Page 14 of Stolen Magic
Agust of wind jerked me off the ground and tossed me aside like a dish rag. I flew butt over head until I hit the earth hard, rolling a few feet before smacking into the railing. The Ferris Wheel groaned behind us when metal smacked over metal, and I saw Dimitri’s wolf rake lines in the pavement with his claws in a futile attempt to stay on the ground. Water pelted us from all sides of the pier, my skin prickling from the sound of the ocean preparing to swallow us whole again. Char was still dangling on the side, and I had to do something before the water mage decided to use her as his toy.
Dimitri clawed his way closer to me, the hulking frame of the wolf blotting out the sky and the ominous clouds. His dark fur was soaking wet and plastered to his body, but the back of his neck was raised as he bristled from being tossed around, I had no doubt. My heart stuttered when the silver blue gaze started to glow on the wolf’s face, and a shimmer of blood red magic formed an aura around him. Was he trying to help or get us both killed with his blatant display of magic? I had no right to talk, obviously, but at least I kept the light show to a minimum. Not once had I allowed the color of my powers to manifest the way he was at that moment.
“Slow down on the lights, Rudolph,” I hissed at him as I rolled on my stomach. “We can’t see past the first line of buildings. There could be people from MPO lurking around.”
The wolf didn’t look very happy about my reference to Santa’s reindeer judging by his curled upper lip as he snarled at me. Apart from that, he couldn’t contradict me about the MPO agents. They were like shadows popping out when you least expected them. My life was already taking a nosedive without having those idiots breathing down my neck.
I had to tuck one of my daggers at the small of my back so I could get a firm grip on the railing. With Dimitri pressing on my left and a good hold on my right, we pushed forward toward the end where the Pier met the edge of the beach. A pang stabbed me in my chest when a snicker floated above the churning water of the ocean in my line of sight. It belonged to a child, and I hoped it was forgotten on the beach when the parents grabbed their little one and escaped. I had to believe that, or I would’ve curled up where I stood.
“We need to get there.” Shouting to be heard over the constant hum of the ocean and the thunder clapping above our heads, I pointed the tip of the dagger at the part where the asphalt met the sand. My eyes were stinging like hell every time I blinked from all the sand sticking to my eyeballs.
The small clearing I was indicating was our only chance. Between the ocean water and the wind, the patch of land was unaffected thanks to the two buildings protecting it on either side. We could cast spells without interruption, and that’s what we needed if we were going to stop the crazy mages. They didn’t look like they had any intention of slowing down until we were dead.
Dimitri didn’t wait to ask for permission, which in any other case would’ve made me angry enough to breathe smoke through my nostrils. The wolf tucked his shoulder behind my knee and, as I lost my balance, he ducked around me so I fell over his back. He plowed toward the patch of land between the buildings, and I held on with a one-handed death grip on his fur. My head was too close to the ground for comfort, and my hair swept the dirt like a broom each time his hind legs pushed off the ground.
Stumbling off the growling Alpha when we reached our spot, I glared to make sure he knew I was upset about him toppling me over him like a sack of potatoes. No self-respecting witch liked to be manhandled like that, be it by the wolf or the man himself.
With a deep breath, I reached my free hand toward the two cloaked figures that had turned to keep us in sight. A soft glow started pulsing around them when they realized their mistake for leaving this part undisturbed, and I could feel their magic intensifying. I had a few seconds to rig their powers before a fresh hell opened for us. Dimitri could rip them to ribbons if they were closer, but we both knew there was no way to reach them before they killed us. Multiple lightning bolts were spiderwebbing across the clouds, gaining in power.
“Socair an èadhar, socair an uisge.”“Calm the air, calm the water.”Palm raised with my fingers splayed as far as they would go, I pushed as much strength as I could into my magic.
The mages startled when the winds died down and the ocean dropped, retreating off the beach. It didn’t take them long to recover, and my feet slid a few inches back when they pushed against me. The water mage gave up on lifting the ocean and focused on the moisture in the air and the water drenching my clothing. The fabric tightened like a python around me so suddenly my arm dropped and I lost control of the spell.
One of the lightnings flickering above us shot from the clouds straight for the place I stood. The wolf pounced and tackled me to the side of one of the buildings. My head smacked the wall with a sickening thud, but I still didn’t miss the hit of thunder when it slammed into the concrete on the exact spot I’d occupied a split second ago. A bright light blinded me, replacing the dancing spots on the edges of my vision.
Dimitri growled next to me, displaying his rage, but unfortunately for both of us, the Alpha had to rely on me to deal with the murderous mages. If he’d stayed in his human form, he could’ve fought them with his magic, but I had no time to ask him why he shifted. He still glowed with that red shimmer around him, however—another thing that made no sense. It didn’t do anything to help us.
Blinking fast, I scrambled to my feet and swayed. Dizziness almost swept the feet from under me, but it passed just as fast. Acid burned the back of my throat, another indicator that I probably had a concussion, and just one more hassle I had to deal with later. I had to stay alive if I wanted to suffer the pain. There was a warm trickle under my hair just behind my left ear that I ignored, as well. Tucking my hand behind me, I pulled the second dagger from my waistband and pointed both blades at the mages.
“Socair an èadhar, socair an uisge.”“Calm the air, calm the water.”My shout was so loud, I felt my magic burst not just from the blades but through my lips, too.
The air vibrated as it passed through my mouth with the power, and it rippled in waves in front of my eyes. In a blast, it sailed toward the mages, and when it reached them, both their bodies were thrown back a few feet. They landed on their backs at the same time the wolf yelped from somewhere behind me. It should’ve been something that alerted me to stop, but I was beyond rational thought. It was moments like these that made me regret allowing my temper to rule me, but it never stopped me from reacting.
“Tha an cumhachd agam a-nis.” “I now have your power.”The words sounded like they were not my own. My low tone soaked in magic echoed between me and my attackers, and the power I sent toward them started moving back.
For those who could see magic, it’d be like watching a scene on rewind, only with blue and yellow tendrils snaking from the mages and heading my way. Without thinking, I drained the magic from the mages, making it my own. As the last speck of the blue and yellow power was absorbed by my skin, the two magic users slumped back where they were screaming and struggling to stand up. They were human for all intents and purposes. I took their magic, and they would never get it back. Another reason why witches were exterminated like vermin.
And I showed what I was capable of in front of Dimitri.
The thought slammed inside my head like a brick.
Very slowly, I turned around to face the Alpha. The wolf was crouched low, the point of his snarling jaw nearly touching the ground. Ears pinned to the back of his skull and hackles raised, his eyes glowed menacingly at me. With my heart in my throat and no sudden movement, I tucked the daggers into their sheaths strapped to my thighs and lifted both hands up in a placating gesture, my fingers curled into fists. The worst thing a witch could do was open her hands toward someone the way humans did in a sign of surrender. It was the strongest way to cast magic with our open palms, and I didn’t want Dimitri to clamp his jaw around my neck if he thought I was attacking him.
“I can explain.” Keeping my tone calm, I stood still, barely breathing. “I had to stop them before they killed us. I’ve never done this before.”
Dimitri growled deep in his chest, his gaze boring into mine as if he could see my soul.
“I swear it on my life, I’ve never taken anyone’s power before.” Which was the honest truth, but I had no idea how to convince him. He had no reason to trust me. I’d stolen from him, after all. Maybe not his power, but a family journal I had no right to touch.
Tears prickled the back of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Instead, I blinked fast in an attempt to push them back. My heart was kicking wildly in my chest, and there was a tremor passing through me that I had no way of controlling. It could’ve been one or all those things that made the Alpha give me a chance to explain instead of attacking. A bright flash of light made me flinch and close my eyes. When I opened them, my jaw unhinged and hit the charred pavement at my feet.
Dimitri stood in front of me in all his naked glory.
Chapter Twelve
After staring at me like I’d grown three more heads for over ten minutes while I struggled to keep my eyes on his face and not let them drop to his groin—which they were persistent on doing—we collected Char and returned to the shop. It turned out only the immediate area around the pier had been affected by the storms the air and water mage created, while everything else was left untouched. We heard a few murmurs that it appeared like night had fallen in just that small part of the beach, and no one could see anything that happened inside it.
I nearly cried from happiness.
