He’d been there when Toa taught me the more intense spells. He knew the kind of example I was fixing to make.
The large guys had stopped about ten paces away. They waited silently while I stepped to the front of our crew. The shifters filed in at my back, sealing off the wounded. Charles cracked his knuckles as he stepped up to my side.
“A bunch of animals for protection? That right?” The largest guy sporting a bulldog-looking face smirked.
“They don’t know who you are,” Charles whispered.
“Wouldn’t matter if they did.”
I linked with Stefan as I pulled in more magic. With him leveling me out, I filled up to bursting. My skin started to prickle in warning. More power tried to rush into me. The flow battered at my control.
If they thrived on brutality, I’d give them what they wanted.
I mixed the elements in an extremely complex formula. Everything was perfectly balanced. Each element rested precariously beside the other. Once done, I urged the spell out into small, fast moving orbs. With green power, it would appear I sent out shocking balls. Those were amateur.
These were not.
“Wait, can shifters have this kind of magic?” the man on the far right with a busted tooth asked. He studied my face.
“I thought his mage wasn’t due in this corridor for another half-hour?” The guy beside the leader with platinum, spiky hair watched the orbs race toward them with wide, worried eyes.
“It’s green—this is a nothing of a spell,” the leader assured them, already working on the first orb.
But as he worked, his forehead started to wrinkle. His face drained of color. And when the guy to his side said in a furious whisper, “I hear she can work in all different colors!”, the leader had clued in to who I really was.
Too late.
Pop.
“What the—”
“Oww. Ow. Ow! Oh shit! Oh shit!” The guy with the busted tooth slapped at his skin. Like a hive of insects biting his flesh all over his body, he wriggled and writhed.
Pop. Pop pop pop.
“They’re sparking!” The platinum blond shielded his face.
“I’m trying to kill it! It’s too complex,” the leader yelled.
I sent shots of pure black fashioned in strings. The magic wrapped around the chests and arms of the challengers. At first it just secured them as the popping spell blasted them with balls of fire. After that, though, the fire started to seep in. Magical acid coated their body and burned away their clothes. Their screams drowned out the sizzle of their skin.
“What is that?” Ann asked quietly.
“It’ll eat through their skin for a while. It’ll never heal, either. They’ll scar badly, but it won’t kill them. Then it’ll switch to cold and turn to ice. They may get magical frost bite. Then back to heat. It’s a revolving spell and truly nasty. It messes with the mind as well as causing intense pain. Not only does it send a message to those wanting to challenge that I have the balls to use a gruesome spell, it also lets the experienced mages know just what I’m capable of. That wasn’t the most complex spell I know, but Toa assured me there are only a handful of people here that could duplicate it. I am either ending the feud, or starting a war.”
“ We are,” Tim said in a firm voice. “We stand with you. And with Stefan. These guys were sent here to finish Stefan off right before you walked down this corridor. They wanted you to see him dead. That shit is just wrong.”
“What were you doing down here anyway, bro?” Charles asked, turning to Stefan.
“Got a summons from Dominicous. Said he’d been in a meeting here. When we got here, and asked about it, we learned that the time wasn’t right. The challenge came immediately.”
“I bet Dominicous doesn’t make it to this meeting.” Tim set his jaw.
“Bet not.” Stefan took a steadying breath. To me he said, “Put them in a box and tie them off. If you’re sending a message, let everyone see it.”
After I took care of it, we walked slowly
The large guys had stopped about ten paces away. They waited silently while I stepped to the front of our crew. The shifters filed in at my back, sealing off the wounded. Charles cracked his knuckles as he stepped up to my side.
“A bunch of animals for protection? That right?” The largest guy sporting a bulldog-looking face smirked.
“They don’t know who you are,” Charles whispered.
“Wouldn’t matter if they did.”
I linked with Stefan as I pulled in more magic. With him leveling me out, I filled up to bursting. My skin started to prickle in warning. More power tried to rush into me. The flow battered at my control.
If they thrived on brutality, I’d give them what they wanted.
I mixed the elements in an extremely complex formula. Everything was perfectly balanced. Each element rested precariously beside the other. Once done, I urged the spell out into small, fast moving orbs. With green power, it would appear I sent out shocking balls. Those were amateur.
These were not.
“Wait, can shifters have this kind of magic?” the man on the far right with a busted tooth asked. He studied my face.
“I thought his mage wasn’t due in this corridor for another half-hour?” The guy beside the leader with platinum, spiky hair watched the orbs race toward them with wide, worried eyes.
“It’s green—this is a nothing of a spell,” the leader assured them, already working on the first orb.
But as he worked, his forehead started to wrinkle. His face drained of color. And when the guy to his side said in a furious whisper, “I hear she can work in all different colors!”, the leader had clued in to who I really was.
Too late.
Pop.
“What the—”
“Oww. Ow. Ow! Oh shit! Oh shit!” The guy with the busted tooth slapped at his skin. Like a hive of insects biting his flesh all over his body, he wriggled and writhed.
Pop. Pop pop pop.
“They’re sparking!” The platinum blond shielded his face.
“I’m trying to kill it! It’s too complex,” the leader yelled.
I sent shots of pure black fashioned in strings. The magic wrapped around the chests and arms of the challengers. At first it just secured them as the popping spell blasted them with balls of fire. After that, though, the fire started to seep in. Magical acid coated their body and burned away their clothes. Their screams drowned out the sizzle of their skin.
“What is that?” Ann asked quietly.
“It’ll eat through their skin for a while. It’ll never heal, either. They’ll scar badly, but it won’t kill them. Then it’ll switch to cold and turn to ice. They may get magical frost bite. Then back to heat. It’s a revolving spell and truly nasty. It messes with the mind as well as causing intense pain. Not only does it send a message to those wanting to challenge that I have the balls to use a gruesome spell, it also lets the experienced mages know just what I’m capable of. That wasn’t the most complex spell I know, but Toa assured me there are only a handful of people here that could duplicate it. I am either ending the feud, or starting a war.”
“ We are,” Tim said in a firm voice. “We stand with you. And with Stefan. These guys were sent here to finish Stefan off right before you walked down this corridor. They wanted you to see him dead. That shit is just wrong.”
“What were you doing down here anyway, bro?” Charles asked, turning to Stefan.
“Got a summons from Dominicous. Said he’d been in a meeting here. When we got here, and asked about it, we learned that the time wasn’t right. The challenge came immediately.”
“I bet Dominicous doesn’t make it to this meeting.” Tim set his jaw.
“Bet not.” Stefan took a steadying breath. To me he said, “Put them in a box and tie them off. If you’re sending a message, let everyone see it.”
After I took care of it, we walked slowly
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