Page 2 of Wicked Warlock
“I can force them to go away if you want.” Her lips pressed into a thin line. “Or send them all straight to Hell.”
“No, let them come. It’s time they learned who they’re messing with. We’ve been nice long enough. If power is what they respect, then power is what they will see. But it’ll be on our terms.” They were going to attack my home, my school, my people. Enough was enough.
She gave a single nod then let her magic flow over three of the four walls of the school, bathing it in a dim red haze that I was sure our enemies wouldn’t see. Tabi sprinted across the second floor toward us. She planted one foot on the edge of the railing and launched herself up into the air. A gust of wind caught her, and she landed next to me. Yellow magic sparked in her wide curls and over her dark skin. Her bright orange sweatshirt stood out like a target in the dark night, like she’d taken hours to draw on it with orange highlighter and now she was practically glowing.
“Incoming?”
I nodded. “Warlocks on the rise.”
She wiggled her fingers and streams of yellow magic flew from her fingertips into the ground. Vines sprang from the earth like poles and covered the walls, like reinforced steel beams. She took a few steps away from me, moving to the other side of the courtyard and continuing her fortifying of our home.
Tucker landed right next to me in a tornado of flames. The heat licked at my face and scorched the grass around him. His feathers melted away, and he stood there in nothing but jeans and boots. Steam rose off his body in the cold November air. His chest heaved and puffs of smoke came from his mouth. “I didn’t see anything around the school.”
“Doesn’t mean they aren’t there.” I felt magic moving around the outside walls, slithering like a snake in the direction we wanted it to go. “Kill the alarm.”
He gave one sharp whistle, and the low hum of the alarm died, leaving us standing in silence. Even the normal noise of the city around us stopped, so all I could hear was the sound of my own breathing. A few feet away, the air shimmered and my eyes were drawn toward it. They couldn’t open a portal right into the school. Could they? No. They were powerful but not that powerful. I took a step toward the shimmering air, ready to do battle.
An explosion struck the ground right beside me. My body was jerked back from the force of it; my feet flew up over my head. Rocks and dirt soared through the air with me. I was thrown back into one of the hallways off the courtyard. I smacked into the hard stone floor and skidded to a halt just before I hit the wall.
“Zinnia! Zinnia, where are you?” Tuck sprinted back toward me as I struggled to shake away the ringing in my ears. Something warm trickled down the side of my face, and I swiped it away. Blood ran down my fingers, and I growled while I staggered to my feet.
Tuck’s warm grip wrapped around my wrist, and he yanked me back down to the ground as a volley of magic energy balls flew in my direction. “GET DOWN!”
He hurled his body over mine, and we rolled to the side. Magic exploded like grenades, one after the other. Lingering power pooled on the floor next to me. It glowed and pulsed like little puddles. As they slowly dissipated, power and rage coursed through my body. This was my home, and they were attacking it. They would pay. Silvery magic exploded from my fingertips, catching the power bombs before they hit. I could feel each one of them as if they were an extension of my own abilities. Tuck rolled off me, and I shot to my feet, charging back out toward the courtyard.
I threw out my hands, tossing those balls back over the front wall. Flashes of light lit up the sky like bolts of lightning during a storm as each of those energy balls crashed on the other side. Three warlocks floated on the other side of the wall, high enough to look over. Their bodies were hidden in shadows, and all I saw were the bright orange flames lighting their hands. Fire spewed from their palms, shooting like flame throwers over the top of the wall, torching Tabi’s reinforcing vines. They caught fire, curling and crumbling to dust. A ball of fire flew through the shimmering air in the middle of the portal.
The second the flames stopped, Ophelia sprinted through with her daggers drawn and her face a mask of rage. Cross was hot on her heels. She froze only feet from me and glanced at my forehead.
“They did that to you?” Though she was tiny, she was terrifying with her long straight hair braided into a fauxhawk, her body strapped with leather holsters full of daggers, and a leather potion pouch hanging from hip.
I swiped at the cut on my head and more blood coated the back of my hand. “Yeah.”
“Sons-a-bitches.” She gritted her teeth and pointed one of her daggers toward the front wall. “Cross! Up and over!”
Without missing a step, he pumped his arms, sprinting ahead of her then turned to face her and gave his back to the gated wall. He cupped his hands in front of him, and Ophelia sprinted straight at him. She pumped her arms, moving faster, and at the last second, she leapt toward him and placed her foot in his cupped hands. Cross threw up his arms, tossing Ophelia high into the air. She flipped and twisted like they’d practiced this move a hundred times. She disappeared behind the towering front gate.
“Are you insane!” Panic for my sister coursed through my body. “She’ll be hurt.”
He arched his eyebrow at me giving me a “yeah, right” kind of look. His gold eyes glinted like an animal’s in the dark and a wide, predatory smile spread across his face. “No, they will be.”
As if on cue, screams sounded from the other side of that gate. Explosions of different colored power fired off like a rainbow, illuminating the building beyond. Cross chuckled. “See? Told ya.”
He turned from me and darted toward the corner of the courtyard where the gate and wall met. Like a freaking spider, he leapt up and grabbed hold of the wall then bounced off it, grabbing a piece of the gate then back to the wall and to the gate again. Within seconds, he scaled the wall and was over onto the other side.
Maze sprinted past me, and I lashed my magic around him like a silvery glittering whip. He froze for a moment with his hands trapped by his side. Neon green power seeped from his fingers. Tarot cards shot from the pocket of his black tactical pants. They swirled in a circle of madness above his head. I yanked on my power, dragging him back to my side. I dropped him to his feet and pulled my power away from his body.
He rolled his shoulders and narrowed his hypnotic green eyes at me. “Don’t. Do that again.”
I sucked in a deep breath, struggling to find my calm. “Why the hell are they attacking us?”
“Our house got blown up.” He shrugged. “They think it’s you.”
“What?” My eyebrows shot up. The castle shook as a blast of magic struck the front gate.
“Vengeance is a way of life, and council wanted its due.”
Maze’s eyes went milky white for a split second. He grabbed my arm and yanked me to the side just as a car hurled over the gate and smacked into the ground then tumbled end-over-end right toward where I was standing. The sound of crumpling metal filled the air and pieces of the car flew off into different direction. Tuck landed behind the flipping car, and flames shot from his hand in two long streams. It slammed into the car, stopping its thunderous tumble. The car stood on its front bumper, teetering back and forth. Flames caught on the engine and the whole thing erupted in a ball of fire. Black smoke billowed from it like a mushroom touching the sky. The smell of burning rubber and gas filled the air.
