“Release your magic in a raw form and snuff it out—make sure you useenough,” Evariste said in a warningvoice.
“But ifI—”
“That spell is set to start a massive, uncontrollable fire. If it goes off, hundreds of people will die.Use enough magic,” he said in a tone that brokered noargument.
Angelique snapped her mouth shut as Evariste struck the black mage with a lightningstrike.
The mage shrieked in pain but fired off a ghastly black ball of luminousmagic.
Evariste blocked it with a blue-tinted shield, then glanced at Angelique. “You can do this, Angel—it will be even easier for you thanme.”
Angelique nodded and licked her lips before she extended her arm and pointed at the blackspell.
Careful, careful, she told herself as she started channeling her magic.I don’t want to harm anyone.She bit her lip, ignoring the pain that grew in her head as her magic raged in her, howling to befreed.
As quickly as she dared, she wove her magic around the spell, replacing Evariste’s powers as he focused on the mage. She narrowed her eyes as she studied the spell, able to make out the glowing black strands of filth that made up themagic.
She shuddered in repulsion when the spell rammed against her magic, but her magic rebuffed it with ease, partially slicing into theattack.
Angelique watched as her silvery magic surrounded the spell in a hazy cloud that was growing so large and thick, she could barely see the water of the oasis. Still, the spell showed no signs of weakening.There must be a way I can disassemble it, because if it needs much more, this is going to getdangerous.
Somewhere behind her, fire roared, and black magichissed.
“Angel, do you have the spell contained?” Evariste called toher.
“Almost.” Angelique tilted her head as she studied a particular loop of the spell.There. That’s the command that keeps it moving forward toward its target. If I could just slice through thatpart.
She bit her lip and carefully used the raw form of her magic to make a precisecut.
The loop broke, and the spell abruptly ballooned insize.
Angelique cursed under her breath and pressed her magic down on it, containing it. Holding it back now made her palms burn, and pain exploded in hertemple.
The dark magic no longer pushed forward, but instead turned its ire onto Angelique. She wanted to scream with pain when her raw magic buckled. The smallest trace of it slipped through her control, reverting to its pure form: warmagic.
The flicker of her magic sliced straight through the black mage’sspell.
Angelique hurriedly threw more of her power at it, but to her surprise, the spell ricocheted back to the black mage, smashing into her and disappearing under herskin.
The mage’s eyes bulged, and she screamed. She clawed at her own face as her skin started to glow the same eerie color as the spell had, thencollapsed.
Angelique quickly reeled in her magic while Evariste approached the fallen mage, his fingers glowingblue.
“What happened?” Angelique asked, somewhatshaken.
“It seems you sent the spell back to her,” Evariste said as he knelt next to themage.
“Thenshe’s…?”
“Dead,” Evariste said after checking herpulse.
Angelique gulped. “Ikilledher?”
“No.” Evariste turned the mage over and frowned at her face. “She was killed by her ownspell.”
“Because I sent it back to her,” Angelique said, a little bit of hysteria welling up inside ofher.
I killed someone. I ended a life. Because I couldn’t handle my ownmagic.
