Page 60 of Unbearable Attraction
"Can you link with them?" Luka asked, already knowing the answer from the way her abilities were responding to the collective magical working.
"Already happening," she replied, her eyes beginning to glow with necromantic energy. "I can feel every protective intention, every spell that's been woven into this place over the years. It's beautiful."
Another wave of Edmund's corruption crashed against their defenses, stronger this time. Several windows cracked under the pressure, and one of the younger witches helping with the tavern district staggered as the magical backlash hit her.
"He's testing our coordination," Luka said, his earth magic reaching out to stabilize the ward anchors before they could overload. "Trying to find weak points in the network."
"Then we don't give him any." Leenah moved toward the center of Main Street, her hands already beginning the complex gestures that would let her channel the community's combined power. "Time to show him what Hollow Oak is really capable of."
The ritual that followed was unlike anything Luka had ever witnessed. Leenah became a conduit for the entire town's magical will, her necromantic abilities weaving together dozens of different power sources into a unified defense. But instead of draining her as such workings usually did, the community bonds seemed to strengthen her, their trust and support flowing through the ward network like nourishing rain.
And through their bond, Luka found himself connected to all of it.
His bear consciousness merged with the collective working, adding earth magic and primal strength to the growing web of protection. He could feel every resident who was contributing power, sense their determination to defend the home they'd built together. Twyla's fae magic, bright and protective. Maeve's lioness fury, fierce and loyal. Even the visiting supernatural guests, strangers willing to fight for a place that had welcomed them.
Edmund's next assault came with the force of a supernatural hurricane. Dark magic crashed against their barriers like a tidal wave, seeking to shatter the delicate coordination that held their defense together.
But instead of breaking, the ward network bent and flowed, distributing the impact across hundreds of connection points. What would have overwhelmed any individual practitioner became manageable when shared among an entire community.
"You feel that?" Leenah called out, her voice carrying clearly despite the magical chaos swirling around them. "He's strong, but he's alone. We're stronger because we're together."
Luka felt her absolute certainty that they would win this fight. Not because their magic was more powerful than Edmund's, but because it was connected to something he couldn't understand or replicate.
The love and trust that bound a true community together.
Edmund's fourth assault came with desperate fury, his power striking their defenses like a battering ram. But by then, the ward network had grown beyond anything Hollow Oak had ever achieved before. Every shop, every home, every protective charm that had been placed with genuine care for the town's wellbeing had become part of their defense.
"He's weakening," Luka reported, his earth magic sensing the instability in Edmund's attacks. "Whatever he's drawing power from, it can't sustain this level of assault much longer."
"Good," Leenah replied, her necromantic abilities beginning to shift from purely defensive to something more active. "Because now it's our turn."
39
LEENAH
"Now it's our turn."
The words left Leenah's lips as power flowed through her unlike anything she'd ever experienced. Not the draining pull of solo necromancy, but the warm surge of an entire community's magical will flowing through the ward network. Through her bond with Luka, she could feel his earth magic anchoring her to the living world while her abilities reached across the veil.
"Aiyana," she called, her voice carrying across dimensions. "We need you."
The response was immediate. The Cherokee medicine woman materialized in the center of Main Street, her spirit form blazing with otherworldly light. Behind her came dozens of other spirits they'd freed during the bonding ritual, their grateful presence adding another layer to Hollow Oak's growing defenses.
"The descendant of betrayers dares to claim what was never his," Aiyana said, her ancient voice carrying clearly over the magical chaos. "We remember his ancestor's greed. We will not allow history to repeat."
Edmund's next assault came with desperate fury, his dark magic striking their combined defenses like a battering ram. But where his previous attacks had focused on breaking their coordination, this one carried a different kind of malice.
"You want to play with the dead, little necromancer?" Edmund's voice echoed across the town, amplified by supernatural winds. "Let me show you what real death magic looks like."
The spell that followed made Leenah's blood run cold. Not an attack on their barriers, but something far more personal and cruel. Dark tendrils of corrupted necromancy snaked through the ward network, seeking the one connection Edmund knew she valued most.
The bond with Luka.
"No!" she shouted, but Edmund's magic was already wrapping around their spiritual connection like a strangling vine. Through the link, she felt Luka's sudden agony as the attack tried to sever what bound them together.
"Choose, Miss Carrow," Edmund called out, his voice dripping with false sympathy. "Your mate's life, or your precious community's protection. You can't maintain both against what I'm about to unleash."
The magical pressure was incredible. Edmund's spell was designed to force exactly the kind of choice that would destroy her either way. Save Luka and watch Hollow Oak fall, or protect the town and lose the man she loved.
