The Horned Mage: Books 1-5

by Hayden Harper

  He howled—howled—like an honest to God wolf as he hit the pavement. I didn’t stop or slow down, just kept running and leapt over his tottering bike, knocking it over on top of him in the process.

  The sounds grew angrier behind me, pushing me harder. I was almost to the Morrow’s, fire ready to leap to my hands. Except that something pulled at my magic as I drew closer, something familiar that I’d completely forgotten about since my time doing yard work. I ran past the Morrow’s house and onto their neighbor’s front lawn. A familiar tingle of magic swept over me as soon as my feet touched the grass and I fell in a heap to the lawn.

  One of the bikers leapt off his bike and charged at me—and rebounded off the lawn in a green flash. I scrambled back, away from the edge of the lawn as the wolves gathered, pulling up around the edge of the house. Several of them were already sprouting fur, growing and twisting into lupine figures. Hungry, golden eyes surrounded the lawn.

  The werewolves pressed against some unseen barrier but couldn’t get through.

  “Where is she?” Snarled the brother from the driveway.

  “Fuck you, I don’t know,” I shouted back, pulling myself to my feet. Once more I locked gazes with him.

  The magic of this place pulsed through me, mixing with my own and soothing the ache in my lungs the running had started. Every breath invigorated me, filling me with fresh strength. I let it fill me up and the werewolf flinched.

  And then he pulled out a gun.

  “Son of a—“ I leapt into the front garden as the first shot went off. Another quickly followed and I raced around to the gate leading to the backyard, giant wolves and crazed gunman following along the edge of the lawn. I burst through the gate and fell into a flowerbed, eating a mouthful of the mulch I’d put down just the other day.

  Those guys were fucking nuts. Why did I always end up facing off with nut jobs? And why did they all have guns?

  Wolves howled and snarled and why the fuck hadn’t somebody called the cops already? It as the middle of the damn afternoon.

  The bikes took off in a roar as sirens sounded. I made to go out front, to meet the police, and spotted a wolf beginning to crouch in the bushes in the yard across the street. Dammit, how did something that big hide itself so well?

  That definitely nixed that plan. I reached for my phone. If I couldn’t go to the police I could at least call them. Only when my fingers felt around in my pocket, they went right through a hole that hadn’t been there when I’d first started funning. I must have ripped my pocket open when I was hopping those fences.

  “Oh, come on!” I shut the gate to the privacy fence and made my way to the pool, taking a seat on the edge of the diving board.

  The magic of this place pulses and twisted through the earth and air as if alive. It touched me, almost caressed me. It was so familiar and yet so different at the same time. It called to a part of my magic, only a part…the best I could describe it would be like meeting someone you barely recognize at a family reunion. You know you’re somehow related, maybe a cousin or an aunt or something, but you can’t quite place it. My adoptive parents had thought going to family reunions might give me a better sense of place—all they’d done was made me feel even more awkward. Mostly I’d ended up hanging out with Sarah and trying not to bother the older kids too much.

  The sound of sirens came and went. Nobody came into the backyard to investigate. Every now and then I’d check through the gate. Each time I’d find a pair of golden eyes positioned somewhere, fixed on me. Not always in the same spot, but always with the same relentless devotion to keeping me pinned.

  I tried going inside the house to use the phone there, but the locks refused to give and the windows wouldn’t break. I tried throwing a rock at one and it ricocheted back and hit me in the forehead. I was still smarting from that an hour later.

  I tried going next door to the Morrow’s, but the gate wouldn’t open. Apparently they could lock it from their side and had. When I climbed atop the fence to hop over, the wolf across the street let out a long, mournful howl. It was quickly answered by another.

  Shit.

  I dropped back into the yard and waited. Night fell.

  The howls started up again. Slow at first, but then louder. They moved from mournful to joyous, the sound of wolves on the hunt. I knew that joy. Knew it in my bones. The thrill of being the predator. Once again I hated being the prey. I hated being cornered even worse.

  Hot magic collided with the invisible barrier of the property. It struck over and over again and I realized it was colliding in time with the wolves throwing themselves at it. And they weren’t letting up. I stood and tried to get my back to a garden shed, calling my green fire to hand. The magic this crazy homeowner had poured into her house was a more powerful security system than anything I’d ever seen. But it wasn’t going to keep them out forever.

  As if my doubt in the magic’s ability to keep me safe was some sort of catalyst, I felt it give a silent grown and the barrier gave way to the triumphant yipping of wolves. They burst through the gates connecting the backyard to the front on either side of the house and poured into the yard. Easily a dozen of them.

  They went quiet once they reached the back and realized I was cornered. There was no way I could outrun them now that they’d found me. I flared my flames brighter and raised my fists. At least so long as they were furry like this none of them could use a gun.

  Naturally that was when the asshole brother walked in with the alpha, his pistol held in a grip that shook with fury. Why did guns have to be so much more efficient at killing than magic?

  Chapter Twelve

  My flames could do a lot of things but stopping bullets wasn’t one of them.

  The brother raised the gun and aimed it squarely at my center mass. “Where’s my sister?”

  “I don’t know,” I answered.

  His face tightened and he stepped forward. “Don’t lie to me!”

  The gun went off as he was tackled from behind by a small figure. I ducked as the wolves whirled around to face the newcomer, only to hesitate when they realized how small she was. Lexus and the brother rolled onto the grass. The gun went off again and then was knocked free. He reared back, eyes glowing, face elongating into a snout as fangs filled his mouth.

  I let loose a torrent of fire that engulfed them both. The heat rocked him back and off of her as he continued to transform, and when the flames died down a giant hound stood where Lexus had been. Only there was something different about her. She was bigger than before, with a heavy cape of fur around her neck and shoulders that came down her back in a V. She was thicker in the chest and lankier. And she radiated hot power like the werewolves.

  “What the…” But even as I asked understanding dawned. She’d been infected with the werewolf virus and its magic had combined with whatever spell I had over her.

  The alpha shapeshifted, leaving me the only two-legged combatant left, and the pack launched themselves at Lexus.

  I called forth the biggest blast of fire I could manage and let it rip over her and them. The property’s magic leapt with an electric shudder at my blast, as if I’d done something to wake it up, and then it rushed into me, through me, and into the magical flames I was dowsing Lexus and the werewolves with. The flames doubled in size. Then with a jolt, doubled again.

  Wolves howled and yipped in pain as, amidst the green inferno, Lexus tore into them. Every bite they delivered was healed almost instantly by the fire and the new werewolf magic that resided within her. At the same time, my flames ate their flesh faster than they could regenerate.

  But there were so many of them. One managed to get behind Lexus and rip into her leg from behind, pulling her off balance and allowing another to get inside her defenses. At the same time one of the wolves tore free of the flames and circles around in a smoldering blur to come at me sideways.

  I ripped a hand away from Lexus’ fight, directing some of the fiery torrent at my att
acker. It drove him back, but it lessened the onslaught on the wolves engaged with Lexus. They leapt at her. I redirected my efforts at her attackers, but as soon as I did, two more wolves pulled away and came at me from the sides. The wolves cried out and were onto us.

  We became locked in a war of attrition. Lexus, with my super-charged flames bathing her and our enemies, could hold her own against the pack, if only barely. But as soon as I focused my efforts on her, the wolves would close in on me and I’d be forced to drive them back. If the pack wasn’t between us, I might have been able to create a fiery barrier with Lexus in the center keeping them from crossing. As it was, we were kept apart, unable to properly coordinate. It was only a matter of time before the wolves slipped through my defenses and when that happened, the rest would fall upon Lexus.

  And I was getting tired. My blasts were becoming less and less impressive. Still larger than my usual, but they were getting smaller. I was burning through the magic of this place faster than I could take out the werewolves. If I could keep a constant blast on the entire pack with all this magic at my disposal and Lexus ripping them apart then finishing them off would be…not easy, exactly, but definitely in the realm of possibility. On our own like this, our efforts and attention divided, the werewolves were simply going to outlast us.

  The land’s power flowing through me dwindled and my blasts became ordinary. The werewolves seemed to be struggling to heal the burnt flesh as rapidly as other wounds, but those wounds were still healing. And with so many of them they had set up a rotation, letting their most injured pull back to recover while Lexus and I were forced to fight on. I poured more of my energy into the fight. If I could just take out a one or two, then the rest would become exponentially easier to finish.

  It wasn’t to be. I was tired and could feel Lexus’ fatigue building alongside my own. As my fires lessoned so did the rejuvenation they provided for her. Our enemies had less to fear from confronting us. We were going to die. I didn’t even know how Lexus had found me or why she’d come. To try and save me? Was our connection that strong? Had the spell I’d accidentally put on her going to get her killed?

  One of the wolves pulled away from Lexus to come at me and once again I directed my flames at it. Only this time the werewolf didn’t stop or try to avoid the flames. It pushed right through, teeth bared as its flesh burned and it clawed its way toward me. My magic wasn’t enough. I was going to die.

  A new wolf crashed through the Morrow’s gate in the side of the privacy fence, diving into the green flames to slam into my attacker. The flames washed over the wolf, dancing over its fur, which turned pale as the new werewolf grew in size, flinging its victim aside with casual ease.

  The fighting came to a halt as the newcomer positioned itself between me and the werewolf pack, trapping them between it and Lexus. Not it, I realized. Her. The wolf, transformed by my flames the same way Lexus had been into something between werewolf and magic hound, glanced back at me over its shoulder. Green energy glowed from within her, pouring out her jaws and eyes.

  She turned back to the pack and in perfect sync with Lexus, let out three bone rattling howls. The sounds reverberated through me, filling me with new energy as it swept over the wolves. This was a hunting cry, and perhaps for the first time in their lives, the werewolves realized that they were the prey.

  The three of us struck at the same time, Lexus and the werewolf girl pincering the werewolves as I let out a fresh blast of flame. The wolves howled and yelped and snarled. Blood and fire flew and the girls were forced back, but this time they were together and positioned with me behind them. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep throwing fire about. But with two giant magical wolf-dogs backed by my power, I was definitely feeling a lot more confident about our odds.

  The wolves readied to come at us again when yet another new blast of magic swept over the yard. It slammed into me, leaving my ears ringing as I staggered in place.

  “Enough.” A tall woman stepped out the backdoor of the house. She carried a cane, though she didn’t seem to need it. “Enough.”

  She tapped her cane to the ground and another blast of magic washed over us in a kinetic pulse. The magic in the land that I’d thought I’d exhausted resurfaced, rising up with renewed vigor to twine its way through our bodies and lash us into place.

  The werewolves howled but their howls cracked as they transitioned from the haunting melody of wolf-cry to the groans and curses of naked men and women, though mostly men. Burnt, bleeding, tattooed, dirty—and did I already say naked?—men. None of them seemed especially happy about their current predicament.

  The woman’s gaze fell on the girls in front of me. She was an older woman, but possessed of an ageless sort of beauty that defied having a number assigned to it. It was hard to read anything past her stern expression, but I thought I saw surprise register in her eyes. She’d expected the girls to transform back as well.

  She pointed her cane at me. “Change them back. Now.”

  I was in no condition, let alone position, to argue with her. I just didn’t know how to obey.

  I cleared my throat. “I-I don’t know how.”

  This time there was no mistaking the surprise in her face. She peered more closely at me. “How old are you?”

  That’s what she wanted to know? Not, why there were a bunch of furry and furious bikers in her backyard?

  “Nineteen.”

  “You give my sister back!” shouted the brother. He struggled against the invisible bonds holding him in place and damn if I wasn’t glad they were there. Every ounce of adrenaline I’d had flowing through my system abandoned me. My limbs became shaky and heavy. My eyes actually stung with a sudden urge to shed tears.

  His sister snapped her jaws and fixed him with a green glare. Without the constant blasts of green flame I could get a better look at her and Lexus’ new forms. They glowed from within with power, my power, casting their pale fur in a greenish color. She was darker than Lexus, with a darker saddle pattern over her back and a mask pattern over her eyes. Both of them were enormous, their heads easily level with mine, making them the size of horses. Mean, predatory horses.

  “Man,” I said shakily, “I don’t even know what she’s doing here.”

  That was when my legs gave out and I sprawled onto the grass, the magic holding me in place apparently deciding I wasn’t going to be any more trouble. With the realization that I could move my hands came another thought. Lexus had transformed before when my fire had hit her and the werewolf girl as well just now. Maybe that was how I turned them back?

  Amidst the brother’s cussing I lifted my hands and squeezed out a pathetic trickle of green fire. It splashed onto the giant, glowing wolf-dogs and suddenly Lexus and the werewolf girl were standing naked in front of me.

  “Naked people everywhere,” I muttered.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The mug of hot tea felt good in my tired hands and the drink felt even better going down my throat. I’d met a few people who were tea nuts but I’d never really understood why they made such a big deal over what’s basically a natural pesticide mixed with hot water. As my muscles relaxed and the warmth spread through me, I understood the sentiment behind every bit of babble I’d ever overheard on the subject. Maybe it was just this tea specifically, but damn if this wasn’t exactly what I needed.

  Eleanor, the homeowner whose backyard we’d been fighting in, had served a round of steaming mugs to me, the girls, the brother, and the Road Wolves’ alpha. All of us were huddled under enormous blankets she had produced from somewhere in her house. The Road Wolves were both naked under theirs, Eleanor only having clothes that fit, if only barely, the werewolf girl and Lexus. Man was I glad for the blankets. And not just because I couldn’t stop shivering.

  Nobody spoke. I think we’d exhausted ourselves fighting too much to muster the energy for conversation. After a few minutes of silently sipping tea in Eleanor’s living room, our host tapped her can
e on the floor and scowled at us.

  “Will someone please explain what the hell is going on?”

  She was prettier in this light. Elegant but with a bit of a rugged edge. Her steely blonde hair had been chopped into a style that seemed equal parts practicality and rebellion. She wore a pantsuit that looked like it had started its life as high fashion but had been through a few adventures. Still nice and functional, but definitely worn in.

  She keen eyes took us all in. “Well?”

  I shook my head. “Honestly, I’ve got no idea what is going on.”

  I gestured at the werewolf girl with my half-empty mug, then at Lexus and myself. “We got back to my place Saturday night and she attacked us. Then…” I felt my face warming up.

  Her eyes were still green with my magic in her human form, the same as Lexus’. She blushed even harder than I did.

  “I don’t even know your name,” I said with no small amount of exasperation. “I mean…that’s just so wrong that I don’t know that, yeah?”

  “What happened?” Her brother demanded, looking back and forth between us. “What happened!”

  “My name’s Victoria,” she said, with a sigh. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  I nodded. “Nice to meet you, Victoria, I’m Caleb. Why did you attack and then have sex with us?”

  “What?” The brother started to stand up but his alpha grabbed his arm.

  “John, sit down,” he said.

  “I’m Lexus,” Lexus said, waving a hand. “Just in case anyone cares. And you all need some serious therapy or something because y’all got to be the most dysfunctional family of crazies I ever met.”

  Victoria actually let out a little laugh, then gave Lexus a sheepish look. “Sorry about, uh….” She waved vaguely.

  I couldn’t bring myself to respond. Her attack had gotten me evicted. This tea and talk were good for now—it meant nobody was trying to kill me and hopefully would stop trying to kill me, but when it was all done I had nowhere to go.