His sharp eyes swept over the area, searching for something. I strained my ears and eyes, but heard and saw nothing.
And then they stood there. Three of them in their long cloaks and heavy hoods. A fourth sat low on the ground, its long ears and tail twitching. Its golden eyes stared at us with a mocking glint, like it had just cornered a mouse. I had the sudden urge to squeak.
Marc smiled at the trio and their pet. “Good evening, gentlemen. Is there something we can do for you?”
One of them stepped forward and drew out a dagger. A very familiar dagger.
“If it’s coin you want, you won’t find much on us,” Marc insisted as he nodded at me. “My friend here is rather poor, and I left my wallet in my other suit.”
The four slowly stalked toward us. I tried to step back, but Marc kept a steady grip on me. “I don’t think they’re falling for it!” I hissed at him.
“Steady,” he whispered with his smile still slapped on his face. He kept his gaze focused on the trio and their demonic feline, but I noticed a slight problem with one of his eyes. It was glowing a familiar blue color. Marc straightened and cleared his throat. “That’s a very nice weapon you have there, sir, but I’m afraid I don’t deal in daggers. Only this.”
He flung out his arm, and light burst out of his left eye. His deceptive magic collapsed, revealing his true form as the puddles at our feet shot up like snakes out of their holes. Columns of water dove at our foes, who were forced to scatter to dodge the heavy jets.
Marc tightened his grip on my hand and yanked me rightward. We raced down a side street, and the soft pad of feet made me look behind us. The cat followed, its white fur glistening in the starlight. The creature bared its fangs and hissed at us, stretching its face like a viper. How I’d love to wipe that vicious look off its face.
That gave me an idea. I gathered some air and belted out a fast opera. Opera wasn’t my specialty, and I pronounced the words wrong more times than right, but the magic didn’t care. The puddles, trash, and dirt sprang to life, leaping up from the ground and gathering after us like a crowd of rabid music fans. Some of the magic clumped together, creating crystals about half my size. The only downside to my warbling was the sound and the complete collapse of my deception.
Our pursuers skidded to a stop, and the leader swept their arm in front of them. Air blasted from their limb and struck my magic, shattering the delicate water bubbles, but leaving the hardened dirt and stone intact. One of the other cloaked figures drew out a mallet, but the intricate, Celtic rope-like designs etched into the wooden handle and the faint yellowish glow that emanated from the head hinted at something less mundane. The wielder swung their mallet down on my floating crystals.
The two magics collided in an explosive union, shaking the air and forcing a wild wake of air outward in all directions. We were blown forward while our pursuers were blasted backward. Marc and I tumbled across the ground. He hit the ground running. Me? Not so much. I landed on my back with a hard slam, and an oomph escaped me along with all of the air in my lungs.
Marc swept me into his arms and continued on our escape. I was dizzy from my hard stop, but I managed to look over his shoulder. Our pursuers were just as persevering as Marc, as they had climbed to their feet and were already racing down the alley after us.
My body was sore from the blast, but our foes were catching up to us. I only had one chance, and I had to make it count. I sucked in as much air as I could manage, and then belted out one long, high note. The air around us reverberated with my magic, and the elements shot out of their hiding places. The smaller components slammed together to create the large crystals, and they didn’t take kindly to anyone who got in the way of their reunion.
Our foes ran into the paths of my magic, and the elements slammed into them from all angles. The men were pummeled to the ground, where the rising elements lifted them back into the pulverizing path. Their cloaks were torn and their hoods thrown back, revealing them as three men covered in tattoos of fancy scrawled script and round designs eerily reminiscent of witch symbols in my world. Even the cat lost patches of hair, and it screeched like a banshee at every knock.
Marc rounded the corner out of the alley, and I lost sight of our pursuers, but I wouldn’t soon forget the bloodthirsty look in all their eyes.
Chapter 28
I couldn’t keep up my tune for very long outside the alley. My air and strength ran out, and I slumped in Marc’s arms.
He drew me tighter against him, and his eyes darted down to me. “Are you well?”
I managed a shaky smile. “I’ll be better when I know we’ve lost them.”
“Then I’ll make you feel better,” he promised before he clenched his teeth.
Bright blue light burst out from beneath his eye patch and illuminated much of his left side. My eyes widened as I watched a pair of leathery wings burst from his back. His facade collapsed with the use of his magic, but fortunately, we were alone in the street. He leaped into the air and flapped hard and fast, and we were airborne in a few seconds.
I gripped tightly to the front of his coat as the wind whipped over us. The city became a miniature of itself, and the bright lights were twinkling specks. I could barely make out the small shadows of people and vehicles as they traveled the roads.
Marc flew us over the city and landed neatly in front of his uncle’s home. He folded his wings before they completely shrank back into his body. “Can you stand?” he asked me.
“We can try,” I suggested, and he set me down.
My legs were wobbly, but enough to hold myself up. Marc helped me toward the door, but we’d only gone half the distance when the portal opened. Ramaro shot out eyes blazing and his jaws snapping.
“What have you done to her now?” he growled as he skidded to a stop in front of us. “Why is she as pale as a sail?”
“You’ll be worse off if you get in our way again,” Marc warned him as he stepped over the creature.
Ramaro spun around and scurried after us. “Why is your deception magic broken? What have you two been up to?”
Eldric met us in the hall, where he looked almost as perturbed as Ramaro. “What’s happened?”
