Page 77 of Magic Hunted
“No. Haera. Don’t!” Ashir’s pained cry cut me deeper than anything Titan had ever dished out.
He would pay for hurting my mates. He’d done so much to me, he would not do this to them. I would obliterate him. Rend him into a million pieces and scatter him to the four corners of the universe.
My burning rage morphed into a supernova of fury. Bright green and golden power burned hot throughout my body. I wasn’t merely flesh and bone. Not in this moment. Magic beat through me, a tornado of enraged power.
Magic erupted from me in burning streaks. Titan’s face morphed into stunned disbelief as gold and green ropes encased him. The glow grew so bright it burned my eyes. His scream echoed through the cave before the glow receded and left a blackened scar on the rocky ground.
Titan…was gone. I stood on shaking legs, breath seesawing in and out of my lungs, staring at where he’d just been. Looking for a trick. But nothing happened. Titan was gone and he wasn’t coming back.
“Atrus, protect us!” Britheva yelled, her voice shrill and desperate.
Atrus yelled a spell and an opaque dome burst to life over him, Britheva, and Christian. Elves surged toward the dome, striking it with their swords. Their weapons glanced off the magic in a shower of sparks but nothing they did could break through the dome.
“My mate!” Ashir was at my side, his large hands on my arms. I sank into his hold. Dias and Savvas pushed through the elves to my side.
“Gods, what are they doing?” Savvas gasped.
Light flickered off the dome, rippling around the rocky walls. Wolves paced the perimeter, growling and salivating. The cries of battle changed to sounds of desperation as the elves tried to break the dome.
“Let us through,” Taredd yelled.
Warrior elves parted as Taredd and Shanyirra stepped through them. Shanyirra’s eyes glowed as she opened her palms, sending white magic streaking across the globe. The dome hummed. The rippling light multiplied and grew brighter, as though absorbing her magic.
As the three imposters chanted, a small dot of light appeared between them. It spun, silver sparks flying off it as it cartwheeled in midair. As it spun, it grew bigger. Sparks rimmed the oval as a scene appeared in the center. The scent of ozone stung my nostrils.
A majestic, frozen landscape solidified. A blizzard moved cross a small village nestled in the valley of rugged mountains. A slate gray sky loomed overhead, threatening to extinguish the thin trails of smoke drifting from the chimneys. Particles of snow blew from the image. It wasn’t a painting. It was a real place.
The ring of silver wobbled, like an unwieldy spinning top twirling off-center. It shrank before fighting to grow again. Sparks showered the ground and bounced to the edge of the dome.
“Close the portal. The magic is unstable!” Shanyirra cried, her voice brittle.
That was a portal?
The three continued to chant as the portal grew larger and more off-kilter. Atrus glanced at Shanyirra, a smirk on his angelic face as he stepped toward the portal. “We’ll always best you, witch.”
Taredd lashed the dome with his sword with such force his sword shattered. He tossed the broken halves to the ground and it clattered over rock. “This isn’t finished, Atrus.”
“Good to see you too, old friend.” Atrus winked at Taredd, a smirk playing on his lips.
“I’ll make you pay for this with your blood on my hands,” Taredd said.
“You’ll be long dead and buried before I allow you to find me, General. You don’t stand a chance.” Atrus stepped into the portal and disappeared.
“No!” Taredd roared.
“Stop them, Shanyirra!” I said.
White magic leaped from her hands and encased the dome, but it did no good. The dome fed on it, pulsing with power. Gravel churned in my stomach. They couldn’t be getting away. We were meant to be stopping them. We had to save our worlds. They’d already taken so much. I wasn’t going to let them go. Not now. Not so easily.
Magic whirled inside me, exploded out of me, streaking across the dome, gold and green entwined. I imbued my magic with rage. My anger. With desperation. The dome walls fractured and webbed across the surface.
“You will never stop us. We’re too strong for you!” Black lashed from Christian’s hands, striking the dome from the inside. Dark smoke filled the cavity, obscuring Britheva and Christian.
The walls of the dome splintered and finally shattered. Shards struck the ceiling and the walls. A shockwave blasted through the cave as Christian’s black smoke exploded outwards. It slammed into me and forced me off my feet. Elves, wolves and warbugs were blown to the ground.
I came up onto my elbow to see the unstable portal spinning out of control. Sparks showered everywhere, spraying and bouncing across the floor.
“You’ve destroyed it, you idiot,” Britheva screamed, her beautiful face made ugly by her fury.
