Page 36 of Spirit Witch

“Mabe, come here!Yes, girls, all of you,” Armstrong shouted, waving us over.

But I raised my arm, blocking Mabe from rushing to her aunt’s side.Something was wrong, and I wanted to think a second longer.Then one of the enemy wizards hurled a blunt spell at us, knocking Arlo down when he jumped in front of Jade to save her from the attack.

Without any further ado, we charged, aiming to stop the fight between witches and wizards so we could do what must be done.I felt Judge’s power surge through me from our matebond.He was bolstering my stores, giving me access to his as we headed into a battle I had no idea if we could win.

Those who came with Stolbright looked familiar from the battleground fight we had when we’d tried to find Tana’s dad.The others also seemed familiar, and I thought maybe I had seen them at the academy.Even more worrisome, all wore the same armband, signifying their allegiance to the Council.

Only some were green.

The green-banded witches and wizards attacked, sending stunning spells, trying to knock us out.The black-banded group seemed intent on holding us in place, but chaos erupted and soon it was difficult to tell who was who as more and more witches and wizards transported to the area, hellbent on fighting us.

Stolbright and Armstrong were locked in battle, but I was too busy fighting off multiple attacks to do anything about it.

In all the mess, something magnificent had happened when we sealed our coven and mixed our magic.I could feel my sister witches and follow them through the fight without having to back off what I was doing.It was crazy and good, this connection between us.

But even with our mates fighting off the roughest attacks, and us holding our own against a barrage of spells, we were still grossly outnumbered.I cried out in pain as Judge took a powerful hit to the abdomen that sent him spiraling back till his head slammed into the trunk of a towering pine.

“No!”I screamed.

But I had no time to react or render aid.More were coming.The viciousness of their attack was unprecedented.We were students, for all they knew.These were adults, some working for the Council.Seasoned witches and wizards who were hauling magic at us like bullets in a war zone.I saw Jade take a hit to the side, sending her spiraling to the ground.Arlo shouted, covering her with his body.

Anger rolled through me, and I tried again, pulling on my magic, but I had no idea how to reach that power that had somehow blown up a shed back in a time I could not remember.Tana used her fire magic to send flames surrounding the fallen couple, keeping them apart from the fray while Arlo worked to heal his mate.

Maia used the storm to send winds to whip and battle the witches, who were trying desperately to shoot maiming spells at us.The winds she controlled were beautiful and fierce.She used them to propel herself through the air, dodging lightning bolt spells and others trying to shoot her down.Rio was actually using the precipitation in the air to form giant creatures made of snow and ice.

Holy fuck!

They were krakens, just like her mate.While she held their shapes together, Magnus was using them as terrific avatars, cutting through the waves of battle-hardened wizards trying to hurt us with enormous tentacles made of compacted snow and razor sharp icicles.

A sharp battle cry reached my ears, and I turned to see Will,er, Marcus Morrigan, my ancestor.And even better, he was not alone!Reinforcements had arrived in the form of the most ragtag group of beings I had ever seen, but I was so fucking grateful for their arrival as I fell to my knees, taking one well-aimed spell to the ribs.I recognized ghosts I’d spent the past year ignoring, wailing as they zipped through witches and wizards.

The feeling, I knew, was one of the utmost invasions, and it could be quite painful if the fade wanted it to be.

And they really wanted it to be.

I saw our enemies fall and cry out as the ghosts did their thing.But that wasn’t all.Sprites from the cafeteria, led by the brilliant pink-skinned and oh-so-sweet Jubilee, attacked from the left flank, brandishing kitchen knives and cast-iron pans as weapons, along with whatever spritely magic they had.

The Council wizards and witches regrouped, focusing their attack on the newcomers, who I was shocked to see, included several students from the undeclared group.Dram Pile led them, and his eyes met mine for one instant, as if he was offering an apology.I nodded my head, scrambling back to reach Judge, who was still unconscious.

When we left the dorm earlier, I’d expected closing the rift would be more difficult than anything we had faced.But I wasn’t counting on having to fight for the privilege to try.

I thought it might be Stolbright behind things, but what was Armstrong doing there?

Truth was, I didn’t know who was trying to do what to whom.But for now, they were all bad.The mini-army of Council witches and wizards, regardless of armband color, were all my enemy.They had attacked my mate, my sisters, my best friends, and they would pay.But first, I had to make sure Judge was still with me.

Pain the likes of which I’d never felt filled me at the thought he was seriously hurt, or worse.His body was bent at an odd angle and smoke sizzled from the wound the attack spell had left in his abdomen.

“Calon,” I mumbled, not bothering to wipe my tears.

I reached out with shaking hands, trying to straighten his legs.But the second I touched him, I was whipped away into another realm.The deafening whoosh of traveling without preparation was painful to my ears, and my body, I realized when I found myself on my knees, dry heaving.

The ground beneath me was no longer snow and dirt, but white fluff, clouds, I thought, and started to fall.Luckily, in this realm I had wings, and they seemed to know what to do without me telling them.My wings opened wide, setting me down past the clouds, onto the same beautiful meadow where I’d met Judge before.And suddenly, there he was, waiting for me.

My Calon.

CHAPTER15

“Nizhoni,”he called, running to me in his winged form, and holding me tight.“Are you hurt?”

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