Page 74 of Tricky Magic
“Why?” he said, finding a tree to prop against to enjoy the show. “I’m just a paranoid old man.”
Ellea blasted energy that the wolven easily dodged. She threw everything at it as she ran in a crazy zigzag pattern. She even tried hitting it with a tree branch, but it only snapped it in half with its large teeth.
Steps sounded behind Ros’ resting spot, but he wasn’t worried. Devon’s scent had greeted him a half hour ago.
“How’s it going?” Devon asked warily.
Ros only gestured toward the two creatures that were now barreling through the bushes.
“Ouch,” he said with a chuckle. “She’s going to be so pissed when she finds out this was your idea.”
“I can’t wait,” Ros said with a wicked smirk.
“You two are really two sides of the same coin.” Devon laughed.
Ellea escaped the bushes, the wolven close on her heels. It was actually Sam, and he seemed to be having too much fun. His tongue hung out his large mouth, and the glint in his eyes was devilish. Ellea’s foot snagged on a tree root, and she landed hard on her stomach. A whoosh ripped out of her, and she groaned.
Sam began stalking her slowly as she tried to crawl away. She rolled onto her back quickly and sent another wave of magic his way. He dodged it easily and pounced on her. She screamed as he pinned her arms at her sides, something Ros had specifically requested he do.
Sam had warned him this would not end up in Ros’ favor when Ellea found out he had set her up. But she needed to learn, and he thought this was her best chance. Ellea had never seen Sam in his wolven form, and Ros was betting she would be scared enough to channel her magic the right way. He only hoped that Sam wouldn’t get too hurt in the process.
Ellea screamed again as Sam snapped his teeth close to her face. She turned her head away from him, and Ros saw the change. Devon gasped, seeing it too. Her breathing became quick pants, but the smirk on her face was very deceiving. She slowly turned her head back to Sam. His head tilted to one side, ear quirked, before he was blasted away from her.
Sam’s large form turned three times in the air before he landed on the ground. His large claws gouged out the earth as he stopped himself from sliding. Ellea stood gracefully and slowly walked toward him. Sam shook his large head and stalked toward Ellea, circling her. She summoned two large metal staffs, similar to the dowels they had been training with. She readied her stance like she had so many times before. Sam smirked at the tiny witch in front of him and attacked.
It was a trick, an illusion Devon and Ros had also missed. As Sam barreled toward Ellea, a massive, jet-black hound attacked Sam’s blind side. It materialized out of thin air and was a beast Ros didn’t recognize. It was similar to Garm, but the lower part of its legs were made up of iridescent black and green scales. Its long bald tail ended in a fork, and its eyes were a bright shade of green. It held a sinister grin similar to the one on Ellea’s face.
Sam was able to dodge the attack from the beast, but Ellea followed through, sweeping one of her staffs through his legs, causing him to crash to the forest floor. Devon stepped forward, but Ros stopped him.
“One more minute,” Ros whispered.
Devon groaned as the beast barreled into Sam as he tried to get up. It was a weak hit, and Ros knew it could be stronger. Ellea began to pant slightly, but she continued on. She took a few sloppy strides toward Sam as he lay there. Holding the staffs overhead, she went to strike, but he moved out of the way in time. The beast tried attacking, but Sam dodged him again.
“Enough,” Ros bellowed. Ellea turned toward him with confusion on her face. Her steps swayed slightly, and the beast she’d conjured shimmered and then disappeared.
Devon grabbed a pair of pants from the pack he was carrying and headed toward Sam. Ellea’s confusion deepened as she looked at him. Looking back at the wolven, realization crossed her face, then pure rage.
“You!” She stomped toward Ros, who held up his hands. She swiveled back toward the wolven only to find a completely naked Sam standing there. “You. Oh, you’re naked.”
Ellea choked on her rage, but quickly recovered once she looked at Ros again.
“How dare you trick me?” she hissed at him.
“Me? Trick a trickster?” he said sweetly. Her glare intensified. “Look, I wanted to try something. So I did. And I think it worked.”
Ellea wiped her hands across her face, and Ros quietly stepped closer to her. She looked exhausted, and he was a little worried. She had only been fighting Sam for maybe twenty minutes, but that beast had seemed pretty solid—and a lot larger than those little creatures she had been messing with before.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, brushing her messy hair away from her face and picking some twigs and leaves out of it.
“I’m so mad at you,” she whimpered. “But I did it.”
She smiled weakly.
“Yeah, you did.” He rubbed her arms. “That thing was scary.”
“I’m so fucking mad at you,” she said again. “I could have hurt Sam.”
“You can take it out on me later. And Sam is fine. But let’s go get you some food and water. That took a lot out of you.”
