Guardians Of Magic: The Revelations of Oriceran (The Leira Chronicles Book 8)

by Martha Carr

  He looked up at the ceiling. “Yeah, okay, why not? It’s been Freaky Friday for some time now. Portals to different worlds. Pointy eared men who can throw a mean fireball. Why not an invisible helper. Sure… go for it. I’m all yours.” Charlie distractedly drank down more bourbon, waving his arm. “I mean, what else can I lose at this point?”

  The dark mist seeped in from every corner sliding toward Charlie, but it took a moment for him to notice and another for it to register with him that something was wrong. It was the unusual smell that he noticed first. Unpleasant but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

  His eyes turned completely black as the mist crept closer.

  “What the fuck?”

  He dropped the glass, the crystal banging with a thud and a slight bounce against the thick Persian carpet, rolling onto the wood floor. Charlie’s body shook as he sunk to his knees, his eyes wide with fear, the darkness creeping up through his veins.

  “Not like this…” It was his last words dropping off into a low moan as the dark mist enveloped him completely sucking him into the world in between, leaving behind a damp smell of bourbon on the rug but no other sign of whatever happened to Charlie Monaghan.

  ***

  Lucius rolled his head to the side, stretching his neck. He was in human form, dressed in the clothes he stole from a house near the Napa estate. He could feel the mist gathering strength from more volunteers who played too long in dark magic and gave in to the call. “A human. Will have to do.”

  He had gotten used to the draw of energy and was good at telling when the body that was claimed was magical or not.

  He smiled, craving a shift into the beast but resisting the urge. The connection to the other side of the veil was strong but there was the mission, still. Hunt down Rhazdon. He could feel her presence in the world.

  The dark mist had other plans and was trying to turn his head and get him to search for more energy. Go after Leira Berens. He was happy to oblige but that was second on his agenda. His muscles ached and his skin rippled along his back as he stopped just on the edge of shifting into the animal. “Not right now. Time to do some recon. You’ll get what you want, soon enough.”

  The darkness was like a bad marriage for Lucius that he couldn’t quite shake and instead had to make compromises where everyone at least got their piece of hell.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  The troll rolled into the guest house after breakfast looking for food, still wearing his cape and mask.

  “Whoa there…” Leira picked him and held him out in front of her. “What is that smell? Why do you smell like…” She held him just a little closer to her face. “Is that cow manure? Tell me you weren’t tipping cows. That’s not nice, you know.”

  “You can tip a cow?” squeaked the troll, giving her a wink.

  “Not exactly an answer.” She carried Yumfuck to the kitchen and pulled out an old plastic bucket from under the sink, filling it with a few inches of warm water and squirting dish soap in it. “Think of this as a bathtub with bubbles. Go for it. There’s bacon in it for you afterwards.”

  “You had me at bacon.” The troll dropped the dirty mask and cape, draping them over the sides and dove headfirst into the water, doing the backstroke around the edge.

  “Estelle’s making breakfast for me. The woman has some weird radar. She can always tell when I need comfort food. Try scrubbing off some of that while I’m gone. I’ll even see if I can wrangle a pancake for you. It’s like a flat doughnut…”

  Leira went outside and found Correk sitting by himself sipping coffee. Estelle was behind the bar standing on her step stool drying glasses, occasionally glancing backward toward the kitchen.

  Estelle came over with another mug and a fresh pot of coffee, setting both down in front of Leira. “Chow will be out in a few. You two take a load off.” A cigarette bobbled between her lips as she spoke. She blew a perfect stream of smoke just as the wind picked up, blowing it back around her head. She closed one eye and breathed in deeper, blowing out more smoke as she headed back inside the bar.

  “Sure she’s not magical?”

  “I check all the time,” said Correk, pouring coffee into Leira’s mug and pushing it toward her. “One hundred percent Texan. Hell, maybe that’s its own kind of hellacious magic.”

  “Mom would agree with that.” Leira crossed her legs, trying to figure out how to start. Not a good way. “You okay? Look, I’m not good at checking on others. Not a lot of practice. Hagan will tell you I kind of suck at it. I mean if you’re in trouble I know how to run in and do my best but…”

  “This is the most you’ve babbled the entire time I’ve known you.”

  Leira gave him a crooked smile. “Yeah, I think we’ve entered the awkward phase.”

  “Speak for yourself.”

  “Yeah? Plenty of past elven conquests? Smooth, and you’re an effin liar. You didn’t answer me. You doing okay knowing Rhazdon is just across town living in really nice digs with your fearless mentor?”

  Correk clenched his jaw but tried to hide it by drinking from his mug but Leira saw it. “I’m making peace with it. It’s not the first time I’ve had to let go of revenge. Probably not the last. The world got more complicated since we fought her on Lavender Rock and the stakes got higher. I can do something foolish and finally kill the bitch and lose the chance to put down the dark wizarding families before things escalate. Maybe even give away Lucius’ chance at getting back his old life…” He fell silent as Leira reached across the table and took his hand, lacing her fingers with his.

  “When you put it that way, doesn’t seem fair to steal that from him. Despite what he’s become, none of this was his idea. You’re a good man, Correk.”

  The gate swung open and Leira quickly pulled her hand back. Not ready to broadcast to the world. She felt her face warm as Correk smiled, arching an eyebrow. “Too much PDA?” he whispered.

  “Not enough practice.” Still better at battling dark forces than just holding your hand. Not embarrassing at all. “Like I’m back in eighth grade but I can carry a gun and shoot off fireballs.”

  “Ah, you do know how to talk dirty.”

  “This is a surprising side of you. Like finding the good prize in your Crackerjacks. It’s a classic snack that came with a prize.”

  “So much goodness yet to discover.”

  “I can tell our trash talk is going to consist mostly of trashy food.”

  “We’ll see.” Correk held up his hands and quickly made a small ball of light with a storm inside of it, handing it over to Leira.

  “Okay… Elven gifts. Better than flowers but why the storm theme.”

  “Patience…”

  Leira held the small orb in the palm of her hand and watched as the storm passed and the Northern Lights shone inside. “Yeah, better than flowers.” The ball was slowly pulled apart by the wind still blowing across the patio, the blue and green lights still trailing behind it.

  Hagan came through the opening, striding over to the table carrying a familiar pink box. “I figured you could use some of the good stuff after yesterday.” He set the box down on the table and looked around for a clean mug. “You think Estelle has any behind the bar? Hang on.” He ran behind the bar and was bent over digging around on a shelf when Estelle came out swatting him with a bar towel. Hagan stood up, backing up with his hands out. “Okay, okay. I invaded your territory. Just looking for a mug.”

  Estelle gave out a disgruntled harrumph and handed him a mug, one hand on her hip as she looked over at Correk and Leira.

  “What?” Hagan looked in the same direction but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “I brought doughnuts. Do I smell bacon? Can I get in on some of that?” He thought for sure he heard Estelle mumble, ‘some detective’ as she went back into the bar.

  “Thanks for sending Lois yesterday.” Leira looked inside the box and pulled out a chocolate cake doughnut.

  “Wish I could have done more. Not used to being back up. Felt kind of
weird. Rose says I’ll get used to it.”

  Estelle brought over a large tray that dwarfed her small figure, easily balancing it as she set down three plates, still giving side eye to Hagan. She went back inside without another word.

  “Did I do something to her?”

  I can be this kind of brave. Leira took Correk’s hand and held on, giving Hagan a crooked smile.

  Hagan was still rustling around in the box and he looked up with a cruller in his hands, his mouth wide open. “Oh. Ooooh. Huh, well, I’ll be. You are still full of surprises, Berens. I suppose this means I lose the bet with Rose and Yumfuck. I swore you’d have to retire first before you’d really notice men. Rose picked a couple years from now. Gotta give it to the small furry one. He said this spring. Ironically, I got to shell out twenty bucks to him… again. Don’t ask.” Hagan bit down on half the cruller, pleased with himself as Leira gave him a dead fish look.

  “There you go. That’s the Leira I know. A little hand holding, a menacing look… I get why the red-headed fire cracker is not too happy with my timing. Figures. It’s about my usual. Hey, does anyone know how Yumfuck got my number at home? He left Rose a message. I had to explain to her who was making that high-pitched cackle on our answering machine and what a troll is… Something about a new cape and a mask.”

  Leira smiled watching her old partner finish chewing one doughnut while he searched for another one.

  “Where is Yumfuck anyway? Don’t get up, I’ll take some of this to him. Pay off my debt.” Hagan carried his plate, piling on a couple more doughnuts as he walked away, whistling.

  “Most graceful exit ever.” Leira had never heard him whistle, even standing in front of the food trucks.

  “Pretty bold move on your part, taking my hand like that.”

  “Meant what I said, Correk. I’ll walk this with you. We don’t have to fight the world alone anymore.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Perrom sat on the edge of the forest at the sanctuary in Texas enjoying the sunlight on his head, his eyes closed, his face turned toward the sun. He wanted to get back to Oriceran and see Ossonia, needed to, but he took a few more moments to enjoy the quiet by himself. It was still early in the morning and a lot of the residents of the dense woods weren’t awake and stirring yet. Only the songbirds were letting everyone know the sun had risen.

  Perrom lay back on the grass and let the scales along his body flip over to match the long, green blades, hiding him in plain sight. He took in a deep, easy breath, making the ground look like it was rolling. His mind wandered, thinking of Ossonia’s hand in his as a loud, painful screech erupted behind him.

  He jerked his head up, some of the scales partially turning, only part of his face becoming visible along the ground. He looked backward in the direction of the forest where the sound erupted. More sounds of sudden movement.

  Perrom jumped to his feet, quickly changing appearance back to his normal resting state of honey brown as the irises of his eyes shifted in every direction looking for clues. The tops of the trees were wildly swaying, all in a southern direction.

  Away from some danger. It wasn’t a typical predator, whatever it was. The normal ones like large cats or a brown bear were under the Gardener’s protective spell and didn’t hunt within the sanctuary. Something new had found its way inside.

  Perrom ran into the depths of the woods, the light quickly fading under the dense canopy, leaping over familiar tree roots and taking shortcuts through the thick underbrush. He knew every square inch as he slid around the base of a tall, wide oak, running his hand along the bark for balance.

  Several elk came running at him, their eyes wide with fear, turning at the last moment and running, fleeing away from something. Perrom put out his arms wide, attempting to calm the animals as their hooves thundered dangerously close to him. The calming spell that normally hung over the entire property was being torn to shreds.

  Perrom took off running in the direction of the loudest screams, his heart beating hard in his chest. He came along a familiar path and found small trees and bushes pulled up by their roots, broken into pieces, the ground trampled flat. How is this even possible?

  The trail had an abrupt beginning as if the menace had appeared out of nowhere, emerging right on that spot.

  Portal. Something magical… something fucking powerful found its way past every protection. This is bad.

  The Gardener of the Dark Forest was a master practitioner of protection spells. Something or someone had made a mockery of them.

  A roar erupted from just yards away down a narrow path by the magnolia trees, their blossoms scattered along the ground with the green, waxy leaves. He slowed down as he heard the cries of a deer, screaming its last and came closer, taking a sharp turn.

  There in a clearing created by the large beast covered in fur stood Lucius, tearing at a deer and feasting on all of it. The deer was past caring. Perrom hesitated, shocked more by something invading the grounds of the sanctuary this deep inside of the forest than the sight of a shifter. The layers of spells were supposed to make a feat like this impossible. All of his irises focused on Lucius, studying the shifter, looking for weaknesses.

  Biggest fucking shifter I’ve ever seen.

  He wasn’t finding them. His mind was running a million miles a minute searching for the best options. Too late to find his father. There wasn’t enough time. His father was back on Oriceran.

  All the animals had run to another part of the vast sanctuary but at some point they would run out of room. He would have to defend the forest as best he could until the Gardener came on his usual rounds, hours from now.

  He stepped back, forming a fireball as his foot stepped down on a stick in the momentary quiet, making a small cracking noise. Lucius looked up from burying his face in his catch, his face bloody. Perrom considered climbing for higher ground but that would draw Lucius closer to the animals.

  He held his breath steady, holding the glowing fireball in his open hand as Lucius wiped his mouth on his furry arm, a low rumble coming from his chest. He kept his eyes on Perrom as he flexed one of his large paws, the long claws tipped in deep red. Perrom held his ground, waiting to see what the beast would decide to do next, satisfied with a standoff.

  But Lucius dropped the partially eaten carcass and smacked his lips, looking to the right in the direction of the animals the Gardener had worked so hard to preserve. A steely determination came over Perrom and he flung the fireball, knowing it would find its mark.

  Lucius growled and batted at the fireball as it whizzed past him just out of his reach and circled back, slamming into his side, knocking the wind out of him and catching some of his fur on fire. The acrid smell of burning hair filled the air around them. Lucius stumbled backward, surprised but didn’t fall.

  Now it was Perrom’s turn to be surprised but he didn’t waste a moment worrying about what it meant. That could come later. He formed another fireball in moments, singing into it and hauled it sideways as hard as he could, watching it split apart into hundreds of tiny fireballs, peppering Lucius’ fur.

  Too many to be able to put out quickly or dodge. Lucius reared his head back and let out a roar, shaking the tree branches over his head. He fell to the ground and rolled as Perrom sent out another volley, singeing the beast, leaving small welts on the bottom of his feet.

  Perrom circled, keeping up the barrage. He smelled something strange, noticing the black curling mist that was spreading along the forest floor but there was no time to wonder what that meant. Maybe I can get him to shift back, come to his senses. At least run the mad dog off. Get the hell out of here the way he came.

  But Lucius had other plans.

  He rose to his feet, his entire body trembling, his muscles tense as he made himself stand the small fires still clinging to his fur.

  Perrom saw his chance and opened a portal that opened by the ocean in Oriceran where there would be the least amount of Elves or Witches nearby. The smell of salt air blew into the for
est as Perrom turned to draw Lucius behind him, even as he kept up the stream of fireballs that were now raining down on Lucius from above.

  Perrom kept two irises on Lucius, the others scanning the nearby area to make sure his hunch was right. It was all Lucius needed. He dropped back just enough, bending his knees and leapt forward, his claws outstretched, raking Perrom down his left side, and tearing at the muscles in his arm. Perrom stumbled and fell back into the forest, the portal wheezing and sparking. Perrom gasped at the surge of pain and looked up in horror in time to see the portal tear and the world in between exposed.

  ***

  Hagan sat next to Lois in the warehouse doing his best to read the symbols on the board overhead. “Artifact discovered… artifact stolen… Witch practicing spells in San Fernando… Light Elf fixing a basketball game. That’s a new one,” he muttered.

  Lois absentmindedly pushed her glasses back up her nose. Her head was bent over an iPad reading a report from General Anderson. “Earle is not going to believe this shit.” She looked up, surprised. “Forget I said that out loud. Earle doesn’t exactly have clearance. Not that I tell him the really juicy stuff. I know the limits. Those I save for Patty.”

  “You’re babbling. It’s not a good look. What does the report say? I’m figuring I at least have Earle-level clearance.”

  Lois pressed her lips together and arched an eyebrow. “Normally, Patty says something like that and I zing her with a tiny little fireball. Seeing as how you’re human and old and might tell on me, I’ll skip it.”

  “Much obliged but call me a rat again and I’ll figure out how to throw one of those at you.”