power and aura. I realized immediately as she cast why they were so easy and fast to cast. Protective spells, or counter spells is probably more accurate, are just the very beginnings of evoking an elemental formation in the power and aura. Then throwing it at the enemy’s spell with a simple intent to muddy the spell with that wrong element.
In other words, it wasn’t really a spell at all, it was inserting a partial spell into an enemy’s painstakingly created spell to make it unstable and come apart. I imagined it would even work on a fully formed plasma ball, if someone was fast enough to intercept it in the split second it crossed the distance. Even after it hit, a counter spell would be worth it, because it would stop that lingering burning and sticky fire that ate through a shifter’s magic as they constantly shifted themselves back to full health.
She wasn’t satisfied however, until I cast all four of them to counterattack spells that she was building. Of course, she’d have never launched the spells if I’d failed, but it was a practical test I’d passed easily enough. It was one of the simplest things I’d been taught. Also, picturing the elements as the four states of matter made a lot of sense, and answered more than a few questions I’d had about it.
“That it?”
She smiled, “Almost. Death spells, and the spell you learned to keep a shifter in human form are nature spells. Pure magic with no physical form based on life, nor on the four states of inanimate matter. So none of those four counters will work against it. For those kinds of spells, the defense is truly a protective shield that resists an enemy’s spell, and less of a counter that makes an enemy’s spell unravel. A shield designed to keep foreign magic out. Its success depends largely on the strength of the casters, and since you have twice as much magic as everyone else it should work great for you if you keep it active.
“The tricky part is you can’t cast any other spells while it’s active. So, it’s usually cast as a counter, then released when you want to attack back. More than one duel has ended badly because of bad timing. Long spells in battle tend to be avoided, which means most witches will use elemental spells only, but just in case it’s good to be aware of it. The intent and focus are to form your magic into an impenetrable wall against other magic.”
I nodded, and she cast the spell. I immediately knew why other spells would be impossible, it literally contracted a witch’s aura tightly against their body, and it reinforced that with the weight of their magic. By their nature, a spell required the aura and power to form in specific ways, which would of course ruin the tight and flat effect of the aura and power shield.
I just pulled mine in, and tightened it, made it a barrier, and she looked at me for a moment and then nodded in satisfaction.
She kissed me, “That still makes me jealous, how easily you do that without saying a word, but I also feel a lot better.”
I returned her kiss, and then sighed as I caressed her cheek, before we left the office and joined our other mate to get ready for the takedown. A sundress and professional women’s suit weren’t the best things to wear in a fight, nor was business casual. Of course, what us shifters really needed were clothes quick to come off, and I supposed it didn’t overly matter in Tiffany’s case, but she changed into jeans and a leather halter top. Ginny wore a simple set of tights and a light blue t-shirt, something cheap just in case she had to shift and burst out of them, while I wore sweats and a black t-shirt. We also had bags of spare clothes to take with us.
Hopefully, the planning would be enough. I couldn’t imagine it wasn’t, but death was always a possibility. I’d be watching Tiffany’s back closely as we fought together. I just hated that I wouldn’t be able to watch Ginny’s as closely. It was what it was, my new world was a violent place, and the darkness in some rogues’ souls and in the demonic races had to be excised with righteous violence.
Risk was a part of that, and I had to suck it up despite how protective and possessive I felt