Page 30 of Mated to the Enemy
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Klaue cursed as he tackled Jessica out of the way.
Red magic, or elemental magic, was the most commonly used form. It revolved around earth, wind, water, fire, and was found across the globe in all manner of creatures, though only humans had learned how to harness it for their own uses.
He couldn’t use magic himself, but one thing the soldiers of his House trained for, was how to defend themselves from a magic user, in case they were ever set upon by one. The old war between shifters and mages might be over, but it would take a lot longer than a century for the habits to fade away.
Even as Klaue rolled to a halt, shielding Jessica from the worst of their tumble, he was snatching up objects from the grass and nearby forest. He rose to his feet and fired a chunk of asphalt. The black lump whizzed through the air on a direct return route from where the energy attack had come.
He didn’t expect it to hit anything or anyone, and he wasn’t disappointed when it sailed into the forest before bouncing across the ground. The mage was skilled, and he knew to move after every attack.
Another attack came, more red energy, this time from another angle. Jessica was still on the ground, staring up at him with horror written across her beautiful features. Seeing his possible mate like that ignited flames of protective desires within him. Klaue started ripping up the edge of the asphalt, fingers like steel as they dug into the tough material and snapped it with ease.
A veritable barrage of the chunks whizzed into the forest, whipping through the air like a buzzsaw as he moved back and forth in a half-circle.
Mages didn’t need to read spells from a book to cast their energy, but theydidneed to focus for a second or two before unleashing it. Taking a three-inch section of asphalt to the body would more than serve to distract the attacker long enough to delay their next attack.IfKlaue could find his target.
“Get out of here!” he shouted, risking a moment to glance down at Jessica. “I’ll cover you. Go!”
He ripped up another section of asphalt and threw it as fast as he could snap it apart.
She got to her feet and took two steps before the pair of them were hit by a sonic wave erupting out of the forest to his left, an area Klaue hadn’t pelted with his makeshift missiles yet.
The green cone tumbled him through the air until it used up its energy. It faded and he bounced and rolled across the driveway, scraping his elbows and forearms fiercely. He came to a halt, took quick stock of his injuries and, realizing he was essentially unharmed, got to his feet, enraged.
Looking back at Jessica, he saw that she’d actually escaped the worst of the blast, only being spun to the ground near where she’d been standing. She was coughing and hunched over on all fours, but otherwise seemed unharmed, thank the gods.
Klaue reached deep inside him for the energy that would start his transformation into his alter ego, and forced it first into his head, ducking to the side as the hidden mage struck again. A cackling bolt of green energy whipped past his face, burying itself deep into the huge trunk of one of the mighty oaks that dotted the property, centuries old and massive in size.
Throwing his head back, Klaue bellowed loudly, his half-human, half-bear head creating the eerie sound that echoed out into the forest and back toward the house as well. Grinning, he turned his fearsome visage to the area of forest in which he suspected the mage of hiding.
Deep in the forest, the calls of the guards who patrolled the perimeter echoed his roar, a symphony of anger as the House came to understand they were under attack.
“You’re screwed now,” he chuckled as the calls died away, the voice twisted and deep, the half-bear half-human vocal chords making his threat extra intimidating.
He charged toward the mage’s hiding spot, passing a stunned-looking Jessica. Klaue didn’t look at her. Right now, he needed to focus on putting the mage on the defensive. That way, his energy would be directed at Klaue, not her. He didn’t have to defeat him, just distract him until help arrived.
Defeating him would be highly improbable anyway. This mage, assuming it was the same one, was good. Green magic was a tier above elemental. It could be shaped into a multitude of purposes, any of which would seriously injure, if not kill him. To defeat him would require either the Assassin, a trained mage-hunter, or the Magi of House Ursa himself.
Something shuffled in the forest ahead of him and Klaue finally got a good glimpse of his quarry as the mage stood up to face him, revealing himself. It was the same man, thick black eyebrows and angry red cuts on his face. There was no doubt in Klaue’s mind.
The mage then did something unexpected, especially with Klaue, who outmassed him by a hundred pounds and over half a foot, barreling down on him. He smiled. Victoriously.
Klaue had a split second to stare in shock as blue energy coursed up from the mage’s forearms and curled around his fists. Then the mage slammed his fists together and the attack shot out.
Throwing himself to the ground, Klaue gaped as the blast surged overtop him.Blue magic!
One of the things the Novarupta Accords had laid out when the Mage Council and Shifter Court had signed it to end the war that had stretched for fifteen hundred years, was that blue magic, death magic, was to be outlawed. Forbidden. Any mage who practiced it would be hunted and killed. Even lots of green magic was forbidden, deemed too powerful. Klaue had heard of mages in his lifetime being executed for using green magic in illegal ways.
But never blue.
Everything the wave touched wilted and died instantly. Including the massive oak that had already been impaled with the spear of green energy.
From his back, Klaue watched in horror as first the bark, then the outer wood itself wilted and turned to ash, the heartwood at its core the last to go before the mighty tree groaned and started to topple, the blackness spreading up its trunk as it leaned to the side.
“Klaue!”
His head snapped around, ignoring the danger of the nearby mage as he heard the terror in Jessica’s voice. She lay on the ground too, but her eyes were focused upward, on the tree that leaned even further. He gasped. She was right in its path!
Roaring in distress, he surged to his feet and raced to her side. The mighty oak’s groan grew louder, and wood started to snap as the weakened trunk gave way, gravity overcoming any last strength it had.
Klaue forced his body to change as he ran. The process wasn’t pleasant when he wasn’t under stress, but keeping moving at full speed while his body reshaped itself into a massive bear was excruciating. White spots danced across his vision, momentarily obscuring Jessica from his sight, but he didn’t stop moving. He was almost there.
“Klaue!” she screamed in terror.
He roared and dove for her, smothering her with his bulk a split second before the tree slammed down on top of him.
