Page 30 of Immortal Burden

“Damn straight,” he beamed, straightening to his full height, standing tall and proud. “Trying to call me a mongrel, Miss Snow?”

“Merely a question.”

It most definitely wasn’t, though. It was clear that he had no insight, believing himself to be pure wolf, so any further comments would only antagonize him without providing any answers.

“Mia,” I said, continuing to study the hole in order to determine the best course of action.

“What’s that?”

“You can drop the formalities. Mia is fine.” It was surprising that he’d even bothered at all, considering his abrasive attitude.

Why was I concerning myself with any of it? I was here to complete a task and take my leave, never to set eyes on him again.

“All right, Mia. So, what’s the plan here?”

“Seal it,” I answered. I stepped right up to the edge and peered deep into the hole. “Determine who’s responsible.”

“Somebody who’s got a major beef with my pack.”

I watched, astounded, as the chasm expanded right before my eyes, inching closer to the pack dwellings. “It was definitely a targeted magical attack. Cowardly, too. Instead of venturing onto pack lands, the perpetrator buried magic into the earth and released the hex that way.” I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to reconcile it. “This is a severe violation, breaking so many magical laws. Interfering with nature on this scale? Launching an underhanded attack on a wolf pack that’s vital to the supernatural community? It’s confounding. I can’t fathom who would commit such an atrocious act.” Aside from someone with great power.

“How long is it gonna take you to close this? It’s spreading quick. Am I gonna need to pull the alarm for my wolves to evacuate?”

“No. It won’t take long. Ten minutes, give or take.” I called my magic forth, blue fire sparking to life on my palms. “Stand back,” I told Jaxon, as I readied myself at the edge of the chasm.

He obliged and I took a breath, then released my power into the hole via two powerful streams. It filled it, then swirled around the rim, like a violent whirlpool.

“Whoa,” I heard Jaxon breathe.

It took several moments before there was any impact, further confirming that it had been created by someone with great power.

Just as the hole started to shrink, a chill shot through my hands. I jolted at the unprecedented sensation.

Before I could even begin to reconcile it, it spread quickly throughout my body.

It felt as though I’d been injected with ice water.

I fought to expel it, pushing harder with my magic. But I was stilled by something even more unprecedented.

A shimmering black orb shot out from the chasm and exploded into tiny, sharp fragments, raining down over me, as an eerie voice boomed all around us.

“Cease your meddling, magic-wielder! You cannot hope to thwart my designs. Stand down, or choke on my darkness.”

“What the fuck?” Jaxon exclaimed, coming closer.

Reacting on some sort of protective instinct I hadn’t even known I’d possessed in regards to him, I snuffed out the magic on my left palm and slammed my hand to his chest, knocking him back and out of the line of fire.

The break in my power and the accompanying distraction cost me terribly.

A bolt of magically-manufactured black lightning struck from above, hitting me square in the chest.

I’d never felt such power in all my life.

It actually managed to knock me to my knees.

A sickly feeling built in my gut and, before I knew it, I was choking up black sludge all over the grass. It burned my throat red-raw on the way out and the moment it touched the grass, the greenery was stripped away, nothing but death left in its wake.

“Jesus Christ,” Jaxon cried, dropping to his knees beside me, careful not to touch the sludge.

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