To Kill a Wizard: Rose's Story (The Protectors of Tarak Book 1) (37 page)

More dark shapes flickered into life on both sides of the Undead wizards. Hadia’s creatures came into focus, wearing tattered clothes over their human bodies, and the black, scaly faces of lizards. The scent of wet reptile came to me, and I choked down the bile that rose to the back of my throat.

Marcalus smiled. “And it’s just beginning.”

The wizards gathered again, this time all lining up behind their leader, rather than his nephew. Each man reached out and placed his hand firmly on the shoulder of the man in front of him. Tension lined their faces

My pulse spiked. How long would our shield hold out? It had fallen so quickly before, but now I wouldn’t be able to strengthen it. No matter what, I wouldn’t steal magic from the flowers.

Dark, oily magic leapt from Marcalus’ fingertips, drawing my attention back to the battle. More magic poured from the wizard’s hand on Marcalus’ shoulder, and on each wizard’s shoulder in the long line.

Our shield shuddered.

“When it comes down, their magic will hit us like a wave. If you aren’t ready, it’ll knock you to the ground.”

The only sign that Asher heard me was the slight tightening of his shoulders.

In front of us, the red of our protective shield was now entirely covered by their magic, cloaking the whole thing in black. Again, it shuddered.

I withdrew my sword and braced myself.

Seconds later, the shield shattered.

An icy wind slammed into us, knocking me a few steps back. Red bits, like glass, rained down on us. Asher held his spot, his feet firmly planted apart.

When the wind and the haze of red passed, I looked to the wizards. The shield no longer separated us, but no one moved.

“
Artemay
,” I cried, imagining what I wanted done.

A glimmering shield encircled Asher and I, growing stronger as I came closer to him. The hand gripping my sword grew damp as I pointed it in front of me, willing my breathing to remain calm.

“Time to claim our revenge!” Marcalus shouted.

“Yes,” Sazar responded, grinning. “It is.”

Marcalus glanced at him, brows furrowed.

Sazar raised his hands. A gray fog snaked from his fingertips, bringing with it the coppery scent of blood. Cries behind me drew my gaze. Several of The Protectors eyes glowed red. One woman withdrew a dagger. Before I could utter a warning, she shoved the blade into the back of a scaly wolf standing next to her.

He howled in outrage, and I turned away, not wanting to see allies turning on one another. I’d heard enough of Blood Magic to know what would happen next, how Sazar would use his victims to fight, even as he drained them of their life forces. Soon, he would be stronger, and they would be dead, along with all those they killed.

“No!” yelled Marcalus. “This wasn’t what we agreed on!”

Undead creatures ignored him, leaping into battle as the scent of blood filled the air. Wolves sprang forward, meeting their enemies in a deadly struggle. Claws slashed. Teeth bit into unguarded, tender flesh. Screams of pain and suffering erupted like a chorus of the dying.

“Are you truly surprised?” Norma roared, as a lizard-man leapt for her. With a flick of her wrist, she shredded the creature, its pieces disappearing before they could fall to the ground.

The wizards separated. Most stood behind Marcalus, but those few that gathered behind Sazar had the twisted bodies of men warped by Blood Magic.

Sazar dipped his head in a mock bow. “Great leader. You’ve gotten us this far. But surely you must know that without Blood Magic, we will lose.”

Marcalus strode closer to the hunched figure, crowding him. “We win honorably or not at all.”

Sazar’s mouth twisted into a stomach-churning smile, the jowls on his throat shaking. “I was worried you might say that.”

In a movement too quick for my eyes to follow, Sazar withdrew his sword and drove it into Marcalus’ chest.

Silence stretched amongst the wizards.

Marcalus gasped, the movement of his lips causing a trickle of blood to escape from the side of his mouth.

The small sound set our enemies into motion, attacking one another, in a shocking display of treachery. The orange-haze gathering above them grew deep and dark, like a churning storm. Icy wind battered us from all directions as the men and boys squared off with one another.

My gaze shifted from them to their creatures, who advanced on us. Apparently, they didn’t care what the Undead wizards were doing, we were still their enemies.

I stiffened as movement came out of the corner of my eye. A lizard-man jumped in front of me, smashing helplessly into my shield.

In one quick movement, Asher sent his sword through the creature’s body. It shuddered and then vanished.

More lizard-men followed the first. Asher and I worked without speaking, our swords stabbing out. When my shield flickered, I fed it more strength.

Another lizard-man stalked closer to me. He hesitated outside my shield, then stepped through.

“
Promethia
!” I shouted. Fire leapt from my fingertips, blazing over the creature. In seconds, he crumbled away.

My legs shook. Why hadn’t my shield held?

Then I saw Asher. Too far away. My shield barely shimmered, sputtering in and out of sight. Three Undead creatures surrounded him, slashing out. His arm bled. His cheek bled.

I raced to him.

Something wrapped around my ankle. My body smacked to the ground, my head spinning. Pain seared my ankle. Looking down in a panic, a wounded lizard-man grinned at me through a mouth filled with bloody, razor-sharp teeth. It opened its mouth again. I twisted and kicked out.

Its head snapped back.

I reached behind me, then snagged the hilt of my fallen sword. Moving more on instinct than skill, I shoved the blade into the creature.

It disappeared.

I stared at the bloody bite wound on my ankle for one second, horror bubbling inside of me. Between the moon and the flickering torch light, it looked like nothing more than a blood drenched area. It burned, but when I rotated my ankle, the pain was bearable.

Then, I remembered Asher.

Looking towards him, I watched as he moved with a warrior’s grace, killing first one, then two of his enemies. Stumbling to my feet, I dragged myself towards him. The throbbing in my ankle quickly faded as energy coursed through my body.

I nearly reached him when the third lizard leapt, its claws stretching for his throat.

Asher turned, too slowly. But to my relief, the creature struck my shield, strengthened by our nearness once more. It gave Asher the time he needed to plunge his sword into the thing’s chest. The creature faded like the others.

“Stay close,” I said, clenching my teeth as the full-force of my weight landed on my injured ankle.

He smeared the blood on his cheek, wiping his hand on his pant leg. “I don’t need your help.”

I opened my mouth to argue, when a red-eyed wolf stalked around the outside of our shield. My sword trembled in my hand. Could I really kill one of our own people? Even if it planned to attack me?

The wolf leapt. Asher slashed it down.

My stomach churned.

“It isn’t—dead,” Asher panted.

A wave of relief ran through me. All around us battles were being fought, but no more creatures approached us. My heart thudded in my chest as my gaze skittered from the battle to the dying leader of the wizards not twenty feet in front of us.

Asher started toward the man, and I followed.

Marcalus was our enemy. He’d wanted to destroy us, to kill me. And yet, I’d understood his hatred and his anger. I’d even admired his honor. Watching the Blood Wizards leering over him as sparks of blue energy exploded from the Head Wizard’s fingertips, was like watching a powerful stag fighting against a pack of wolves. Something deep inside of me longed to protect him, even while I knew it was too late.

Marcalus’ hand held an icy blue tint, and some part of me knew his life-force fled with each second that passed. Blood drenched his chest and the front of his trousers, spreading from the blade that still protruded from his chest.

The grins on Sazar and his brothers’ faces said he’d been easily defeated.

Marcalus swayed back and forth, then crumpled to his knees. “But why?”

Asher and I froze, exchanging a look.

Sazar leaned over him. “I’m not going to Hadia, to pay for my crimes in life. I’m going to destroy Tarak and spend my days living like a king.”

“You always—knew,” Marcalus coughed, more blood splattering his lips. “A man—must pay for—his crimes.”

Sazar’s smile widened. “Not this man.”

Behind them, magic sizzled from one side to another. Multi-colored powers exploded from the hands of the wizards, slamming into victims that had only minutes before been their allies. Moans and cries of agony filled the air as they died, for the last time.

The sounds cut off abruptly, as the Wizards disappeared, back to Hadia, as their time as mortals ended. At last, only Sazar and his brothers looked down at where Marcalus knelt, dying.

“Goodbye, gullible Marcalus,” Sazar’s hand curled around the hilt of the sword protruding from the other man’s chest.

My pulse spiked. We couldn’t let this happen!

“No!” the terrified shout came from behind us, followed by a rush of hot magic.

Sazar and his brothers shot back from Marcalus, flying through the air before crunching into the ground more than fifty feet away.

Blair swept past us, in a gown the color of lightning. She knelt down beside Marcalus and touched his cheek with her hand. “I’m too late.”

He stared at her, through eyes glazed with pain. “You’re here.”

She nodded. Then with determination in her eyes, she gripped the sword and pulled it out.

He screamed.

A tear trailed down her face as she gently laid him back.

Her hand touched his chest. A word escaped her lips. “
Anaka
.”

The battle faded around us. From one blink to the next, we stood next to the portal in Sereus.

Asher and I spun around, but only the four of us were in the dark and quiet forest. Tentatively, I let my shield drop.

Tears ran down Blair’s normally stoic face. “I thought the Goddess of Necessity would save you. Would heal your wound. Not send us here.”

Marcalus gazed at the woman holding him so gently, confusion and pain filling his expression. “But you killed me.”

I took a step back. Asher did the same. It felt as if we invaded a private moment, and yet, it was impossible to look away.

Blair sobbed. “No, my love, but I couldn’t stop the queen. I tried. I promise you.” She leaned over him, her dark hair falling around them like a veil.

His voice wavered as he spoke. “All I remember is the pain of dying. Of looking up, wondering where you were, and seeing your face.” He groaned and shifted on the ground. “You did nothing. You let me die.”

Blair sobbed her explanation, each word wrenching from her like an infected sliver. “The queen discovered my True Name. She kept me from saving you, and from coming to you all these years.”

Her words fell between them.

Hope flickered in Marcalus’ pale blue eyes. He reached out with a trembling hand to stroke the velvety strands of her raven-black hair with an expression of wonder. “So you tried—but then, how—you’re here now?”

She met his gaze, her skin as white as porcelain beneath the soft light of the moon and stars. “I tore away my True Name.”

Asher gasped.

My heart twisted in my chest. I’d heard such a thing was possible. Painful. Deadly. But possible.

It was difficult to speak around the lump in my throat. “Will you still be allowed in the Underworld?”

Blair bit down on her lip, her whole frame shaking. “I waited so long. I tried to find another way.” She took several deep breaths, shaking her head as if it could shake away her pain. “I’ve failed you yet again.”

His eyes widened. “You gave up—your afterlife?”

She nodded, hanging her head.

He reached up, his hand shaking, and caressed her cheek. “We’ll be together—Hadia will give me this.”

She opened tear-filled eyes. They shone like the scales of a fish in the sunlight. “Would you want that?”

Sliding his hands to the back of her hair, he forced her to lean closer to him. “You’re my One. It never made sense. But I couldn’t deny what I saw with my own eyes.” He met her gaze. “If we can’t have life together, we’ll have our afterlife together.”

Years of worry, of fears, drained from her face. An unexpected youth, teamed with an innocent beauty, replaced the harsh face I’d grown to expect. “Then perhaps there’s still hope we’ll be together.”

He smiled, then winched. “I won’t—let you go now that I have you again.”

She bit her lip, more tears falling free. “But not yet. Our son still needs me.”

He jerked. “Our son?”

They both turned to Asher at once.