Page 92 of Tricky Magic
Ros didn’t care, he wasn’t taking any chances, especially with his magic on edge. It had been all day. The rustle sounded again, followed by heavy breathing. Billy bounded around a corner, running toward them like her tail was on fire.
Hurry!the beast yelled.Vampires, wolven compound, a lot of vampires.She was panting hard and her eyes were wide.Garm and Devon are there too. We have to hurry.
They were only a few hundred yards from Ros’ cabin as they began to run. They whirled on his truck, ripping open the doors. Ros slammed the door and reversed quickly, gravel and dirt flying. He heard Ellea send up a quick wish as her magic began to crackle across her skin.
* * *
There waschaos everywhere as they pulled up to the farm. Ellea and Billy jumped out of the truck before it even stopped, heading right to the fight. There were two wolven for every three or four vampires. Devon was using every type of elemental magic he could. Water drowned a vampire who was stalking a wolven, then fire flowed to another before it could get to one of the betas. Garm ripped the head off of one and shimmered into shadow to attack another one fifty feet away.
“Go for the head!” Ros yelled after Ellea as she threw herself into the fight with Devon at her side.
Billy had fully shifted into her beast form, tripling in size and headed straight for Garm, protecting his back.
There had to be over a hundred vampires, but luckily many of them were already dead. Ros searched for Sam and found him closer to the treeline in his wolven form, with Devika at his back. His deep gray fur was splattered with dark blood and his muzzle was caked in it. Where he would attack, Devika would be right there with the follow up.
“Sam!” Ros shouted to his friend, then he signaled with his hand to listen. Ros sent a thought to Garm, who spread it to Sam, Ellea, and Devon. They had to create a wall and corral the vampires into a group.
Ros caught a vampire getting close to Ellea, stepping through his shadows in time to grab it by the throat. Ellea didn’t even notice as its claws swiped through her hair. Ros roared as the vampire burned from the inside, and Ellea turned with a surprised look on her face. Ros didn’t give her a chance to react; instead, he turned to see if his plan was working.
Sam worked with the other wolven, picking off vampires where they could and forcing the rest toward the center of the clearing. Devon created a wall of water that forced those retreating to circle back. Ellea sent a wave of electricity through it, shocking those trying to get through the thick wall.
Once the group of vampires was clustered closer together, Ros sent a blade of shadows and fire slicing through them. He pulled it back toward him, slicing off the heads of those who had ducked. Silence hung heavy as they all looked around, searching for anyone that may have gotten away. Devika howled to the sky, and a few calls from further away answered back.
The breath Ros was holding shuddered out of him. Everyone seemed to be in one piece. The wolven began dragging those killed into the center of the clearing with the rest. They would need to burn the bodies before anyone came looking or the smell took over.
“What happened?” Ros asked Sam. He shifted into his human form; skin replaced fur and he stood before them fully naked. Ellea whistled long and low before Ros glared at her. She rolled her eyes and conjured a pair of sweats on Sam.
“Thanks, El.” He smirked at her before turning a serious face to Ros. “One of my betas was patrolling the woods when she caught the scent of this hoard. They weren’t locals, so she sent word to us. They attacked within the hour and, well”—he swept his arm, showing the mess before them—“all of this.”
“I don’t understand,” Devon said. “Vampires don’t attack wolven just for fun.”
Ros thought for a moment, thinking of Belias and the demon. “I think this is something else.”
Sam gave him a knowing look. “Do you think this was part of what we have been watching up north?”
“It might be,” Ros said, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I think we need to head up there and check on things.”
“I’ll go with you,” Ellea said as she walked up to him.
“No,” Sam and Ros said together. She glowered at both of them.
“Sam and I will go, Garm too,” Ros said, looking toward his hound.
“I need the rest of you to stay here and keep an eye on things,” Sam said, looking toward Ellea, Devon, and his wolven. “Once cleanup is done, I want everyone to patrol the whole town and make sure no one is lurking. We will leave in the morning.”
Sam looked to Ros, who nodded back at his friend.
49
Ros
Cleanup was pretty quick thanks to Ros’ fire and Devon backing him up with his own. Once word came that the town was clear, Ros and Ellea headed for her cabin. Her shower was bigger, and if they were lucky, the home would cook them dinner, but only if Ros asked. Ellea was still pissy about how much the home liked the guys more than her. She seemed pissy in general as they crossed the threshold to her empty cabin. Ros sent a wave of magic through it to make sure no one was lurking in the corners.
“What’s with the attitude?” he asked as she stormed toward the stairs.
“I don’t understand why I can’t go with you.” She whirled on him, crossing her arms over her chest. “We’ve been working so hard, and you know I can take care of myself.”
Her lower lip pressed out in a pout, making it hard for him to stay serious. Yes, he knew all of those things. He didn’t have to worry about her fighting or being safe. But he didn’t want her to see what went on when monsters were truly monsters.
