“Hurry up. We have to get out of here. That idiot is releasing the Devouring Plague. It’ll eat everything organic on this floor.” Smoke, and possibly yelling, made his voice hoarse and unrecognizable.
Her mind caught up with his words and fear shivered up her spine. The Devouring Plague was the deadliest of spells and destroyed everything in its path while active. Usually it lasted less than a minute, but she heard tales of it consuming an entire army of thousands in such a short amount of time. The more it ate, the faster it spread. Of course, the tales could have exaggerated the death toll since the victor was the one telling the tale. She didn’t want to find out firsthand.
MUMBLING TO HIMSELF, Jackson swiftly went through the complex gestures to create enough energy to open a doorway into Fay. The fabric between the two worlds stretched thin and ripped apart, showing a dark forest through the portal. Light filtered strangely through the leafy branches and a small, overgrown trail was barely visible through the underbrush. Scattered throughout Earth were doorways between the two worlds that could be opened if one knew how.
Jackson had made the point of learning how and, through practice, was quite efficient at it. As a bolt hole, they proved invaluable, so long as he avoided the locals.
Impatiently, he prodded the woman over the threshold. She stumbled and fell to her knees on the grass. Shrugging off the fleeting sense of shame, he followed after her. Whirling around, he sealed the portal and sighed deeply, frustrated at the change of plans. Jackson shook his head to clear it, muttering about unneeded complications.
With a ten minute hike ahead of them through Light Fay forest, they needed to leave immediately before the creatures noticed the breach. Most portals between the two worlds had an alarm system and guardians would arrive soon. Fighting Fae creatures was never advisable, even with iron weapons, which he didn’t have. They hit hard and fast and were nearly impossible to kill, especially in their own world.
Stepping behind the woman, he put his hands under her armpits and lifted her up. Her head came to just below his nose, making her a scant few inches above five feet as he was a few inches from six feet. The high ponytail tickled his face and he involuntarily inhaled the scent of her shampoo. Mmm, strawberries. Growling from his stomach reminded him it was nearing breakfast time.
Her rigid back to him, she refused to look his way. A sweeping glance told him she worked out, judging by her toned biceps and the readiness of her stance. His eyes lingered on her ass and hips and he wished she’d worn tighter jeans.
Dragging his mind back to the issue at hand, he tried to figure out who she was. No one else should’ve been on that floor other than, perhaps, security. She certainly didn't dressed like security, nor was she in an Enforcer uniform. She did, however, have an empty shoulder holster and a blasting rod dangling from her belt.
Was she with Markus? He could’ve sworn his presence there had been unknown, and yet Markus found him.
He pushed the question to the back of his mind, to mull over once they were in less hostile lands. Now, it was time to move.
The sun glinted off the upper foliage, blinding him after the darkness of the office building. He squinted against the radiant light, waiting for his eyes to adjust. Brilliant yellow, green and blue leaves coated the sky, beautiful and deadly, hiding any number of ravenous creatures.
The air honey sweet, enticing the unsuspecting to stop and relax. A hint of rot hid amongst the cloying scent, a warning to those foolish enough to linger.
Pushing her roughly on the shoulders, they ventured into the thick brush.
Branches grasped at their hair and clothes, greedy for exposed skin. Using his jacket for protection, he reached over her head and held branches as she stepped deeper into the overgrown trail.
It wouldn’t do for the land to get a taste of their blood.
Chapter Two
SQUASHING THE HICCUPING sob, Julia refused to let fear take hold. Rarely was she parted from Markus while on assignment. Even then, she had other Enforcers with her. This situation was outside her realm of comfort. Then again, comfort wasn’t the motto for Enforcers and neither was crying like a baby. Years of training stiffened her backbone as she assessed her situation.
Now trapped in Fay with an unknown person, she needed an escape plan, maybe a distraction. She berated herself for foolishly ignoring him. She knew he was a mage which gave her some sense of comfort. Spells wouldn’t cause her any lasting harm and tilted the odds in her favour. He wouldn’t suspect her of magic resistance.
No one did. Thank goodness for that or she would’ve lost her head, literally, years ago. Beheading, the favoured method for dealing with her kind.
Unbidden, an old memory, one she tried hard to bury clawed its way to the surface.
A fountain of blood, long blond hair flying in the air and a headless body dropping at her feet.
Refusing to lose herself in the pain, she forced the image away, needing all her wits to get out of this alive and back to Markus.
Speaking of, she had no clue where Markus was or what happened to him. And while she had no idea how to get back home, she was an Enforcer, damn it. She could handle this. First point of order was getting out of this lousy forest. It was beautiful, but oh-so bloodthirsty.
As if it heard her thoughts, a vine caught around her foot and tugged, forcing Julia to fall. Instinct had her bracing with her hands and her exposed face received the brunt of the punishment. Sharp thorns scraped her, marking vertical lines across her cheeks and forehead. Pure luck saved her eyes from damage.
Tiny drops of blood dripped down her jaw and landed on the brown forest floor. Fascinated, she watched as the dirt and decaying leaves absorbed the vibrant red liquid, greedy for her life essence. Not a hint of it remained.
A tremor vibrated through the ground, rustling the dead plant matter where her blood had fallen.
Scrambling backwards on hands and knees, only to bump into sturdy legs, she managed to avoid touching the swirling undergrowth. The air became electric, almost painful, from so much energy. Gagging over the stench of death and rot, she struggled to settle her near empty stomach. Vomiting would not help her tough Enforcer image.
The Fae creature stood almost eight feet tall, covered in putrid leaves, twigs, and grass with mud and dirty water dripping down its body. A black hole opened and let loose an unearthly noise. It burrowed deep into her mind, rattled her teeth and nearly ruptured her eardrums. A moment passed before she realized several rows of sharp, jagged teeth filled its mouth.
All the better to rend flesh from the bones of its prey.
“DAMN IT, DAMN it, damn it! The guardians have tasted your blood. We need to get of here now!” He growled in frustration and swore some more. Once a guardian tasted an intruder's blood, it was near impossible to lose them in Fay lands.
Reaching the exit portal would take them a few minutes. They could make it. They had to. He grabbed her upper arm firmly and pulled her to her feet. Giving a wide berth to the mass of leaves and debris swirling around the large creature, he warily watched for any sudden movements. None came though. Instead it continued screaming.
They rushed through the trees and bushes, heedless of the scratches or spilled blood. Uninterrupted by any other creatures, their headlong flight ended as they reached the small opening and he understood why they’d reached the portal area unmolested.
The welcoming committee waited.
Jackson skidded to a stop at the edge of the meadow. His full attention focused on the new threat, a tall Fae woman. Well over six feet, she dominated the area, reined-in power seething below the surface.
She had a sleek, athletic build with small, high breasts. A bright yellow slip of a dress barely covered her, stopping mid-thigh and cut low on the chest with tiny straps holding it up. Her long silvery hair moved of its accord, caressing and wrapping around her exposed limbs. Most arresting of all was the pale purple skin that seemed to shine in the light.
A gorgeous Fae, one meant for fan
tasies and long nights of sweaty sex.
She smiled, cold and cruel, showing small pointed teeth.
“I’m Seraphina and you’re trespassing.” Her voice was soft, musical and oh-so deadly. He hastily suppressed a shiver of fear.
Three trolls and the leaf guardian they’d accidentally awakened stood in wedge formation behind her. Somehow the guardian had arrived here before them, most likely due to the earth magic tying it to this realm. Each one of them towered over Seraphina, yet her power dwarfed them.
The trolls were as ugly as she was beautiful. Rubbery greenish-grey skin covered in oozing sores; cracked yellowed teeth poked out between their lips; and dirty, lank, green hair hung just past their shoulders with their ears jutting out obscenely. Tattered cloth scarcely covered the groin area. They looked interchangeable, no discernible difference between them. As one, they shifted their weight and tightened their grips on the heavy wooden clubs, tree trunks that became twigs in their massive hands.
“This is Light Fay territory and you do not have permission from the Queen. She has ordered both of you to appear before her for your punishment. If you resist, execution is immediate.” The trolls grinned at the last part, eager for resistance. One started drooling at the thought of bloodshed.
“What’s the punishment?” He asked, refusing to cower.
Surprise flittered across Seraphina’s face at his gall to ask her a question. He assumed most mortals would be on their knees in fear. However, he dealt with demons on a regular basis. It took more than a powerful Fae to make him visibly quake.
“You would question me?!” Icy anger laced her beautiful voice, almost making it ugly. “You will submit or you will die.”
She glared at Jackson, daring him to disobey her.
Her hand twitched at her side and realized she was casting a spell. Too haughty and sure of her power, it was unlikely she was nervous.
Jackson had already gathered energy for his own spell, a silence one to render casting from his target near impossible. He hadn’t yet mastered how to target more than one person with mute, but he figured the trolls and the leaf guardian were the least of his worries. He had to silence Seraphina and fast.
A mocking smile curved his lips as he bent a knee, showing his surrender. Her fingers stilled, either because she no longer saw him as a threat or she’d completed her spell. Made no difference to him since it gave him time to snap his fingers and say “Muta.”
Most spells don’t require long, drawn out phrases, only the necessary energy, components and a word associated with the desired results. Some of the older mages preferred to use arcane words, words drilled into them through their training. The point was to make a spell comfortable to the user although basic similarities still existed between each caster.
Some spells, though, could only be cast by following the ritual exactly. One small minute difference would throw off the whole thing, especially when trying to summon demons. Through trial and error, as well as his training with the Enforcers, he figured out how to swiftly cast when his life depended upon it and which spells were the most efficient during battle.
Seraphina glared at him, her entire body shaking with visible rage. Her white hair whipped around her as if caught in a wind storm. Mortals rarely got the best of the Fair Folk and certainly not ones on Fay land uninvited. The lack of a voice didn’t stop her from commanding her bodyguards to attack though.
Again, the trolls moved as one, which was truly starting to creep out Jackson. He wondered if they shared just one brain, a fact which wouldn’t have shocked him if true. Trolls, admittedly, weren’t known for their intelligence. They were, however, known for the battle prowess and being damn near impossible to kill.
Jackson glanced over to check on the woman, getting his first real look at her. Generous lips curved in a taunting smile, a pert nose suited to her high cheekbones and dark eyes narrowed on her target. No fear and no hesitation. Several strands of dark brown hair escaped her ponytail, curling around her face. She had the stance of a warrior, one used to battle.
Her right hand touched a ruby stud earring, the other earrings glittering in the bright sunlight. As she whispered a quick word, too low for him to hear, a basketball-sized rainbow fireball appeared in her outstretched left hand. How odd. He’d never seen rainbow fire before. What kind of mage was she?
She promptly tossed at the nearest ugly troll.
All creatures had an instinctual fear of fire, including the otherworldly Fae. Trolls had another reason to fear it besides pain. It cauterized the wound and stopped a troll from regenerating. Remove the arm of a troll and it would just grow the limb back. Cut off the head and now there were two trolls. The head would grow a body while the body grew its head back. Which could explain why they were so damn dumb.
Never, under any circumstances, hack a troll to pieces. Fire was the only weapon against trolls.
The troll tried to run from the speeding fireball, tried to dodge it, but he was too slow. Or, more accurate, the woman had been faster at casting then the troll expected. Flames burst on the creature’s back, rapidly igniting its dirty, greasy green hair. Screams of pure terror and pain burst through the clearing.
The other Fae moved away from the flaming troll. No one helped put out the fire.
In their distraction, Jackson summoned his lesser imp, Xerix.
Sulfur clung to him, an unpleasant odor Jackson learned to ignore. It warred with the honey rot of Fay causing him to wrinkle his nose in defense. Through sheer strength of will, he disregarded the horrible stink and instead focused on his tiny minion.
The four-foot tall demon was an impressive sight. Polished black skin gleamed in the brilliant light. Swirls of smoke seemed to move beneath its skin, mesmerizing its target. Tiny white spikes protected its spine while two razor-sharp horns extended from its forehead. Bright red pupil-less eyes shone with malevolence and evil glee as it cackled over the flaming troll’s plight.
A small diamond inset on a thin gold band bound the creature's essence. A few years back, Jackson had confiscated it from a demon before he’d banished it back to its plane of existence. He figured the demon wouldn’t need it anymore. Although why a demon would need a bound imp in the first place was beyond him.
Not very powerful, lesser imps could still cause destruction and chaos, as well as a much needed distraction which would come in handy right about now.
Mental commands were a main component of summoning training. While more efficient to connect to the mind of a demon, many forgot the high price they paid. Nasty, violent creatures, they thought of gore, torture and death. Bombarded with these images sometimes caused weaker summoners to go insane, babbling about horrendous deeds.
Through painstaking care and years of practice, Jackson learned to ignore Xerix's voice. Demons loved power plays and mind games. By blocking the evil minion's voice, he'd proved his dominance over Xerix. Now, he followed orders and only on rare occasions tried to undermine Jackson.
An added bonus to speaking to the imp's mind, as his master, he stayed hidden. With no summoning circle or ritual outing him as the caster, Jackson's odds of surviving were a little higher.
He directed the imp to attack Seraphina. The one in command, she was the most dangerous.
As soon as Xerix streaked across the field towards the Fae, Jackson reached into his pocket for a small piece of string. His fingers moved swiftly and confidently, tying the rope into a noose. The familiar buildup of energy, a pressure at the base of his skull had him smiling. Casting magic was almost sexual in nature for him. The buildup, the body tingle and then the release.
Strong, almost overwhelming, the urge to discharge the energy consumed him.
Whispering the word “Contorsi”, he released the energy and watched with satisfaction as vines and roots exploded out of the ground where Seraphina stood. They wound their way up her legs, holding her immobile. Her mouth opened in a soundless scream of anger as she tried to dodge the imp while being rooted to one spot.
Shoving the rope back in his pocket, Jackson’s inattention almost cost him dearly. The rustle of leaves alerted him as the guardian swung one of its thorny branches. Turning, it caught him on the shoulder and fiery pain exploded in his arm. Jacket, shirt and skin ripped.
Damn it, no more physical shielding, worn out from the battle at the office building. The shielding absorbed a finite amount of hits before being consumed, leaving him exposed. His arm tingled and felt a little numb, but when he wiggled his fingers, they responded well enough for casting.
Mentally rifling through his spells, he decided to follow the woman’s lead and play with fire. The only one not vulnerable to it was Seraphina currently occupied with Xerix and the roots. No longer mute, she hit Xerix with a few nasty spells which he laughed off, his maniacal glee echoing throughout the clearing.
While Jackson hadn’t memorized any fireball spell, he wasn’t without a few spectacular tricks. One of his favourite spells, Flaming Arc, didn’t need any components and used minuscule finger gestures.
Graceful and elegant, he brought up his hands - while dodging swinging branches - and released a steady stream of flames from his fingertips. Lasting for less than thirty seconds, it engulfed the leaf guardian. More screams filled the air, an orchestra of misery, as the guardian tried to put out the flames. Staggering around in pain and terror, it bumped into the flaming troll and one of the other trolls. Chaos and confusion took over.
This was their chance to escape.
A SWIFT CHECK confirmed to Julia what she suspected, her knives and gun, gone. Mentally retracing her steps, she had no idea when she lost her weapons. In fact, she couldn’t remember having them when they crossed the threshold. Her shoulder holster light even then.
A grim smile curved her lips, grateful she’d recently imbued her ruby earring. She wasn’t defenseless, relying on another Enforcer to save her butt. The fireball had been a perfect way to deal with one of the trolls and caused the other two to flinch away from her in fear. Rainbow colours trailed the flaming troll.
Magic Resistant Page 2
