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)
The panther cried out as slashes opened on his skin, red cutting through the black. He fought through it, pushing through the tumult and the pain.
“How do we know that mage is really shielding him?” Fenric asked, but one look at Sebastian was all he needed.
Sebastian’s face had gone red with exertion. Sweat dripped down his temples. His whole body was tense with determination, and his hands were moving quickly.
The magic changed. Now flares of color erupted against the panther. It coated the furry body in places, outlining the magic surrounding him. Ask and you shall receive.
“How are you keeping up the strength for all these spells?” Sebastian called to her. “They’re too powerful for a battle. You don’t need all this to kill. It’s a waste of your energy. You need to go for less energy spells to keep up your endurance. I barely lasted through the battle at Kingsley’s, and I was being very mindful about my energy.”
Jess didn’t relent, smashing down more spells, clearly trying to go faster.
“She practices at this level until exertion, and then she moves on to the less powerful spells until she can barely stand,” Tristan told him. “She’s been training like that since you left specifically for a battle like Kingsley’s. She is purposefully working on her endurance with the more powerful spells, and she’s found plenty of those in the Ivy House books. Hence, her worry about accidentally killing this dude. Good practice, though. We haven’t had anyone to shield us, so she hasn’t been able to practice on a person.”
The panther growled, still attempting to stand. He’d only gotten as far as his belly. His head was low, and he was fighting against the tide of pain. Burn marks appeared in places, more cuts, lumps of flesh taken out.
“This isn’t a challenge,” Barek said, his eyes tight and his body tense with wariness. “This is too one-sided for a challenge, even if that mage wasn’t doing anything at all to help. Derrick is just enduring it. He’s not fighting back.”
“He can’t fight back,” Drex said, his smile gone. “That’s the point I was trying to make.”
The magic stopped, and the damage on the panther started to heal over.
“She’s healing him,” Austin said, so they would know what was happening. “That is not a mage trait, that is a trait exclusive to a female gargoyle, who is a sorceress. She’s more powerful, she can connect with her people through battle bonds, and she can heal.”
“Among other things,” Tristan murmured.
Sebastian was breathing heavily but didn’t step back. He watched Jess closely as she did a circle around the panther and then slowly lowered to the ground.
“Apparently, I need to work on my endurance, as well,” Sebastian said. “She doesn’t even look winded.”
The moment Jess landed, the panther lunged. Austin stepped forward in a rush, but Tristan and Brochan grabbed him, holding him in place.
“Let her handle it,” Tristan said under his breath. “She doesn’t need our help. That panther does.”
“Not ours,” Brochan said. “Sebastian’s.”
The panther hit a magical wall. A great buzzing echoed against the house. The panther howled in pain and flew backwards from the force of the magic.
Jess shifted into her human form. Where before her expression held worry and unease, now she was stoic and calm, watching him with calculating eyes. The gargoyle had emerged and with it, her battle sense.
The panther rose again and stalked toward her slowly, sizing her up.
“A mage wouldn’t wait around for a shifter to engage,” she said, her eyes hard as she surveyed him. “A mage would be firing or running, and I am losing patience.”
Her hands thrust forward. The panther jumped and burst through a sudden wall of magic. Flame covered his fur. She calmly got out of the way as he landed and started to roll. She sapped the magic away, now on the other side of him. He turned and ran at her, snarling, lips pulled away from long white teeth.
Jess didn’t move this time. She held her position and started hammering him. The first spell hit, and he endured. Then the second, the third—she blasted him until he was cowering on the concrete, shaking with the onslaught, unable to fight through the magic. The most powerful shifters might be able to, handling the pain, but he wasn’t one of them. Or maybe he just didn’t have the experience of enduring something like this. He didn’t have experience with mages.
“He’s done.” Sebastian jogged forward and threw his own spell, hitting her square in the chest.
She shuffled backward and bent, her hand coming up to palm her solar plexus. “Ouch.” When she straightened, her eyes were alight.
“Damn it,” Sebastian mumbled.
“Derrick, stand down,” Drex called as the panther struggled to right himself. He’d lost. There was no point in continuing with this.
Jess zinged another spell Sebastian’s way. “Use your strongest shield. I’m going to up the power.”