Blood Borne

by T. G. Ayer

"Okay, just try to pull me out okay. Don't come here. I don't think I even know how to get out of here."

  But I was too late. Even as I warned Saleem off, I felt his presence grow larger and larger, his energy coalescing beside me as his lifethread spilled him physically into the space beside me.

  "Saleem!" I growled. "I said don't come here."

  "Sorry.” His smile was sheepish as he shrugged. “There wasn't any other way. Or at least not one I know of."

  I glared at him, my head hot with the implication that we could now both be stuck here forever. "Well, how the hell do we get out of here if we survive this shit?"

  Saleem's energy pulsed fear tinged with bravado. "How about we leave that particular worry for after we deal with those two?" he said cocking his head at my attackers who'd now stiffened as they spotted Saleem. The pair shared a brief glance, spines taut, not even bothering to hide their reactions.

  At least I wasn't the only one a little out of my depth.

  Then I stiffened. The sphere of magic pulsed and shuddered as the bullets continued to impact. They'd kept bombarding one particular portion of the shield, something I would have done had it been me trying to get through. Focus your attack to weaken on particular spot.

  And, even as I gave the two asshole credit for their smarts, the shield protecting both Saleem and myself shattered.

  Allowing hundreds of bullets to speed toward us.

  3

  A cloud of bullets raced at Saleem and me and we shared the briefest of glances before both shifting our eyes and our minds to focus on the danger.

  You already managed to create one shield so how about I infuse your magic with mine and we make us a second one. Saleem’s voice reverberated inside my mind.

  Good plan, I replied, my tone emotionless.

  As one, we drew our magic and I thrust out my shield again. I was getting better at creating the magic although I was still struggling to keep the flow of power at a steady level. Had I been standing on solid ground when Saleem’s djinn power flooded my magic, I would most certainly have landed on my ass.

  I felt his power deep in my belly, coiling around my solar plexus, filling my limbs and my mind. It was too much, too consuming, and I let out a soft gasp.

  Sorry, Mel. I forgot you’re new to this. Saleem’s voice was regretful but he didn’t contain his magic, nor did he pull it back. Hang in there. Just try to breathe through it, feel your own magic through it.

  I swallowed hard. I felt buffeted, as though standing hip deep in the sea as wave after wave crashed hard into my body. Only thing was that I couldn't just swim with the breakers, let them flow over me and take me along back to the shore. Instead, I had to face each wave head on, absorb every tsunami into my essence, and join my power with Saleem’s as though I knew what I was doing.

  Breathe, came Saleem’s voice again. That was a bit too much for the first time but let me help you through it. Just open your mind to me a little and keep breathing. Once I’m done, use the power to help strengthen yourself to both protect yourself from my magic and to use it as though it were your own.

  And I felt something else flowing into me from him. A sense of peace, a strength with the solidity of iron and yet flexible enough that I could close it around me like a blanket of protection.

  This is so weird, I whispered, feeling a sense of calm filter through me as Saleem’s magic wrapped itself around my essence.

  You’ll eventually learn how to access this level of power. If you’d practiced like I’d asked--

  Saleem?

  Yes, Mel?

  This isn’t the time for I told you so’s.

  Oh, ok. That’s fine. Just as long as I can say I told you so when were done here.

  I snorted. Sure. Just try to stay alive in order to actually say the words. Then you can say it as much as you like.

  We both fell silent, focusing minds and magic on the hail of bullets. I threw up a shield again, and this time it flamed with djinn power. The magical threads that were mine, with their elegant coppery filaments now glowed with flames from the dijinn prince's power. The net of magic had been instantly transformed into globe of fire

  A bubble of some heated emotion filtered through to me and I smiled--Saleem was as amazed as I was at the sight.

  But I had no time to study it with the awe that it deserved, no time to acknowledge it, as the bullets began pelting the glowing shield dozens at a time. Each missile shattered into pieces as they came into contact with the magic, pulverised by the combination of my power with Saleem’s djinn magic.

  Wow wasn’t even a word that could define my reaction. The magic had held and the bullets were all crashing into my ward, shattering into tiny particles that we left behind in a trail that looked like dozens of galaxies dropped in our wake. We were still careening down the dark tunnel although I’d begun to get used to the sensation. Saleem though was currently trying to hold himself upright, thrusting his arms out every so often to keep his balance.

  I have a question, Saleem asked as we both held the sphere of magic together and watched as the attackers reached behind them to draw forth more strange weapons.

  Shoot, I replied out the side of my mouth.

  How are these guys able to keep themselves vertical--if it can be called vertical in this weird-ass place? I thought you said you summoned this place.

  Not summoned. I think I opened a portal in the Veil. But I’ve never even heard of such a plane though I suspect it’s some deeper level of the Ether. Does the Ether have its own plane of Hell?

  Because seriously, if it did, then this could fit the bill as Ethereal Hell.

  But Saleem didn’t have time to answer. The two assailants aimed their weapons at us and this time I could just make out the shimmer of magical energy that appeared to coat the guns. They were strange-looking things, more similar in shape and size to the muskets of centuries past. The one thing that struck the fear of all the gods in me was the barrel protruding from the bottom of the weapon, a clear casing that revealed the hundreds of rounds of shimmering ammunition within. They’d brought out the heavy artillery, a magical machine-gun which made me suddenly afraid.

  Saleem’s voice filled my mind. Stay calm and breathe. I feel like these two have some sort of sensor in those masks. It’s possible they are able to pick up on if we are worried or afraid.

  You think maybe those things can read our auras? I asked, already pretty certain Saleem was onto something. I wonder if they have magic so advanced that their ammo also have the ability to adapt to the magic they are attacking.

  If that is the case then it really sucks for us right now.

  Saleem’s response was hard and terse enough to get me worried. I resisted the temptation to look at his face.

  No, that’s not how we’re going to face this, I replied quickly, as though a fast response would curb his negativity.

  I was unsure why Saleem had adopted such a bad attitude so suddenly but I didn't want to dwell on it. Perhaps he was struggling, possibly losing his own strength as he propped me up with his magic. If that was the case, I had to work faster.

  And smarter.

  Although smarter would imply that I knew what I was doing, so I had to settle for faster.

  I cleared my throat. Okay, maybe let's boost this shield and hope it holds. Then we can work on getting our asses out of here alive.

  Saleem's affirmative came along his magic and settled within my heart. It helped to feel him within my awareness, an odd sensation, but it was a familiarity that I certainly could get used to.

  I rolled my shoulders and focused on the two assailants who were now calmly sending a stream of gunfire toward our shield. Their bullets hit hard, and I could feel them punching against the wall of my magic. I also sensed the magic knitting together even tighter in response and I gritted my teeth and kept the magic at full bore.

  When the second assailant stopped shooting and looped his weapon back over his shoulder, I had to pause and send up a prayer that whatever
weapon he'd now pull out would be one I was able to defend against.

  He reached into one of the small zippered pockets on the side of his pants, I held my breath. Breath turned to ice in my chest when he pulled out a silver sphere indented with black bumps all along its shiny, smooth surface.

  Please tell me that's not what I think it is, I whispered to Saleem.

  Sorry, babe. It's probably exactly what you think it is. These guys seem like they're unstoppable.

  Yeah. Two guys suddenly on my tail carrying weaponry enough to obliterate half the mage population of North America? I find that a little hard to take on board as a coincidence.

  You musta done something really bad, Saleem offered though I heard his laughter loud and clear.

  Listen here, djinn. I've done a lot of bad somethings. And so have you and Kai, and Logan and goddess knows who else. So why are these assholes after me?

  The djinn didn't get a chance to answer.

  4

  The assailant with the bomb drew his arm back and tossed the device at us. I held the magic fast, pushing as much power as I could into the field. The grenade hit the wall of magic, sending its solid metal exterior shivering and undulating, and for a moment I thought I'd won. That my magic had held off the bomb.

  But I was wrong. Not that I was surprised considering everything I'd done in the last hour had been wrong with a side of wrong.

  The grenade shuddered against the magical field, its covering melting like silvery slime until the wall of magic itself began to grow clearer. The grenade didn't punch a hole through my ward.

  No. Instead, it appeared to pass right through the protective shield as though my magical barrier was nothing more than a fishing net. The grenade solidified again once it had penetrated the wall of my ward.

  And then it exploded.

  The shockwave hit both Saleem and me harder than I'd expected and we both went tumbling over and over. But I wasn't about to allow these assholes or their fancy bomb to force me let go of my power.

  I boosted more energy into the shield then shifted outside of its walls before closing it over the grenade which had thrown thousands of tiny vibrating bullets in every direction. The mini bombs began to hit the wall of my shield from within, all exploding as they slammed into the magical ward then disintegrated into nothing.

  That helped, Saleem said, sounding relieved.

  But only a little.They'll have more where that came from.

  Spoke too soon, tracker, Saleem muttered, and I almost wanted to bite my tongue as we watched the attacker reached for his pocket again and withdrew a second bomb.

  What the hell does he have in his pocket? Did he steal Mary Poppins' bag or something?

  Saleem muttered something beneath his breath, but I didn't ask him to repeat it only because I suddenly felt his magical presence withdraw enough to frighten me.

  Saleem? What are you doing?

  I have an idea, but I need some of my power back. Don't worry though. I only need a teeny bit of it.

  That's not why I'm asking. Don't do anything stupid, I warned, but I was too late.

  Saleem hovered to the side of me, then shifted around the protective sphere. I was ready to draw the field around us again now that the grenade had been reduced to dust, but Saleem said, Cover yourself but give me a few seconds before you throw the field over me.

  I wanted to yell at him that this wasn't a good idea, but there wasn't time to fight with the stubborn djinn. I focused on wielding the magic and watched him with one part of my mind while the other portion of my awareness registered another barrage of bullets coming at me courtesy of the first attacker. He'd decided to take advantage of my distraction by the fancy grenade, but I wasn't about to let him get one over me.

  Saleem flitted forward while I held off the hail of bullets. The djinn reached about halfway between me and the two attackers just in time as the second attacker stuck out his arm to hurl the bomb at me. The djinn prince sent a flash of power at the assailant who wrenched himself backward the moment he saw the oncoming ball of djinn fire.

  But the man was too late and could only yell out as Saleem's fire engulfed him. The impact of Saleem's power not only knocked into the attacker, but it also set off the grenade.

  Saleem had been smart enough to throw a ball of djinn magic around the man, but he wasn't fast enough--probably running on too little power what with loaning me so much of it.

  The grenade and Saleem's power exploded in a blast of white and orange flames sending him flying backward toward the magical ward. He slammed into the outer layer hard and bounced off as though he'd hit a trampoline or something, sending him hurtling ahead of me into the dark tunnel.

  Shit.

  The attacker though wasn't so lucky as to be knocked unconscious. The grenade exploded far too close to him, and Saleem's djinn fire helped to contain the destruction.

  The explosion disintegrated the man, shredding him to bits of blood and bone and black plastic all spiraling in on itself within the magical vortex. The bloody gory interior of the magical globe was fascinating and all, but I had a couple of problems on my hands even though assailant number two was out of the game.

  Assailant number one was still very much present, and so were his hail of bullets. And of course, I had one djinn prince hurtling away from me at top speed.

  I wasn't sure what I supposed to do first. Get Saleem before his disappeared from sight into this alien plane or defend myself against the deadly wall of bullets.

  It was all beginning to be a drain on my powers and my senses. But I couldn't lose faith. And I couldn't let anything happen to Saleem.

  So, in a single fraction of a second, I made a decision. I lowered my concentration on the field of energy that I'd been holding in place, and I surged forward, propelling myself toward Saleem.

  Thrusting out a hand in the hopes of grabbing onto him the moment I was close enough, I was surprised as electricity began to tingle from my fingertips.

  My mind was so focused on getting a hold of Saleem that my power refashioned itself into a lasso of sorts and had burst out in a thin stream aimed directly at Saleem.

  Within seconds, I sensed his presence at the other end of the magical rope, felt it grow stronger as the lasso wrapped around him more securely. Slowly, I began to pull Saleem back toward me, relief flooding me enough to make me slightly dizzy.

  I let out a breath and with one hand still controlling the magical rope to pull Saleem back toward me, I shifted my attention back to the remaining attacker who appeared dead set on ending my existence.

  Anger filled me, fueling my power enough that the ball of energy expanded in a rush and wrapped around the guy. He flailed, almost losing hold of his weapon as he backpedaled away from the reach of my power.

  But he couldn't stay safe unless he got himself the hell out of the tunnel. Either this was a do-or-die mission or he had no clue how to leave, because he shimmied himself briskly in order to remain upright, his fingers still gripping his weapon.

  His eyes widened as he stared at the mangled remains of his gun which had been twisted almost beyond recognition in the impact with my magic.

  I'd managed to eliminate his weapon but the cloud of bullets were still aimed at me, as though they were acting on some sort of preprogrammed intelligence, like a hive mind intent on trying every trick in the book to kill me. Whoever these people were, they had a lot of explaining to do. Problem was there was little chance of me ever finding out what they wanted unless I got this guy out alive.

  But I wasn't all that sure that I gave a damn.

  5

  Just then, the air around me within the tunnel dropped temperature, growing so cold I could see the breath as I exhaled. Weird if this was the ether or any place connected to the ethereal planes.

  The attacker too, let out a cloud of mist on his next breath and stiffened, staring around him. I wished I could see his face behind that stupid mask.

  Was he asking for help, was he recognising the cha
nges as a precursor to something worse? Any information he could have given me would have helped but I didn't have time to waste.

  I used his moment of hesitation to send a bolt of electric energy straight at his chest. If he was human, he'd get knocked out. If he was machine, I had to hope he had his energy core or battery or whatever within his torso.

  If I'd built an android that's where I'd put its battery pack. The bolt of power hit him hard, sending him tumbling over and over and away from me as he lost control of his momentum and fell within the stream that was pulling us along the tunnel.

  I threw a lasso around him too, almost with barely a thought, and then took a breath, splitting my attention on my magic to focus on the other life I held within my grasp.

  Now what was I supposed to do?

  I had an unconscious djinn to attend to though, and I drew him in as fast as I was able. As soon as he was at my side, I shifted the focus of my energy to study the tunnel, hoping to figure out why the temperature had dropped.

  And then my heart stilled.

  The magic pulsed and my breath stuttered, locking up in my throat. Energy raced around me, within me, my brain feeling like it was about to explode.

  Something dark coiled around my magic now, a sense of dense nothingness, a sense of cold anger that I wasn’t sure I was even able to get my mind around. My own power, whatever magical ability I now possessed that had created the shield, that had protected me before, now reared back, at first seeming repelled by the cloying darkness.

  And then suddenly it surged forward like a snake, as though to attack and obliterate. I felt the power of my new magic undulate as though it wanted me to set it free to do its own thing. But I didn’t know how.

  Even if I believed that to be a smart thing to do, something told me that whatever this darkness was, whatever this cloying insidious magic was, nothing good would come of attacking it when I knew nothing about it.

  And something else told me that I had no idea what I was capable of, what my new magic could actually do. Which meant I had no idea what would happen if I unleashed my power on the darkness.