog just yet.”

  He got to the large kitchen and opened every door, searching for hidden stairs or anyone hiding. Nothing. He ran down a long hall, away from the front door and stopped at the entrance to an office with book shelves that went from floor to a vaulted ceiling, completely filled with books. “Mother lode,” he whispered. He ran over and touched the spine of the closest shelf. “Just what I thought… ancient spell books. Fuck… what to take. What to take.”

/>   He took out his wand, whispering a spell, the sword still in his other hand, its voice a constant in the background chatter in his head. Run outside… now… run outside…now. For once, he ignored it.

  “Something like this is never coming around again.” He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. Run outside… now… run outside…now. He raised his wand, even as he gripped the handle of the sword, whispering a finder’s spell. He saw a book flutter on an upper shelf. “Gotcha.”

  Run outside… now… run outside…now. The sword became more urgent. “I will. Fuck! I will. One more minute.” He ran to the library ladder and slid it across the track running along the top, jumping on as he pulled till it came to rest just under the shelf where the book was still vibrating.

  Leira needs you. Run outside… now… run outside…now. The dark mist approaches. Choose.

  Louie was halfway up the ladder. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  He looked up at the shelf just as he heard a crack of electricity coming from the front of the house and smelled a foul odor. He looked up at the book one last time, grabbing a random book, and leapt for the ground. “You are becoming someone I don’t recognize, Louie. Uh huh, now we’re talking to ourselves in the third person.” He hesitated at the door to the library and spun his wand in a tight circle, creating a blue transparent fireball at the tip, lobbing it at the nearest shelves, igniting the old books instantly. The fire quickly spread as he whispered a spell to make sure it couldn’t be easily extinguished.

  “Man, that hurt. I’m actually picking sides.” He ran for the nearest side door, running back to the open ground between the vineyards and the set of buildings, emerging in time to see someone run out of the house, ignorant of what he had just done.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “No!” A screech emerged from the nearby house as Agnes came running, throwing herself down by Sirius, checking his wounds. Juliana let her pass but stayed in the doorway.

  Leira saw Louie run into the open She’s too calm. Leira assessed the Witch with the same calculations she had been using as Hagan’s partner. The bitch is up to something. Her breathing stayed even. No point in freaking out till I have to… if I have to. Another Hagan rule.

  Juliana had the smallest of smiles as she raised both arms, her wand extended. “Tenebris infinitum!”

  Leira felt the hairs along her arms stand up straight and a cold chill go down her back. She recognized all the signs easily by now. The dark mist was approaching. This was their plan all along. “Takes the idea of shit storm to a whole new level.”

  “What?” Louie ran back to defend Leira from behind, putting himself back by the door to the storage as the last of the shifters lumbered up the stairs, looking around for a moment, teeth bared, growling. Only the intermittent howl of the newly established alpha got them to reluctantly keep moving. “There’s always a few who don’t fit in as well as the others. I ought to know…”

  Leira felt the tug of the dark magic as the light energy responded in kind, springing to life inside of her, barely being held in check by the artifact on her arm.

  The blue flames from the main house were reaching the roof line and smoke was billowing out of upstairs windows.

  “The library!” Some of the Witches and Wizards ran toward the house but Juliana refused to move, her mouth twitching with anger. It was too late. She had made her choice.

  Leira slowly turned, her jaw set as her muscles tensed and her eyes glowed in the growing darkness as she watched a black mist curl out across acres of vineyard. Sweat trickled down the side of her face. She put one hand across the bracelet, ready to rip it off but at the last moment whispered fervently, “Grandmother, join me.”

  Louie looked back over his shoulder in the direction of Leira’s gaze and took a step back, nudging the last of the shifters running by, earning a deep scratch down his thigh for his troubles. He screamed out in pain and raised his sword, stopping himself at the last moment as the beast kept running, answering the howl of the alpha somewhere in the distance.

  “Fuck! Son of a bitch! It’s easier when I can kill something, ask questions later.” He sheathed his sword long enough to pull out the clean rags he kept with him at all times. It wasn’t his first wound. He tied the bandage, counting the seconds as the mist slowly rolled toward them, licking his dry lips. One last good yank to pull it tight and stave off the bleeding, wincing from the pain as he pulled the sword out, the muscles along his back and arms tensing. “Is there a plan here?”

  Leira ignored his question, planting her feet, determined not to go easily, if at all. She looked back and forth between Agnes, the fallen Sirius, Juliana, the few younger Witches and Wizards still standing and the dark mist. It was a lot to stave off and was coming at her from every side. Juliana looked pleased as she braced her arms in the doorway, sure of what was going to come next.

  Leira scowled, itching to toss a fireball at Juliana just to wipe the look off her face but she knew better than to split her focus. Let the Witch think she has the upper hand, for now. Need to come out of this one alive and in this reality. “Hold them off,” she yelled to Lois.

  Lois pushed her glasses back up as she whipped her wand back and forth in long sweeping gestures, sending out a continuous stream of small fireballs meant to wound or at least inflict pain. Agnes and Juliana were easily able to fend them off, but it kept them busy. The younger ones among them weren’t so lucky and ran howling into the recesses of the building as Lois edged closer.

  The mist edged up to the road just yards from Leira giving off a stench that was hard to place as it piled up on itself into a growing tower that billowed out from the sides.

  Leira and Louie watched it grow taller till it was at the roofline of the building. Yumfuck let out a growl, pushing out a sound wave but it bounced off the smoke and dispersed to the sides.

  “This is new.” Leira swallowed and raised her arms. “Time to trust this magic shit like I never have before.” She couldn’t feel the presence of Mara joining her but pushed the thin worry out of her mind. Later… There will be a later to ask what happened.

  She opened her arms waiting till the last possible moment to pull off the bracelet. Rather become light than darkness if that’s my choice. At least I will save Louie and Yumfuck. That may have to be enough for me. Let’s see how far I can push it before that happens. “Come on baby, fill me up and let er rip. I can take it.” She gently bit her bottom lip, hesitating for just a moment. I’m sorry Correk.

  She set her shoulders and held out her arms even wider, fingers spread and walked forward. Better to meet the enemy than cower here, waiting…

  Yumfuck moved with her, staying by her side. She looked up at him, the green hair on his head standing up straight and the fur along his arms bristling. She gave him a nod and a crooked smile. “Thank you, my friend.” She looked back at Louie. The noise emanating from the mist was growing louder sounding like a freight train that was gaining speed. “Finish the mission,” she yelled to him over the noise.

  He opened his mouth to say something but at the last moment, shut it and gave her a sharp nod.

  There was nothing left to do but fight. “You’ve chased me long enough.” The glow of the fire threw a blue cast across Leira’s face.

  The roar from the dark mist grew louder. Leira slipped the bracelet off her wrist and held it in her hand just as the dense black mist ripped down the middle with a sound like nails down a blackboard, setting Leira’s teeth on edge.

  Lucius emerged out of the mist, craning his head and beating his chest, letting out an angry howl. He had shifted into the beast easily towering over any of the remaining shifters. A female yipped and quickly ran off through the vines, tearing them as she ran.

  Lucius tilted his head back and let out a howl. Leira gripped the bracelet tighter in her hands as she glanced down at her arms. The symbols flashing by on her arm startled her. They went back and forth, torn between warning her of an ally or a foe.

  Leira looked
up, narrowing her eyes and set an intention even as she still squeezed the artifact, making contact with it. Set an intention like you never have before. “Do whatever you have to… I turn it all over to your care.” The magic swept up into her legs and surged out from her belly lifting her inches off the ground. The artifact was still making contact with her skin and the light was gathering, circling her even as it pushed out in every direction, surrounding her in light.

  Lucius stepped forward, slowly dropping to all fours, the muscles along his back rolling with his movement and the ground shuddering underneath him.

  He looked at Leira, tilting his head to the side as she held his gaze.

  I will not die gripped by fear and I will make sure you know I was here. Leira stepped closer, sending out the magic in front of her, seeing her own brilliant, glowing trail encircling the beast, stirring the fur along the sides. Lucius shook his head, annoyed and swiped at the trail of energy.

  Juliana stepped from the doorway, pleased with how well her plan was working even if the house behind her was slowly becoming engulfed in flames. Sirius was an unintended casualty, but his wounds still might heal and his death might prove to be an even better outcome for her. The reins of power over the old families were so close.

  The sound of lightning crackling split the air and there was the smell of ozone burning as a portal opened to the far side of Lucius near the vines. Mara stepped through, leaping to the ground, her long dark hair falling around her shoulders and her eyes already glowing from the magic coursing through her veins. She was in thigh high leather boots and a long suede tunic. A bow resting in one hand and a quiver of arrows on her back. It was her old clothes from her days on Oriceran.

  “I got your distress call, granddaughter. Something about it was different. I came prepared.”