CHAPTER EIGHT
The man who’d identified himself as Reginald Park hadn’t come alone, and Josh had sensed it almost too late. As it was, he saw Deena go flying at the hands of the female mage, but he thought Deena would be okay for a few moments while he neutralized what his wolf recognized as the more dangerous of the two—the male.
Josh couldn’t allow himself to be distracted, but he was momentarily stunned when he saw the animals race to Deena’s defense. Good souls, he thought, as he squared off against the man.
“You won’t succeed,” Josh taunted the man while using every bit of knowledge and instinct about magic he had.
“What? You think you and the girl can stand against me and Felicia? We have decades of training and scores of magical duels to our credit individually and as a pair.” He tilted his head to one side and smiled. “Though I will confess, I had planned to take the priestess on my own, but when I realized she had a new farmhand…” Reginald’s tone was insulting, but Josh let it wash over him. Anger wouldn’t help him control his magic. “I called in Felicia, just to even the numbers, though we still have the advantage of you magically, newbie.”
Even as the man spoke, he launched more magical fireballs at Josh, but his shielding was as good as he could make it. Now, he was glad of the time Deena had spent teaching him the finer points of a strong shield. He hadn’t really appreciated that lesson until just now.
“I may be new, but I’m stronger than you, Reggie. And I’m like nothing you’ve ever encountered before.” With those words, Josh let just a little of his wolf nature out, shifting to a quasi-battle form. He was gratified when the mage’s eyes widened.
Most strong werewolves spent a lot of time practicing what was known as the battle form. It was the stage in transformation between human and wolf that had inspired the nightmare visions and mythology surrounding werewolves. Though most of the legends were wrong in many respects, the image of an upright creature walking on two legs with massive claws, furry muscled arms and legs, and the dangerous snout of a wolf with sharp pointy teeth was pretty accurate.
Josh, though, wasn’t just any normal werewolf. He could hold the shift at any point in his transformation. He’d perfected what he thought of as a quarter shift, where he still looked mostly human, but was slightly larger than his usual six-foot-two frame, maybe a little hairier, but with claws and fangs. He knew he looked like something out of a nightmare—even to most shifters—and the quarter shift had helped him win many a fight.
He took that quarter-form now and saw the familiar glint of fear in Reginald’s eyes. Good. Josh would take any advantage in what he knew would be a battle to the death.
This was no polite duel to first blood. No. Reggie and Felicia had come here intent on capturing Deena and stealing her power. They’d probably intended to just eliminate Josh, since it was pretty clear that Reggie have already discounted him…until just a few short moments ago.
“What the hell are you?” Reggie asked, his voice rising as he realized he had taken on more than he’d bargained for, and quite possibly more than he could chew.
“I’m your worst nightmare, Reg,” Josh growled, launching an attack both physical and magical.
He closed in on Reggie, and the evil mage had to give ground. Satisfaction pulsed through Josh. He didn’t like being prey—as he had been since the new magic showed up. For the first time in months, Josh felt like he should. Like the predator that shared his soul. A protector of his people. An aggressor, when needed. And a defender of innocence—which was a task he had appointed himself.
Hearing a growl as Josh launched himself at Reggie, Deena looked over to see that Josh was holding his own, but Deena dared not take any of Josh’s magical energy to fight Reggie’s girlfriend. She could feel him doing the same, leaving her magic untouched.
Another round of evil smoke came Deena’s way, distracting her from the problem of whether they should use each other’s magic or not. She had bigger fish to fry.
“Hey, Smokey,” she called. “Is that all you got?” Maybe insulting the bad guys wasn’t the greatest strategy, but it made Deena feel good to get a few verbal jibes in, no matter how childish.
“Deena Half-Fey, I’ve been looking for you all over the place. Don’t you recognize me? I’m Felicia, the one who will bring you before the Mater Priori and gift her with your power. I am your doom.” A cackling laugh joined another round of oily smoke, which seemed to be the way this witch delivered her power.
“Funny, you look more like a tramp than somebody’s doom. Of course, I can’t really see you clearly through all this nasty smoke.” Deena waved her hand and pushed the evil vapors aside, shooing them away, into the atmosphere where they could harm none. “Oh, that’s better,” Deena said, smiling brightly at the woman who faced her.
The animals were still in the line of fire, though they were as safe as she could make them behind Deena’s shield. Slowly, she became aware of each of them lending a little part of their earthly energy to hers. They weren’t magical in the same way shifters were, but every living thing on the planet had some sort of spark within them. The wild beasts were closer to their natures than most, and they were trying to help her.
Oddly enough, it was working. Their earthen magic blended with her unique mix of fey and human, making her stronger. Which gave her an idea…
Deena turned her attention back to Josh. He was still fighting Reggie, but the action had moved a little closer to her and the animals. Good. If her theory proved correct, they’d be much better off fighting side by side—or back to back.
First, to test the theory. With silent apology, Deena reached for a small tendril of Josh’s shifter-fey magic. It came more readily to her than she had expected, and she used it to bind her own magic into a tight ball of blazing white light that she lobbed at her foe.
The trampy girlfriend who thought she was doom winced and fell on her tush. Deena wanted to crow, but the battle wasn’t nearly over yet. Still, she had a plan, and she had proof of concept. Mixing their energies worked better than standing apart. Now, she had to figure out how to alert Josh to the phenomenon.
Josh wanted to cheer when he saw the witch fall. He’d been aware of Deena’s small power draw, and the unexpected multiplication of energy had a fantastic payoff. He had gone on the offensive with Reggie, but the man was strong. Very strong. And it wasn’t as easy to really hurt him as some of the other mages Josh had fought in the recent past. Josh did his best to work his way over to Deena, knowing that if they were going to merge their energies, it would be much better to present a united front.
But getting to her side was easier thought than accomplished. Reginald was doing his best to keep Josh busy, and even though Josh had been studying hard and had spent the last few months defending himself against this guy’s friends, Josh still wasn’t an expert at wielding magical energy. Not as a weapon. He could defend himself well enough, but his best attacks were still mostly physical, not magical. And even in his quarter-shifted form, he couldn’t get close enough to Reggie to do any real damage.
He was feeling the pain of the hits Reggie had managed to score. Josh was scorched in a few places, and his jeans were definitely singed. Dammit. He’d just gotten these jeans worn in the way he liked. Another reason to curse Reggie and the dirt bike he rode in on.
Pissed off and in pain, Josh fought his way over to Deena. He didn’t dare take any of her magical energy away until he was close enough to guard her back. He refused to leave her with less power. She had enough of a fight on her hands with that leather-clad bimbo, Felicia. Although, Josh had to admit, when he had a moment to glance over at Deena’s progress, she was more than holding her own, and now, she was even scoring points off the other woman, knocking her down and making her bleed.
What a woman. Deena was everything he could want in a mate…and more.
With that thought in mind and a smile of anticipation on his face, Josh doubled down. He had to get to her. And then, they could end all this bullshit and get to the good part.
It took a few minutes, but eventually, Josh got his wish. He approached from the side, keeping Reggie in front of him as Josh backed into Deena’s presence. He knew she was well aware of him, and when they touched—his back meeting hers—sparks of welcome greeted him.
“It’s about time,” she groused, but he could hear the laugh in her voice. “Are you ready to end this debacle?”
“Your wish is my command, sweetheart,” he replied, for the first time, actually having fun while fighting for his life.
Oh, this situation was serious, but how could Josh not smile when he was with the woman he loved?
And yeah, he’d thought the L-word. There it was. The truth that had become clear in the middle of the night as they lay together. He loved her. And he suspected she returned the sentiment, though she hadn’t yet said anything. That would come, he was fairly certain, given time. Now, he just had to make sure they had the time together—a bright future where they could share so much.
This fight had to end, and it had to end now.
“Shall we?” he asked her, touching the place deep in their souls where they’d connected the night before. The place that was forevermore joined, one to the other.
Seeking and finding that well of immeasurable strength, they both let loose, simultaneously, at their opponents. Josh followed Deena’s lead as she formed the magical energy into tight balls that flew with uncaring accuracy, taking Reggie and his gal pal down to the ground.
Knock out. Game over. Thanks for playing.
When the white sparks died down enough for them to see again, both Reggie and the woman were flat on their backs on the ground, either unconscious or dead. Josh didn’t much care which at the moment. Just that they were no longer fighting.
He sagged against Deena’s back as she sagged against him. They sort of wobbled down to the ground, each supporting the other so that they ended up sitting on the grass, back to back, weary to their bones. The fight had taken a lot out of them, but Josh felt the satisfaction of victory. Together, they’d defeated their opponents and lived to tell the tale.
“What now?” she asked when she finally found the strength to speak. “I don’t think they’re dead, so what do we do with them?” She gestured weakly toward the fallen enemy.
“I’m not a fan of outright murder, but we need to figure out something that will both prevent them from coming at us again, and from telling any of their friends where to find us,” he replied, thinking aloud.
“There is something my grandmother taught me…” Deena said in a quiet tone, as if mulling her thoughts over. “We’d probably have to get them to the stone circle, though.”
“Do you think your animal friends will consent to carry them there for you?” Josh gestured toward the animals, which had decided on their own, apparently, to form a protective ring around them. He’d never seen the like, except on this crazy, wonderful sanctuary farm.
Deena straightened up, seeming to regain some strength, and turned to look at him. “That’s a good idea.”
“I’d offer to carry them one at a time, but my muscles feel kind of weird right now, and I’m not too proud to admit it. I’ve never had such an intense magic duel before. The adversaries I’ve faced up to now weren’t nearly as powerful as these two.”
“They were Venifucus,” Deena said quietly as she worked her way slowly to her feet.
She seemed to be in better shape than he was, which made sense considering she was the one with all the magical experience. Still, it stung his pride a bit. The wolf prodded him to help her and protect her, but his two-legged side knew she was a capable woman who would be his equal, not his dependent. The wolf was just going to have to figure that out.
“I’ve heard the term, but I’m afraid I don’t know much about it,” he said, trying hard to stand up himself.
“They are an ancient order, dating back to first appearance of Elspeth, the Destroyer. They were her servants and her allies, devoted wholly to her evil. It was thought they had been defeated when she was banished to the farthest realms centuries ago, but in recent years, they’ve made a comeback. As, some fear, has she.” Deena spoke as she walked over to a tan horse.
She stroked the horse’s hide and reached up to whisper in his ear. Josh could just hear her murmuring to the horse, asking him for his help in carrying the two mages. The horse nodded his head, for all the world looking like he was saying yes, then trotted over to sniff at Reggie.
It didn’t take too long to get the enemy mages onto the horse’s back and transport them to the standing stones. Josh had regained most of his physical strength and was able to muscle them on and off the horse as needed while Deena steadied her equine friend. Both Reggie and the woman remained unconscious throughout, for which Josh was glad. He didn’t really feel up to having another magical showdown at the moment—and probably wouldn’t for at least a few days.
Deena directed him to place the mages on the low stone altar. There was just enough room for both of them to lie half-on the stone slab, their feet dangling off either end of the rectangular rock.
Josh stood at Deena’s side, ready to assist her in any way she requested while she began to chant. He recognized some of the lilting language, though he didn’t know what it all meant. She paused occasionally, to sprinkle water over the two on the altar or smudge their foreheads with dirt. He could feel her calling on the magic they now shared between them, but there was a third presence as well… A presence he’d felt before.
The Goddess was with them, and he knew, whatever was about to happen, it was going to be memorable. And potentially awesome in its intensity. Josh tried to mentally prepare himself as best he could, but there really was no way to prepare for encountering the divine.