lungs weren’t pulling in enough air. I couldn’t catch my breath. Too much pain. It was burning through me. I just wanted it over.
Tap the magic. Or do you want that killer hunting Trixie?
Gideon’s comment was barely enough to snap me out of my wallowing. Clenching my teeth, I released my last breath and opened up the little door inside of me that allowed the energy to flow in. Gideon lied. It made the pain hundred times worse.
I screamed. My legs jerked straight out and my back bowed off the ground, but the energy rushed in. I gasped, sucking in my first deep breath since being hit. My heart pumped and life flowed through my body, shoving out the dark magic that the bastard had hit me with.
It felt like I was on the ground, covered in sweat, tears, and blood for hours, but only a few minutes passed. My arms trembled when I pushed myself into a sitting position and looked around. The yard was a little darker now that the strange man was gone. Gideon had made it to his feet, but he didn’t look all that steady as he leaned against the side of the house. He was ashen and his face was streaked with what was probably both sweat and tears.
“What the fuck was that?” My voice sounded like I’d been gargling broken glass for cheap thrills. With a grunt, I pushed myself to my feet and immediately fell back against the fence when the world violently shifted around me.
“The bastard forced the Death Magic into us. The energy was trying to take over our bodies. It would have killed us.”
“And then what? Zombies?”
“Don’t know. Possibly.”
I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing while my mind turned over the bastard who had tried to turn me into a brain-munching, shambling horror show. He’d appeared pretty confident that he wouldn’t kill me, but I couldn’t agree with him. If Gideon hadn’t known what to do, I would have been quite content to let the Death Magic consume me in the hopes of death relieving my pain.
When I was sure I had my bearings again, I opened my eyes and pushed away from the fence to stand on my own. My cloaking spell was gone, and I just didn’t have the strength to put it back into place. I was still using the energy I had pulled in to heal my damaged body.
“What the hell was he?” I demanded, starting to slowly walk toward Gideon. I prayed that the neighbors didn’t pick that exact moment to look out their windows. Of course, I seriously doubted that anyone in this neighborhood frequented my parlor, but then I was taking enough chances in life, I didn’t need to add to my troubles.
Gideon straightened, his eyes slipping back to the swing set. “I don’t know. I didn’t see him long enough to recognize any distinguishing traits. I also didn’t sense anything in his magic use that would have identified him. Did you?”
“No,” I grumbled.
Frustration was building. If I had finished my schooling in the Towers, I might have been able to recognize what the bastard was, but my knowledge was considerably lacking. As it was, I could only recognize most creatures if I’d met them in the past.
Raking my fingers through my hair with a groan, I turned back toward the house. “On the plus side, I don’t think he’s planning to leave town. He mentioned having a surprise, a final triumph that he wanted me to witness. He’s sticking around to perform his final show here.”
“Wonderful,” Gideon muttered. “Did he mention what exactly that would be?”
“Nope.”
“He give you an address of where he was staying?”
“Nope.”
“Then I guess we do some digging here before I report back to the council,” Gideon said as he turned back toward the door he had exited minutes earlier.
“Why report back? We don’t know who or what this asshole is. We also don’t know what he’s planning.”
“True, but they need to know if something bad is about to happen. We can call in more guardians to search the area.”
“Is that really a good idea? Do we want more witches and warlocks running loose in Low Town? How many people do you think they’ll slaughter in their so-called search for this prick? A few hundred?”
“And what choice do we have?” Gideon shouted back at me, throwing the door open. “I don’t like the idea of it any better than you, but this guy has to be stopped