CHAPTER EIGHT
Even as she said it, the first ward sounded a warning in Ray’s mind.
“What was that?” Evie asked. Of course. She’d helped set the wards yesterday. They were keyed to her, as well. She had to have felt it when the first ward was breached.
“That’s what you’ll feel when someone goes past any ward you cast,” Ray told her.
“So, that means…” Ray hated the look of fear on her face. “Someone just…”
“Entered the first ward,” he confirmed.
Panic flared in her eyes. He hated seeing that. Her wolf may be submissive, but it could be fierce when needed. He needed her to tap into that fierceness now. But first…he needed her calm.
“It could be innocent,” he offered. “Non-magical humans, at this point, would be feeling uncomfortable, though they wouldn’t realize why. The ward would push them back, without any overt action. The farther they walked into the protected zone, the more uncomfortable they’d feel, and most would turn around unless there was some compelling need driving them onward,” he said. “If they make it to the second ward, there is reason to be more concerned.”
“It’ll feel the same?” Evie asked, calming, but clearly still on edge.
Ray nodded. “The breaching of a ward feels pretty much the same, regardless of the size or shape of the ward. The reverberation you felt is just meant to be a warning signal to allow the person who cast the ward to know it has been breached. Once you know what to expect, it shouldn’t be as distracting, so if you need to fight, your concentration won’t be broken by it.”
Evie took a deep breath. “Good to know.” She was recovering her equilibrium as he watched, digging into that core of strength he knew she had. Good. That’s what he’d hoped for.
Then, the second ward was breached.
Evie went straight to the door and the shotgun hung on the wall next to it. Good girl. She stretched to reach the little shelf above the gun and he felt unaccountably aroused at the sight of her loading shells into the long gun. There was the fierce little wolf he loved.
“If they cross the third ward, they’ll be too close to the house,” Evie said. “I’m going outside to see what’s what.”
Ray shook his head. “Too dangerous.”
“Not for me. I have some natural protection from magic just by virtue of being a shifter. Plus, I can always go wolf and outrun anything anyone can throw at me.”
“Wishful thinking, Evie,” he warned.
She turned to face him. “We can’t be caught in here like mice in a trap. They could burn this place down with us in it. My wolf says go out in to the open spaces. It’s safer.”
Ray wanted to argue, but her instincts were probably right. This cabin wasn’t exactly fortified in the way he’d like. Stone would’ve been a better building material, for instance, than wood. But he hadn’t been taking magical battles with evil mages intent on killing them into consideration when they’d moved in all those years ago.
“All right. But we’ll both go.” He reached for his coat even as Evie took off her sweater. “No coat?” He knew her wolf blood kept her warm even in her two-legged guise, but it was well below zero out there.
“Less layers means an easier shift if I need it. And you know I don’t feel the cold the way you do. You want the shotgun?” she offered it to him, but he declined.
“Better you keep it and watch my back. I’ll take point.” She didn’t argue, and he was glad she realized this was more likely going to be a magical battle rather than a physical one. Of the two of them, he was the mage, though as a shifter, she did have her own magic…just not quite the same sort.
“If I go wolf, I’ll try to get the gun to you before I shift,” she agreed, nodding.
He went right up to her and pulled her close for a quick, hard, deep kiss that he hoped said more than he could explain in words at the moment. He loved this woman more than anything in the universe, and facing danger with her at his side was both terrifying and oddly reassuring. There was no one he trusted more, and though he’d rather she was out of danger completely, he knew he could count on her.
He hoped she understood everything he was trying to say but couldn’t. For one thing, they didn’t have time. Those who had breached the wards were growing ever closer. For another, how could Ray encapsulate, in just a few words, how much having Evie back in his life meant to him? How would he ever be able to explain the depth of his love for her? He didn’t think it was possible. Spoken or written communication could not capture the breadth of his emotions when it came to this woman. Words were simply inadequate.
He tried to put it all into the kiss, but there wasn’t enough time to do it right. He prayed they would have more time together—as much as the Mother of All would grant them in this life and any future existences they might be blessed enough to share. He drew away, letting her go, though he didn’t want to ever let her go completely.
“Stay out of sight. Let me try my hand against them, first, and join in if either it looks like I need help or you think you can do some good without putting yourself in too much jeopardy.”
“Ray, I’m a werewolf. A predator. I can definitely help.” She rolled her eyes at him, and he found himself grinning. How he loved his spirited mate.
The wolf spirit that shared her soul was fascinating to him, and he loved when Evie followed her instincts as she was doing now.
“Just have a care for my delicate sensibilities,” he teased her. “Stay low and let me take the initial barrage, if there is one. Watch and pick your moment. That’s all I’m asking.”
“Well, of course,” she said, exasperation in her tone. “Now, let’s get in position before they get too close and we lose all possibility of stealth.”
“Were you always this impatient?” His lips curved upward, even as he sent a little tendril of magic out through the small crack he’d made by opening the door less than an inch.
He wanted to scout the situation, as it were, as much as he was able before he stepped out there. The area in front of the cabin was empty. The third ward had not yet been breached, but even so, those approaching seemed to be coming at the place from different directions.
“One coming straight for the front door, but he’s too far out to see much of anything unless he has binoculars,” Ray told her, closing his eyes to concentrate on what the magic was telling him. “One approaching from either side at forty-five degree angles to the front. They expect us to be inside the cabin, and they’re concentrating their firepower toward the only door.” He opened his eyes, having learned all he could at the moment.
“Human?” Evie asked as they snuck out the door and closed it behind them. They crouched low, taking cover behind whatever they could find. Mostly that consisted of snow drifts and rocks covered with snow.
“Mages, certainly. Most probably of the human variety.”
Evie sniffed the air. “Wind is wrong. I can’t smell them yet.”
She made a little spot for herself behind what he remembered as a decorative pile of the striped rocks that made up some of the formations near here. She’d be safe behind the rocks, even though they were covered with a thick layer of snow.
Ray set himself up as the obvious target, not completely visible behind drifted snow and more of the rock displays they’d set up ages ago in front of the cabin. Evie was on his right and close enough that he could keep an eye on her, but she wouldn’t be visible, even to the mage who was making from the front right corner of the cabin.
“Keep an eye on the one coming in from your direction. I’ll keep the other two occupied,” he told her, hoping the mage on the right was one she could handle if things got too hairy for him to deal with them all.
“Just pay attention to what you’re doing, Ray. I’ve got this. Don’t worry.” Her low voice settled his nerves. She was such a good match for him.
“I love you, Evie.”
“I love you too, Ray. Now, give ‘em hell, so we can go back to our enjoyable vacation in the snow.”
Her words made him smile, and at that moment, the third ward was breached. He could see the middle mage now, walking boldly through the snow toward him, and Ray knew the exact moment when the trespasser saw him. Now, they’d finally find out what these three intended, though Ray suspected it was nothing good.
Ray was about to speak a greeting, though the man was still about fifty yards out. But just then, he saw a fireball rise to life between the man’s outstretched hands. Shit.
Ray prepared as best he could, hoping the hasty protections they’d put on the cabin would protect the structure. It was clear these visitors had destruction in mind and didn’t even want to take time to chat before launching an attack. They weren’t really trying to be stealthy anymore. They’d felt the wards.
They’d probably hoped to sneak up on the cabin, which was why they’d come in on foot, but the moment one of them crossed the first ward, they must have realized stealth wasn’t going to work. Overwhelming force was the next logical tactic in this case. Hence the frontal assault.
Ray glanced at the two other mages, who he could now see approaching from each corner. Both of them had energy growing between their outstretch palms, as well. All three mages were forming their own versions of fireballs to lob at him—probably all together. The next few minutes would tell the tale of whether or not Ray was strong enough to withstand their combined power, because there was no way he’d dodge and allow any of that to hit Evie directly. Just the peripheral contact was going to be a lot for her to handle.
He wanted to look at her before the volley of hellfire was launched, but he didn’t dare. The enemy was concentrating on him. With any luck, they didn’t even know she was there. The final ward that was only about ten feet from the structure of the house should keep out any magical probes. Until the mages actually walked across it, the ward would keep out their probes, though it probably wouldn’t withstand the hellfire they were about to throw.
It would be soon now. All three had dangerous balls of glowing fire between their palms. Ray took a second to analyze each. The mage on the left was female, and her energy was a dark, sickening gray. Smoke, it looked like, more than fire, but he knew such things were often deceptive. That roiling mass would burn him magically, just as bad as the much larger ball of red between the center mage’s hands.
The mage on the right—the one closest to Evie’s hiding place—was male, and his fireball was a sickly yellow. It wasn’t anything near the sparkling gold of the power that rose when Ray and Evie came together. No, this was from some dark place. It was the yellow of infection. The yellow of evil. And he knew it could burn. He’d come across that disgusting color in battle with evil before.
He’d prevailed then, and he prayed to the Lady he served that he would prevail once more.
There was no time left to think. Everything went into slow motion as he saw the mages launch their hellfire in a coordinated move, only split seconds apart. Ray reinforced his magical shielding and extended it to cover a diameter that included Evie and the little rock formation she was hiding behind.
When the hellfire hit, Ray staggered, but his shield held. It flared so bright that he couldn’t really see for a several long moments, but he was undamaged. He looked at Evie and saw the grim determination on her face as the flare of the shield hid them from the bad guys for a moment. She was unharmed and ready for action, thank the Goddess.
“That answers that question,” Ray said, just loud enough for Evie to hear. “They’re strong, but if they didn’t take us out with that combined blast, we stand a good chance.”