Rivals (The Cross-Worlds Coven Series Book 3)

by Phil Stern

  Feeling quite useless, the teenager turned about and tentatively extended her magical senses into the alien woods. Upon detecting a sleeping family of chipmunks, Tiffany nervously fell against the nearest unicorn. Snorting, the powerful equine gave her a baleful look. Clearly, the newbie witch shouldn’t be mucking about their perimeter, bothering the designated sentinels.

  “Tiffany, come here.” Her long, dark hair tied back in a businesslike pony tail, Barbara waved her over. “Stop getting in the way.”

  Blushing furiously, she crossed back into the center of the clearing to stand beside Barbara. Studying her a moment, the mission leader handed over a long, sheathed sword. “Just relax. Everything’s going to be all right.”

  On Tiffany’s first attempt to strap the weapon about her hips, the sword slipped and clattered down to the ground. Two experienced operatives rolled their eyes at one another, turning away with a smile. Embarrassed, she bent over to retrieve the weapon.

  “Hey!” Firmly grabbing Tiffany’s arm, Barbara hauled the 18-year-old back up to look right into her eyes. “Are you freaking out here?”

  “No!” she snapped, jerking away from her. “I’m fine.”

  “It’s not too late to go back to Haven.” Irritably, Barbara flicked her head at the portal. “I don’t have time to babysit you here.”

  “I said I’m fine,” Tiffany replied, defiantly standing tall. “Listen, don’t worry about me.”

  “Then don’t act like I need to.” Holding out her palm, facing downward, the fallen blade magically snapped up into Barbara’s hand. “That’s how you pick up a sword. Now put it on and get ready.”

  April now came lunging through the portal, tumbling over the same root as Tiffany. Unlike her fellow freshman sorceress, however, the young blonde quickly regained her equilibrium. Already armed, April just calmly waited to one side, earth stone lightly pulsing. Feeling almost humiliated, Tiffany somehow managed to get her sword in place and stay out the way as well.

  Sending the unicorns back through the portal one by one, the inter-dimensional gateway finally faded away. Soon they were all trooping off in a single file, Tiffany and April in the middle of the line.

  “Why didn’t we keep the uni’s here?” Tiffany whispered in April’s ear.

  “They’d be too vulnerable,” she confidently replied, turning her head about to whisper back. “In a circular formation, all facing outward, they could fend off a werewolf attack. But at night, bumbling about in the dark? They’re just not maneuverable enough. In a melee the werewolves could take them down from the side and rear.”

  “Shut up, you two,” the sorceress behind them ordered. “By the stone, any wolves within ten miles could hear you.”

  As if their weren’t sound buffers about their formation, Tiffany thought. Sometimes it seemed like the older women just liked to boss them around for no reason.

  They marched on for nearly an hour, traveling over a small rise, down through a valley, and up to the top of another gentle hill. It was generally a pleasant night, though this newest plateau was a bit cold and damp for Tiffany’s taste. Peth was nice, in it’s way, though not like Haven or Dytha. But what about Earth! Eleanor had said she might start training there next week...

  Nearly bumping into April’s back, the column suddenly halted. A moment later Barbara briskly walked down the line, speaking to everyone at once.

  “The wolves moved faster than we thought,” she tersely explained. “They’re already on the edge of the village. We don’t have time to set up the magical shield around everything like we initially planned.”

  Frowning, Tiffany glanced down at the sleepy little village at the base of the hill before them. Sure enough, she could magically “see” a dozen werewolves meandering through the thickly forested plain beyond, heading straight for the human enclave.

  “So what does that mean?” April asked.

  “It means we fight,” another witch answered, drawing her sword.

  “The odds are even,” someone else said. “It should be okay.”

  “We have the advantage of surprise. They don’t know we’re here.” Still, Barbara cast a worried look at her two rookies. “Are you guys up for this?”

  “Of course,” April easily answered, her earth stone beginning to softly hum.

  “Let’s go,” Tiffany heard herself saying, even while awkwardly banging the tip of her sheathed sword into a large rock.

  Looking them over, Barbara came to a quick decision. “All right, we all go. Spread out and make your way down the hill in a general line. Then just enter the village individually from the rear.”

  “Then what?” Tiffany asked.

  “Then you just kill any wolves you happen to see,” someone said.

  Feigning confidence she didn’t feel, Tiffany walked out to the far left flank of the formation, then began making her way down the forested hillside. April was immediately to her right, with the rest of the group stretching to the other end of the hillside. At the moment they could all support one another, but Tiffany realized that once they entered the village itself, she’d be cut off from her sisters by all the homes and fences. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that this whole thing would quickly dissolve into individual combat for each sorceress.

  During her training back in Haven, Tiffany had been taught that speed and quickness were essential in fighting werewolves. As with all shape-shifting species, they liked to close with human opponents, relying on their natural animal ferocity and strength. The trick was to kill them before they could get a paw on you. Allowing wolves to grapple you to the ground was to be avoided at all costs. Theoretically, that seemed simple enough.

  Damn. Rocking to a halt, Tiffany tried to disentangle her sleeve from an annoying thorn bush. She really liked this shirt. Even though she could just magically create a new one anytime, it was really comfortable...

  Barbara, in the middle of the line, instantly sensed that her far left flanker had stopped. Pausing herself, the entire line, now two-thirds of the way down the hillside, ceased moving. Clearly, the formation needed to move as a unit or not at all.

  Blushing furiously, Tiffany just yanked her left arm free, cringing at the sound of rippling cloth. Purposefully taking two steps forward, she let Barbara know she was okay. A moment later the entire line began moving again, Tiffany quickly falling into pace.

  Great, the 18-year-old thought. No matter what happens now, she’d have to endure Barbara’s ranting about her miscue when they got back home. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any detail of Coven operations tiny enough not to be picked on.

  Before long the trees began noticeably thinning, the ground quickly leveling off once more. Almost before she knew it, Tiffany found herself walking past a shed sitting on the wood line, then into a lane beside an outlying home. Soon her booted foot landed on a hardened dirt lane, without the crunch of dried leaves and pine needles underneath. Another two dozen strides brought the young sorceress to a shadowy intersection, the low houses on each corner dark and quiet.

  Human villages in magical lands typically abided by an unofficial curfew, with everyone safely tucked into their homes after dark. This place was no different, an idle observer perhaps even thinking the entire hamlet abandoned. However, there were over a thousand souls tucked away behind their stout doors and thick windows, everyone wishing for yet another dawn unmolested by magical predators. But if the wolves weren’t stopped by Tiffany and her sisters, perhaps several dozen humans wouldn’t make it to sunrise alive.

  Though still vaguely sensing her Coven-mates stretched off to the right, the intervening buildings made for an indistinct magical/mental picture. Momentarily confused, the teenager tried to firmly reacquire April, only to feel her age-mate flicker out entirely. Was she...gone? But how could...

  No. April was merely following standard Coven doctrine, which called for invisibility spells and muting your own magical signature in such situations. Blushing once more, Tiffany awkwardly drew the sword and went into
“silent running” mode herself. Quickly clearing her last position, Tiffany then hid between two houses, scanning the lane ahead.

  Sure enough, a huge black wolf soon came sauntering down the lane, his eyes whirling a contented red. Catching her breath, Tiffany’s hand almost cramped from gripping the sword so tightly. As near as she could tell, though, the wolf didn’t know the young sorceress was there.

  Pausing between two houses, the canine lazily lifted his snout to sniff the air, obviously trying to decide which abode to assail first. Then, with an almost absurd, casual air, the malignant beast walked over to the far side of the street, reared up on it’s hind legs, and peered in through a window. A child’s cry could be heard from inside the home, followed by shushing from an equally frightened mother. Growling in contentment, the werewolf then dropped down to all four paws again. Briefly considering, he then strolled over to the front door and began changing into a man, his back still to Tiffany.

  Well, Barbara had clearly thought sticking both herself and April at the end of the line might keep them clear of action. But here it was. Gathering her power, Tiffany smoothly stood and strode forward, pumping bright earth fire into her now shrieking blade.

  The wolf/man had just punched a fist through the oak front door, preparing to rush in and claim his victims. But the stunned shape-shifter now whipped his hairy head about, aghast at the sight of a now-visible witch directly behind him, saturating the night with her wild power. With his arm still extended through the wood, the werewolf was momentarily trapped.

  At this point, a more experienced warrior would have chosen speed over waiting for a full-power blast, striking the wolf down instantly. Yet Tiffany hesitated, waiting for the perfect moment. After all, she didn’t just want to wound him. And what if she missed entirely? I mean, would the house burn down or something?

  Locking gazes for the briefest moment, the cagy beast instantly saw the fear and inexperience in his opponent’s eyes. Pulling back his hand, the man turned and dove down to the ground midway between them. Surprised and slow, Tiffany blasted the now vacant entranceway with earth fire, the door itself ripped from it’s hinges and flung deeper into the abode.

  Hitting the dirt lane in a roll, the beast shifted fully back into a wolf. Without any pause whatsoever, he then lunged at Tiffany’s legs, huge jaws preparing to rip her apart.

  But now Tiffany’s instincts took over. Gingerly leaping aside, her blade slashed down into the side of the charging werewolf’s head. The attendant burst of earth fire sent the dazed, bleeding wolf skidding past her to crunch up against the opposite house, where it lay still.

  Now people began crying and yelling from several homes, with candlelight showing through a few windows. From the mangled, smoldering doorway of the wolf’s intended target, a mother and two young faces peered out.

  “Are you here to kill us?” the woman defiantly yelled at Tiffany. “Monster!”

  “What? No!” Dropping her guard, Tiffany ran a hand back through her long, dark hair. “But that wolf wanted to...”

  Turning and pointing wildly behind her, the young sorceress trailed off in horror. Instead of a wolf carcass, there was only a bloody smear against the side of the house. The beast itself was gone, presumably stalking her even now.

  With a curse, Tiffany magically leapt up onto the woman’s roof. Sure enough, the wolf burst from it’s own invisibility spell mid-strike, it’s claws and teeth precisely transecting her previous position. Had she not reacted when she did, Tiffany would be dead.

  But the youngster was learning. Before the wolf could disappear again, Tiffany magically swept the brute’s legs out from underneath him from the rooftop. Crashing down on his side, the shape-shifter was momentarily confused. That was all the opening Tiffany needed to drop down nearly on top of him, her right boot smashing onto the canine’s front paw.

  Neatly jumping up over his counterstrike, Tiffany swung the sword with all her might, the heavy blade coming straight down on the beast’s head. Even for a werewolf, that was a tough blow to take. Knocked nearly unconscious, the brute still fell forward, it’s jaws somehow clamping down onto Tiffany’s ankle.

  Shrieking in sudden pain, the teenage witch now drove her blade straight down into the wolf’s ribs, adding a surge of earth fire for good measure. Nearly blasted in two, the mutilated, writhing wolf was flung off a dozen feet. Still, it took several seconds for the creature to finally lay still, the red glow finally fading from his tortured face.

  By now the shrieking family had retreated deeper into their damaged home. For the moment, at least, the street was empty.

  Tiffany was dimly aware of other battles taking place farther into town, with tiny bursts of earth fire visible over the rooftops. A nearly continuous roar from several werewolves dominated the night air, mixed with the shriek of at least one wounded sorceress.

  Clearly, the element of surprise was long gone. Dashing past the dead wolf, Tiffany gathered her power once more. April was in the next sector over, and might need help...

  Without warning, a husky body exploded into her from the side. Sent careening through the air, the neophyte sorceress was driven into yet another home, head first. Excruciating pain flooded the young woman’s nervous system, combined with the most intense terror she’d ever experienced. Helplessly flopping down to the ground, Tiffany’s face was instantly covered in blood from a deep scalp wound.

  When all else fails, keep moving. Yet when Tiffany tried to rise, her right leg slipped and gave out. Nose burrowing into the dirt, an agonizing mixture of soil and pebbles was ground into the bloody mess saturating Tiffany’s eyes. Effectively, she was blinded.

  “You bitch!” The guttural, harsh voice was right behind her. Instantly, a huge hand closed around Tiffany neck, hauling her up. Unable to breathe or think, the freshman sorceress was slammed up against the wooden wall once more, back first, rattling every bone in her body. “You will suffer for this!”

  Momentarily blinking away the gore, Tiffany saw a werewolf, in human form, looming before her. He was nearly seven feet tall, with the mass and strength of three men. Arm outstretched, the savage creature was still tightly squeezing the young witch’s throat. Desperately, Tiffany’s right hand dropped down to her earth stone.

  “No!” the wolf bellowed, his other fist driving deep into her stomach. Hefting Tiffany up with both hands, the wolf then body slammed her into the ground with immense force.

  With all the air driven from her body, the terrified, crying teenager nearly choked on her own blood and vomit. Pain came from everywhere, flowing from one end of her body to the other. The throbbing in her head was so bad she couldn’t even begin to access any magic. It was like her mind was spiraling out of control, knocking everything else completely out of whack. And even if Tiffany hadn’t lost her sword, there was no strength to wield it. It was all she could do to brace a shaking hand on the dirt, rising up just a few inches.

  But a swift kick to the side ended even that effort. Collapsing back down, Tiffany realized she was beaten. In fact, her earth stone felt dead already, the green fire completely inert.

  “Ah, a young one,” the beast seethed. Reaching down, he then easily lifted Tiffany back up over his head again with just one hand. “I love the young ones.”

  Facing downward, the werewolf’s massive fist propped painfully into her stomach, Tiffany felt her boots ripped away. A moment later her jeans had been yanked off, followed by the final rending of her favorite shirt. Now only in her underclothes, she was summarily dropped back down to the ground from about ten feet up, once more hitting the dirt very hard.

  “I am Grund,” the brute announced, a hairy hand now casually resting on her back. “Since you now belong to me, I will mark you.”

  “No!” she gasped, but it was no use. Her mouth still clogged with filth, Tiffany could barely even scream as Grund’s teeth ripped into her right hip, penetrating down to the bone.

  Tiffany realized that this was the end. If the savage creature di
dn’t fatally sever an artery, he surely intended to leave her crippled. That was a favorite werewolf tactic, hobbling live prey for later retrieval. In many cases, the victim’s own terror was enough to kill them even before the werewolf returned.

  Yet there was one final hope. Her strength failing, the pain beyond belief, Tiffany once more tried to reach her earth stone. For nine years now it hadn’t failed her. Even as she felt Grund gather himself, happily preparing to rip a large chunk of skin and muscle clear off her body, she thought there was a chance. Just a little closer, and then...

  But the earth fire that saved Tiffany that night didn’t come from her own magical talisman. As if from a great distance, she sensed the searing, intoxicating flames immerse the vicious wolf. Surprised, Grund hastily withdrew his fangs from his victim’s body, rearing up to face this latest enemy.

  Barbara’s second blast blew Grund away from Tiffany entirely. Still face down in the dirt, the sudden removal of the werewolf’s malignant bulk brought an inescapable relief to the young sorceress. Crying and writhing, her vision still largely impaired, Tiffany was only vaguely aware of the brief battle out in the street to one side. Barely a minute later she heard the pounding gait of a retreating werewolf, baying his fury to the world-at-large.

  Utterly disoriented and quickly falling into shock, Tiffany somehow managed to sit up as Barbara gently washed the blood and dirt from her face. Taking in deep lungsfull of air, the young brunette belatedly realized that she was alive! On the verge of death, her Coven-mates had rescued her. Sweet relief cascaded through the teenager’s being, combined with an equal dose of humiliation at her defeat.

  “Tiffany! Hey!” The mission leader urgently shook her shoulders. “Are you all right? Open your eyes, please.”

  Her head lolling back, Tiffany peered out through a tiny crack in her vision. Barbara’s face loomed before her own, with two other sorceresses standing farther back.