by Nicole Hall
Luc grabbed her hand and practically dragged her the rest of the way into the small room off the kitchen. He shoved her inside and locked the door after them. No longer worrying about staying hidden, Samantha switched on the light and swept the soft rug out of the way.
Originally a scullery, one of the previous owners had converted the back kitchen into a fairly spacious pantry. With the outside access closed up long ago and a light amount of traffic, Samantha had used it for more than storing food. She’d lined the walls with pretty painted shelves, added a small chandelier, and burned her sigils into the original wooden floor.
Every couple of years she updated the sigils. An annoying amount of work, but necessary. Usually, her protections worked in layers, building off one another, but something had brought several of the layers crashing down.
Another sharp pain made her gasp as redcaps pushed through the doorways at the front and back of the house. High-pitched yelling ensued, most likely the factions had spotted each other in the open concept main floor, but no one had noticed the pantry door yet.
“I’m going to need some time to fix the twisted parts before I can lock them in. We’ll also need a way to lure the entirety of both groups into the house.”
Luc not so subtly placed himself between her and the door. “What’s to stop them from barging in here first?”
Samantha spared him a glance. “You.”
She crouched over her marks and let her magic sink into them, but Luc never fully left her focus. He remained in her line of sight, and she hoped the trust she’d given him wasn’t misplaced.
Luc rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt and pulled his leather satchel out of thin air as he’d done once before. At some point, she wanted more details on that spell, but the sight of Luc disheveled and doing his best to save them pried open the part of her that wanted him.
If they were about to die, wasn’t she wasting her last precious minutes by not using them to enjoy Luc to the fullest? She blinked and dug her nails into the glossy wood. What an inconvenient time to admit that she wanted him more than anything else.
Samantha renewed her focus on her broken protection spells. She’d be eternally pissed if her distraction caused by Luc’s forearms got them both killed. Fix the circle now, grapple with Luc later. Something had created a miniscule weakness in her protections and slithered its way through. Something else had used that hole to bring the majority of her interconnected spells tumbling down.
After some gentle prodding, Samantha sat back on her feet and frowned. The weakness came from a hole where the protections had simply disappeared. She cast her magic out around her, and in the far southeast corner of the living room, she found the cause. A void in the bright beacon of her space.
Shock almost made her drop her concentration again. The void undulated slowly, but with purpose, targeting the most magic rich areas of her home. In its wake, holes stretched thin what was left of the bubble.
Samantha quickly rearranged the sigil, backfilling those spots, but she couldn’t adjust fast enough to account for the accumulating damage. The door to the pantry suddenly blew inward off its hinges. Luc turned and tucked his head, taking the brunt of the force on his shoulder as he stood his ground protecting her.
The heavy wood offered a temporary shield since the redcaps couldn’t get past it to fling their daggers or spells. Another flare of power broke the door into pieces, and the sigil changed again under her hand, not her doing this time. Luc raised his arms and instantly brought up a glowing shield using the pale blue magic she’d infused into her home, encompassing the two of them and most of the pantry.
Samantha panted from exertion. “Thanks. They have a magic-eater. I thought those were extinct.”
“No, for a high price—very high—a few mana wyrms are still available.”
“How do you know that?”
Luc glanced over his shoulder at her, exasperation clear on his face. “Always so quick to think the worst of me.”
“How was that the worst? All I did was ask a question. An innocuous question.”
“There was a tone,” he muttered.
“You’re ridiculous,” she shot back. “How do I counter a magic-eater, oh wise one?”
His shoulders shook with the effort of holding the shield. “Offer it a better meal.”
Samantha calculated the distance she could reach with her current set-up and gathered most of her magic into a tight ball. The idea of wasting power on a glorified firework grated against her, but there weren’t any better options. She closed her eyes and pictured the duck pond in her mind, programmed the spell, then heaved her ball as hard as she could in that direction.
Several blocks from her house, a flare of magic shot up in a burst of glowing sparks. Non-magical humans wouldn’t be able to see it—Samantha couldn’t see it either from inside the pantry—but she could feel it. The mana wyrm immediately turned toward the flare and floated away.
One problem taken care of. In the reprieve, Samantha took stock of their situation. The redcaps not waiting for Luc to tire were ransacking her beautiful house. Squabbling with each other and destroying whatever they could simply to feed the chaos. Luc had raised his chin and closed his eyes, but the rest of him stood solid, trusting that she would come through while he protected them.
She would not fail him in this.
The mana wyrm’s damage extended farther than she’d hoped. Multiple areas were too eaten for her to repair, and they would need the full circle to hold the redcaps while they escaped. Worse, with the excessive breaches, her stopgap solution wouldn’t protect them much longer.
Samantha sucked in a breath. “It’s not going to work. We need a plan C.”
“Brace yourself.” Luc pushed her aside, favoring his right shoulder where he’d taken the hit. “I like to call this plan F.” He flattened his palm against her sigil, and a rush of power infused the tattered spells. A brilliant slash of fiery color burst to life, highlighting the blue of the surrounding circle.
The sudden change in pressure made her ears close up, and she had to stretch her jaw to make them pop. Her protections flared with magic that sinuously twined with her own, resulting in a nearly physical shield. The redcaps that had been chipping away at it were suddenly repelled back several feet.
At the edges of her power, she sensed the mana wyrm’s attention shift their way again. “You’re using too much, that annoying wyrm is coming back.”
He spoke through gritted teeth. “Would you prefer to be immediately skewered or slowly drained? Those are our choices right now.”
Samantha grimaced. This wasn’t how she’d seen his death. Maybe the blonde woman had been symbolic after all. The magic-eater floated closer down the street, and their circle became misshapen as the magic bent in that direction. She tried to counter it, but it felt like sucking a milkshake through a straw.
The circle—more of a rounded triangle now—shrank around them, allowing the redcaps back through the door. One little bastard grinned at her as he elbowed his compatriot out of the way. Samantha made sure the straps of her pack were secure and moved closer to Luc.
“The wyrm is almost here. It’s time for the last-ditch effort, while my magic still works.”
He nodded, but his concentration remained on the marks at their feet.
Weak points started to form in the circle, leeching away the color. Hopefully, the redcaps remaining outside would be too distracted to notice right away when her spell dumped them in the courtyard.
The grinning redcap pulled out a dagger, cocked his arm back, and took aim through one of the thin spots in the shield, but not at her.
“Luc!” Samantha dove forward, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing her eyes shut as she activated the teleport spell.
Right before she felt the whoosh of transference, an acute force slammed into her back and a subsequent blast knocked her forward. Her personal shield had protected her from being pierced by the dagger, but it must have been infused w
ith a concussion spell. Her back ached from her shoulder to her waist, and a hard landing on top of Luc punched the air out of her.
Samantha whimpered and opened her eyes, trying to suck in air. Instead of the concrete of her courtyard, she stared at dirt covered in sparse grass. As soon as she could take a breath, the spicy scent of pine filled her with alarm.
She sat up, wincing at the pull in her abused muscles, and stared in awe at the forest surrounding them. Bright stars twinkled in the gaps between the branches. Not a redcap in sight.
Nothing in sight. Only her and Luc and a bunch of trees in a place that they definitely shouldn’t have been.
5
SAMANTHA
Samantha snapped her mouth shut and stopped staring at their surroundings when Luc groaned next to her. He’d sunk a large amount of power into that shield, and he likely hadn’t had as much practice at transference as she had. The after-effects could cause disorientation and nausea under normal circumstances. In the middle of a battle with their magic twined together? He was lucky to be conscious.
Luc shook his head and pushed up to his knees. He blinked at his satchel lying next to him, then picked it up. He frowned down at the dark leather, then draped the strap over his shoulder with a wince. Samantha saw the instant he realized the problem with their location.
His eyes moved from tree to tree, then shot to her. “What have you done?”
Samantha didn’t have an answer. Her teleport wasn’t supposed to work that way, but at least they weren’t waiting to be murdered. “Saved us, with your help.”
He stood and offered his hand to her. Samantha let him help her up, but he was slow to release her. Heat joined the adrenaline racing through her. A lot of things were very wrong, but all her body could focus on was the feel of his skin against hers. They’d lived, it whispered, why not celebrate?
Luc didn’t seem to have the same distraction. He dropped her hand after that brief lapse and folded his arms across his chest. “Where did you teleport us?”
Samantha tapped a rhythm against her thigh. “I don’t know. There should’ve only been enough power to get us to the courtyard.”
“We appear to be well beyond the courtyard.”
“You noticed that, did you?”
He frowned at her icy comment. Too bad if he didn’t like her attitude. She didn’t deal well with abrupt change.
Samantha dusted off her leggings and relented. A little. “The night sky indicates that wherever we are is on a similar temporal plane to Manhattan, meaning probably not a nexus. I can’t get a good enough look at the stars to tell which hemisphere, and even if I had the ability, I’m not about to scamper up a pine tree like a huge, demented squirrel.”
Luc’s frown eased. “I like squirrels.”
“Cute, but irrelevant. As I’m not face-down in the dirt from exhaustion, the feedback loop did its job despite being nibbled nearly to death by a mana wyrm.” Samantha rolled her eyes, a habit she despised under normal circumstances, as the probable cause of their massive jump finally occurred to her. “You were overloading the sigil. I’ve never triggered it while full of someone else’s magic.”
“Mm-hmm.” He didn’t look at all surprised by her outburst, which frustrated her all the more.
She glared at him. “I’m guessing you’d already figured all of that out before the courtyard remark.”
He shrugged, then winced and rubbed his bad shoulder. “The part about the squirrel was a surprise.”
A light breeze blew Samantha’s shirt against her. The rustling leaves became loud in the silent forest, and Samantha peered into the darkness, adding another detail to their meager knowledge.
“I’m not cold,” she murmured.
“Good to hear.”
“The wind isn’t cold, and I’m standing here comfortably in a tee-shirt. Wherever we are, it’s somewhere temperate.” When she turned back to him, a small fire had appeared, crackling merrily in a section of the forest floor cleared of debris. She raised a brow. “Is a fire really necessary?”
Luc stared into the flames briefly before answering her. “You may not welcome the warmth, but the light should help.”
“It’ll also attract attention.”
He looked up with the flames reflected in his eyes, and Samantha’s pulse sped. “After our last thrilling battle, I have confidence we can handle whatever would challenge us.”
Of course, he did. The man never lacked for confidence. “Fine. Whatever. I have to use the facilities.”
“Are you sure—”
She held up a finger. “Don’t you dare tell me it’s too dangerous.”
He bowed his head and waved toward the woods. “By all means. Take your time exploring in an unknown area on your own. I’ll stay here by the fire. Do yell if you run into any trouble.”
Without twisting too much, Samantha turned and set off between the dark trees. She had to pee, yes, but she also wanted a few minutes to herself to try to get a handle on her thoughts. Up until now, near-death experiences had never been so interactive.
Choosing to move past the distractions of her own death, Samantha sighed at the damage to her house. The glimpses she’d seen beyond the busted door had been excessive. Her trust fund would take a beating for this little adventure.
Maybe she’d send Luc a bill. The thought made her smile, but nothing came simply with him. He’d probably pay it to spite her, and she’d have to find some way to return the money. Another endless loop of challenges and competition.
The man frustrated her to no end. He’d kissed her senseless and protected her while she’d been in danger, but as soon as they’d gotten clear, he’d pulled back. Would it kill him to offer a suggestion? Maybe some compassion for a woman completely out of her depth? Samantha frowned as she realized her vision of compassion involved him holding her. Preferably naked. She snorted and stepped over a fallen log, tensing up when her back screamed at her.
Would she never learn? How stupid was she for thinking—even for a second—that he felt something more than mild lust?
Pretty stupid. She’d saved his ungrateful life, and he’d responded with blame. Well, she refused to feel guilty. Samantha paused in her litany of complaints, glancing behind her at the fire. She’d saved his life. Dru’s stalking plan seemed to have been the correct one. Then again, if he hadn’t been at her house, he never would have been in danger in the first place.
Her head began to ache as it always did when she tried to compare her visions against reality. Logic didn’t always play a part in the images she saw, and the inherent problems with knowing the effect without the cause meant any move she made could be the wrong one. Really, it was a miracle she didn’t cower in isolation all day.
Samantha peed, then decided to walk a little farther. Fueled by spite, she nearly tripped over a circle of stones set in a small clearing. She’d been up in her head and not paying any attention to her feet. The flickering light from the fire barely reached her, but she could still clearly see the stone arch in the center of the space.
Her anger dissolved under a flood of apprehension. They’d gone a lot farther than she’d thought.
Samantha spun and power-walked back through the forest. Running over unfamiliar terrain in the dark was a good way to break an ankle, but Luc needed to know where they were before he tried anything fancy.
She’d gone deeper than planned into the trees—par for the course lately it seemed—but the fire steadily grew bigger. Luc sat where she’d left him, staring at the forest.
Samantha felt the surrounding air warm with the touch of his magic. “What are you doing?”
“Attempting to pinpoint our location.”
She gathered her magic and enclosed his, effectively dousing it. He looked up at her with a raised brow, and Samantha lifted her chin. “I have many gifts, and right now, you need to be careful about using yours.”
“We need to discuss your gifts in more detail soon.”
Samantha peered up to the unfamil
iar sky, then nodded. “That’s fair.”
“Are you intending to explain to me why you felt the need to hinder my spell as well as how you managed it?”
She took a deep breath and met his gaze. “We’re not in Terra anymore. The teleport took us to the clans’ realm.”
He stood slowly, silent and intense. For a brief instant, Samantha toyed with the thought that he’d be glad to be here. The artifacts held by the elders of Aecantha piqued his interest, and she expected him to be the type to take advantage of any opportunities life threw his way.
Almost immediately, she dismissed the idea. Brought against his will, with little time to plan and no escape route, Luc wouldn’t see this as an opportunity. He circled the fire toward her, his movements fluid and dangerous. Samantha stood her ground, acutely aware that this Luc was a predator. Any signs of weakness would be viciously exploited.
“What makes you believe you transported us across realms with a broken sigil, and without the aid of a nexus or a portal?” The liquid heat of his voice coated her nerves and raised the hairs on her arms.
Her heart pounded in her chest, but her face remained serene. “I found a doorway in the woods, inactive, but only the clans use them.”
“What makes you believe we’re on their side of the doorway?”
Samantha gestured to the forest around them. “Can’t you feel it? That jittery, not-right sensation, like something is wrong but you can’t quite figure out what? The elemental magic here is subtly different from ours, or at least mine.”
He stepped into her space and lifted her chin with his fingers. “No. I’ve spent so long adjusting to the elemental magic in Terra that I hadn’t noticed.”
She tried to control her breathing, her pulse, but his proximity and his hands on her made it nearly impossible. “There’s also the matter of the huge-ass flowers growing around the base of the doorway. Keris showed me one once and warned me to stay away from them if I ever crossed over. Without knowing more information, we can’t risk the elders noticing our magic with a complicated location spell.”
