Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
It was her hands that caught his attention. She held them in front of her just so, out and bent, ready to do magic.
As he watched from under his lashes, the pad of her pointer finger reflexively grazed her bare wrist. She wasn’t wearing a watch at present, but she was used to one. Or had been, at any rate. She was currently feeling its absence, which meant he reminded her of it.
“What is it?” Nessa asked as she leaned closer to the glass, hand still on Austin’s elbow.
He shuffled a little closer to her and kept his voice low, pretending to be absorbed by the window display.
“A mage,” he murmured, leaning against the wall and facing Nessa. You did not turn your back on a mage you didn’t know. Hell, if you had any sense, you didn’t turn your back on a mage you did know. That was a fast way to get killed.
“Why the hell is a mage here?” Nessa said in a calm voice, but Sebastian knew she was already thinking of ways to fight back and escape. They’d been in this situation more than a time or two, except not with friendlies. Not with shifters and gargoyles and Jessie.
“I don’t know,” he replied as she straightened again.
“This would explain why Drex wondered about a particular spell earlier,” Austin murmured, turning for the grocery store.
“Yeah,” Sebastian said, remembering that comment.
“Why wouldn’t they tell us outright, given our history?” Nessa asked, taking his cue and heading that way.
Sebastian used their movement as a distraction to get a good look at the woman. Would he recognize her? He knew all the big players, especially those in the Guild, and especially anyone dangerous.
They made eye contact, and she tensed.
“Take cover—“ he began as she shot a spell straight for him.
He dove to the side, already erecting a shield. He shot a spell back, but she was already on the move, dodging behind a parked car. Crap, she was quick.
“Don’t hurt her,” Austin said, yanking him off the sidewalk by the scruff of his neck and dragging him toward a parked car on their side.
“But she fired magic at us,” Sebastian said, poking his head around one end of the car.
He could just make her out. She was on the other side of the street, framed by the window of the car she’d taken cover behind. She popped up and lifted her hands to throw another spell at them over the roof of the car.
“She keeps firing magic at us,” Sebastian said, erecting a magical barrier to catch the spell and determine its power.
Before she could fire the spell, however, a gargoyle rushed up behind her and caught her wrists in the air, forcing them down by her sides. Dangerous move—a mage of Sebastian’s caliber could still do magic like that, but the gargoyle clearly didn’t care.
Another gargoyle rushed to the first ones aid. The woman screamed and thrashed, trying to free herself, but gargoyles had tough hides, and she didn’t have the power to stop them.
“Okay, we’re good.” Breathing heavily, Sebastian rose from behind the car.
Another blast of magic shot at them from the right, down the street.
“What in the hell, man?” Sebastian hollered, spinning to return fire.
Except Austin shoved him before he could release the spell, and Sebastian’s spell went wide, hitting the wall, and sending him tumbling into the unforgiving metal of the car.
A swarm of insects turned into Edgar right behind a gangly man with a bad comb-over. The man still had his arms up, ready to do another spell. Edgar grabbed him by the shoulders and clamped his teeth onto Comb-Over’s neck. A gargoyle in human form came running. He’d clearly seen the commotion but had been stationed farther down.
He wouldn’t be needed. The serum in Edgar’s bite worked quickly, putting Comb-Over to sleep. Edgar dropped him to the ground.
The sound of heavy wings drowned out the yelling and screaming from the town’s residents. The town’s shifters turned into animals and two people jogged into the street, their hands raised to do magic.
A surge of magic rolled down the street, a warning that stung but was not terribly painful. The thunder of wings grew louder, and Tristan descended, carrying Jessie in gargoyle form.
Flexing her claws, she sent another heavy blast of magic at the shifters running toward them, and they bent.
A plethora of gargoyles flew from all directions, joining Tristan and hovering about ten feet above the street.
Larger animals ran in now, these in perfect synchrony. They formed a half circle on either side of the street before slowing and finally stopping, blocking Jessie’s people in and their people out.
That was, until the basajaunak joined the party.
“Oh, crap.” Sebastian scurried toward the wall and ducked down. He did not plan to handle this. He was quickly joined by Nessa.