Natural Dual-Mage

Emery frowned at Vlad, whose vampire had not taken the enemy down quietly. Vlad stared back, not planning on apologizing.

“We have more power than they could’ve anticipated,” Emery said, still waiting for a moment. He looked up, but no magic rained down, nor did I feel anything. “They have one, maybe two naturals. This is a lot of ground to cover for a natural. The spells in the compound will probably pose a problem.”

“Or else this is a trap,” I said, moving with Emery as he started forward again.

“Yes. Or this is a trap.”

Two markers pulsed ahead, coming up on either side. “Five hundred feet,” I said. “Probably.”

“Yessh,” Vlad said.

The dark shapes of trees loomed in front of us, but we’d come far enough for the end to be in sight. The ground leveled out up ahead, and beyond that, I knew the trees would be cleared leading up to the compound. Then, unless they’d changed it, came the huge ward. After that, we were inside.

If they chose to engage, there was no easy way to get out now. We couldn’t just pull the plug on the whole thing, say just kidding, and head home. Not when we’d have to run two miles up a hill choked with trees and foliage, forced onto small paths.

Correction: I couldn’t easily pull the plug. I couldn’t run like death was chasing me, and hope to get away. But the vampires and the shifters probably could.

I blew out a slow breath. This was the time for absolute trust. If even one member of our team was on the wrong side (coughcough*Vlad*cough), things would get messy very quickly.

“Not to sound like a broken record, but where are all their people?” I flinched as Cahal moved in close to me again, and that felt like his answer. Either the enemy mages were very close, or he was wondering the same thing.

“You have to remember, Penny,” Emery said, his knees bent and eyes constantly moving. The trees had thinned, allowing for moonlight to sprinkle down on him. On all of us. Soon we’d be visible to anyone looking. “The compound is large. They don’t know where we’re going to strike. They need to cover everything until they know for sure where we are. Then they’ll pull their resources.”

My phone vibrated.

Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky pulsed.

“Crap!” I said, no time for fancy swearing. I hopped from foot to foot as adrenaline flooded my body. My Temperamental Third Eye urged me to run to the right, then cut in toward the compound, magic flaring.

The text said, Follow your gut. My mother.

Another came in. Reagan this time. Let’s light up this bitch. Where are you?

Yet another arrived, this one from Callie. Campers! Campers!

I didn’t know what campers meant, but I knew what Reagan would be doing.

Giving us away.

“When in doubt…” And I took off running because I didn’t have anything clever to say.

Surprisingly, it was Emery who caught up with me before anyone else, Cahal lagging behind. Welcome to randomly deciding things and just going with it.

I countered a spell blocking my path and caught a jumping shape out of the corner of my eye, magic suddenly curling from their hand. I pointed and said, “Maauuu,” because that was all I could get out in time.

A shifter jumped in that direction, and I cut right. Again, Emery was with me before anyone else. It didn’t surprise me that he was the best at keeping up with quick, unpredictable pace and directional changes. He’d had experience.

A huge, throbbing spell shot up from somewhere in front of us. A thrum of vampire magic sailed in from behind us.

“Campers—she meant vampires!” I shouted. “It was auto-correct. We’ve got incoming vampires.”

A shape darted out in front of us and an arrow took our would-be attacker down out of nowhere. Cahal reached back for another arrow, and I marveled at the fact that I had never once seen a bow strapped to his person. Or arrows, for that matter.

“I would’ve gotten him,” I said to Cahal through harried breaths, trying to dodge a reaching tree branch and failing. It slapped me in the face.

“I’ve come to realize that participating in this skirmish at opportune moments will give me better odds of protecting you,” Cahal replied.

“In other words”—Emery zipped off a spell at someone running at us from the side before countering a spell draped through the leaves and hanging down at head-height—“he didn’t realize you’re this unpredictable, and figures the skill set he’s most comfortable with might help.”

“It will,” I said, feeling Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky pulse again and I put on the brakes. Vlad slammed into my back, making me stagger forward, but Emery caught me and stopped my forward trajectory.

The vampire magic hit me like a wave. Emery spun as I did, and together we wove a spell that dropped unreal heat in a wall, far enough out not to get any of our people. Red flared in the night sky and the air was packed with inhuman squeals. The enemies trying to sneak up behind us were getting a bad surprise.

But some had made it through.

Fierce growls erupted, and our vampires rushed back to meet the attack. Soon I doubted I’d be able to tell who was who.

“Go,” Vlad said, motioning Emery and I onward. “Take…down…warrrrrd.”

My phone vibrated, barely felt, given how Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky had taken up a drumbeat of power in my utility belt. Maybe I’d been wrong before. Maybe it had simply been asleep. But now there was no denying that we were in the thick of it, and we didn’t have much time to get that ward down before the whole place would be swarming, trapping us.

I yanked my phone out as we smashed through the trees and brush. Someone popped up and slung a spell at us. I zapped him in the chest with my bug zapper and ignored the magic. It would shoot in a straight line behind us. Another popped up, her spell much nastier.

I curled some vampire magic into an ordinary slashing spell and sent it off, tearing down her spell—and her. Reagan had been right all those months ago. These mages were all cut from the same cloth. They were experienced, sure, and some of their spells packed a lot of power, but they were basic and easy to counter. It took hardly any brainpower. I never would’ve been the best had I gone the normal mage route, not considering how late I’d started. My power was in my unpredictability, my unique approach.

Stumbling into Emery’s path, and then Reagan’s, had been my lucky break.

My phone vibrated again, now jiggling in my vision as I ran.

The first said, Stop thinking behind. Think in front.

Already on it. Vlad had good instincts. Or lots of experience.

Second text: Use the pyramid of power or all die an taken.

Clearly my mother was working hard, because her grammar was slipping. If I got out of this mess, I’d tattle to Veronica.

“When, Penny,” I said with clenched teeth, jumping to the side when another mage popped up along the path. She leaned forward to blow a spell at us. Cahal kicked her in the head. “When we get out of here.” I ripped my gaze away from the druid and pumped my fists harder, my phone trapped in my palm.

“I feel that rock,” Emery said as he pushed me left through thick bushes. Cahal rolled in after us and a thick stream of magic flew past. He rolled back, lifted to his knee, shot an arrow, jumped up, and followed us—all in one incredibly graceful motion.

“My god…Reagan’s not even…that good,” I said, my heart in my throat. “Pyramid.” I was panting. “Pyramid of power. Need a…pyramid of power.”

32

The trees stopped just ahead, and three people waited beyond them, shifting from left to right and holding handfuls of ingredients. Magic wisps curled into the sky. Sounds of the shifter-vampire battle came from behind.

I wove a spell together as Emery shot one off. His spell hit an invisible wall, rebounding off it. A ward, fairly weak in power.

I altered my spell, and he enhanced it. I shoved it forward before sprinting after it.

Cahal’s arm came into view, but he lowered it as the spell shattered the ward and continued its path of destruction, slapping against the mages. The remaining power wasn’t enough to take them down. I jammed the heel of my palm into the nose of the one on the right before stepping back and kicking. Emery slammed into another, and Cahal gracefully went in for what looked like a hug before cracking the last one’s neck.